Supreme Court

SC adjourns to Feb 9 hearing on plea challenging Sonam Wangchuk's detention

The Supreme Court on Thursday adjourned to February 9 the hearing on a plea filed by Gitanjali J Angmo, wife of jailed climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, against his detention under the National Security Act. A bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and PB Varale deferred the matter. On Wednesday, the top court had asked the Centre if there was any possibility for the government to relook at the detention of Wangchuk considering his health condition. Additional solicitor general K M Nataraj had submitted that Wangchuk was responsible for violence in Leh last year in which four people died and 161 were injured. On Tuesday, the Centre and the Union Territory of Ladakh administration had told the apex court that Wangchuk was detained for instigating people in a border area where regional sensitivity is involved. Justifying Wangchuk's detention, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had told the bench that all procedural safeguards were followed while ordering his detention under the National Securit

SC directs West Bengal govt to pay DA to its employees from 2008-2019

Observing that dearness allowance is a legally enforceable right, the Supreme Court on Thursday directed the West Bengal government to pay it to its employees for the 2008 to 2019 period. A bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and Prashant Kumar Mishra directed the West Bengal government to pay 25 per cent of the outstanding DA to its employees by March 6. "To receive dearness allowance is a legally enforceable right that has accrued in favour of the respondents-employees of the State of West Bengal...The employees of the appellant-State shall be entitled to release of arrears in accordance with this judgment for the time 2008-2019," the bench said. The top court said dearness allowance emerges as a practical instrument of protection in the hands of the welfare state, which safeguards its employees from the adverse effects of rising prices. Dearness Allowance is not an additional benefit but a means to maintain a minimum standard of living, it said. Considering the financial implication

Jan Suraaj party moves SC challenging Bihar elections, seeks fresh polls

Former poll strategist Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party has moved the Supreme Court challenging the Bihar Assembly Elections, 2025 and seeking fresh polls in the state. The matter is likely to come up for hearing on Friday before a bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi. The BJP-led NDA retained power in the state, winning 202 of the total 243 seats, while the INDIA bloc bagged only 35, including six of the Congress. The Jan Suraaj Party failed to open its account in the assembly polls, with most of its candidates losing their deposits. In its plea, the party has accused the Bihar government of violating the Model Code by transferring Rs 10,000 each to women under the Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana after the announcement of poll schedule. The petition has sought directions to the poll panel to take action under Article 324 of Constitution (superintendence, direction and control of the preparation of electoral rolls for, and the conduct of, all election

SC agrees to hear PIL against poll freebies promises by political parties

The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to list for hearing in March a PIL seeking direction to seize the symbol or deregister a political party that promises or distributes "irrational freebies" before polls. Lawyer-petitioner Ashwini Updhyaya told a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi that the notices on his PIL were issued to the Centre and the Election Commission in 2022 itself, and urged it to list the matter soon. "Except Sun and Moon, everything is promised by political parties to voters during elections and this amounts to corrupt practice," the lawyer said. "This is an important issue. You please remind us and mention it at the end. We will list in March," the CJI said. On January 25, 2022, a bench headed by the then Chief Justice N V Ramana had sought replies from the Centre and the Election Commission on the PIL seeking direction to seize the symbol or deregister a political party that promises or distributes "irrational freebies" before ..

SIR not for inclusion of voters but deletion: Mamata Banerjee before SC

West Bengal Chief Minister alleges voter exclusion and selective enforcement as Supreme Court seeks Election Commission's response on SIR process

RCom fraud case: Supreme Court directs ED to constitute probe team

The Supreme Court asked the Enforcement Directorate to set up a senior-level SIT to take forward the probe into alleged large-scale bank fraud involving RCOM and Anil Ambani

SC notice to Centre on plea against NEET PG cut-off percentile reduction

The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought responses from the Centre and others on a plea challenging the decision of the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) to drastically reduce the qualifying cut-off percentiles for NEET-PG 2025-26. A bench of Justices P S Narasimha and Alok Aradhe issued notices to the Union of India, the NBEMS, the National Medical Commission and others. The matter is listed for next hearing on February 6. With over 18,000 postgraduate medical seats across the country remaining vacant, the Board revised the qualifying percentiles for NEET-PG 2025 admissions, reducing it to zero from 40 percentile for reserved categories -- which will make even those scoring as low as minus 40 out of 800 to take part in the third round of counselling for PG medical seats. According to the notice published by NBEMS, the NEET PG cutoff for the general category has been reduced to seven percentile from 50. The top court was hearing a plea filed by social worker .

SC asks CBI, ED to conduct 'fair, prompt' probes against Anil Ambani, ADAG

Last month, the Supreme Court asked the CBI and ED to file status reports on their investigations into alleged large-scale banking and corporate fraud

Mamata reaches SC ahead of hearing on pleas against SIR of electoral rolls

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday reached the Supreme Court ahead of a crucial hearing on the petitions challenging the Election Commission's ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state. The chief minister has also moved an interlocutory application seeking permission to appear and argue in person. Banerjee is personally present in court room one along with her lawyers. A gate pass was issued in the chief minister's name on Tuesday. As per the apex court website, a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi is scheduled to hear the petitions of Banerjee and three others filed by Mostari Banu and TMC MPs Derek O'Brien and Dola Sen.

'Punitive demolitions' persist in UP despite SC ban: Allahabad HC

Taking a stern note of alleged demolition drives in Uttar Pradesh, the Allahabad High Court has observed that punitive demolition of structures continues to take place in the state despite the Supreme Court's November 2024 ruling that "bulldozer justice" is simply unacceptable under the rule of law. A two-judge bench of Justices Atul Sreedharan and Siddhartha Nandan also asked the state government whether demolishing a structure immediately after the commission of an offence was a colourable exercise of executive discretion. The bench observed that it came across various cases in which the notice for demolition was issued to the occupants immediately after the commission of an offence. Thereafter, the dwelling places were demolished after the ostensible fulfilment of statutory requirements, it said. Therefore, bearing in mind the "overarching" nature of the case, spanning the right of the state to demolish a structure and the rights of its occupants under Articles 14 and 21 of the

Opt out of India, you are creating monopoly, SC tells Meta, WhatsApp

Supreme Court warns Meta and WhatsApp that they cannot operate in India without complying with Indian law, flags risks to users' data and market competition

CJI flags delay in reserved judgments; issue to be raised with HC chiefs

Chief Justice of India reiterates concern over delays in pronouncing reserved judgments, says issue will be discussed at High Court Chief Justices' conference

SC sends Flipkart competition case back to NCLAT for fresh review

The Supreme Court set aside a 2020 NCLAT order directing a CCI probe into Flipkart and asked the tribunal to reconsider the case afresh

Exit India if you can't abide by Constitution: SC to WhatsApp parent Meta

The court was hearing Meta's plea against a Competition Commission of India order that imposed a penalty of ₹213.14 crore over WhatsApp's privacy policy

SC to pass interim order on Feb 9 in WhatsApp, Meta privacy policy case

The Supreme Court on Tuesday came down heavily on Meta Platforms Inc and WhatsApp while hearing their appeals against a Competition Commission of India order imposing a penalty of Rs 213.14 crore over the privacy policy, saying tech giants cannot "play with the right to privacy of citizens in the name of data sharing". A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi said that it will pass an interim order on February 9. The top court ordered that the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology be made a party to the petitions. It was hearing appeals filed by Meta and WhatsApp against a National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) judgment that upheld the CCI's findings of abuse of dominance, while granting limited relief on advertising-related data sharing. "You can't play with the right of privacy of this country in the name of data sharing. We will not allow you to share a single word of the data, either you give an ...

SC grants protection from arrest to shaadi.com founder in fraud case

The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted shaadi.com founder Anupam Mittal and two others protection from arrest for two weeks in a case related to alleged fraud by a user of the matrimonial platform. A bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and N V Anjaria set aside a Telangana High Court order refusing to quash the proceedings against Mittal and sent the matter back to the high court for fresh consideration. The apex court also asked Mittal to approach the high court for interim bail. The case stems from a Hyderabad woman's allegation that she was defrauded of Rs 11 lakh by a man who used a fake profile on shaadi.com and that the platform failed to properly verify user details. "Since the quashing petition has not been decided on merits, we set aside the impugned order and remit the matter to the high court to consideration on merits. Accordingly the criminal cases are restored to their original file. The same shall be dealt with by the high court on its merits. This court has not ...

Supreme Court allows joint insolvency plea against linked realty companies

The Supreme Court has allowed a single insolvency plea against multiple real estate firms where entities are closely linked in a project's execution and operations

SC directs Centre to set up tribunal for Pennaiyar river water dispute

The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Centre to constitute a tribunal for adjudicating a dispute between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka over sharing the water of the Pennaiyar River, and issue an appropriate notification in the matter within a month. The direction came from a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and N V Anjaria. "We find no reason to refrain from directing the Central government to issue an appropriate notification in the official gazette and to constitute a water disputes tribunal for the adjudication of the inter-se water dispute between the parties herein within a period of one month from today," Justice Nath said while pronouncing the order. The Tamil Nadu government moved the top court in 2018 through its original suit filed against Karnataka over work being done on check dams and diversions on the river. It said the water in an interstate river was considered a national asset and no state can claim exclusive rights over it. The Tamil Nadu government had said the 1892

New school fee law won't apply in 2025-26 academic year: Delhi govt to SC

The Delhi government on Monday told the Supreme Court that a new law which regulates fees in private schools in the national capital will not be implemented in the academic year 2025-26. The statement was made before a bench of Justices P S Narasimha and Alok Aradhe which was hearing a batch of pleas concerning the implementation of the Delhi School Education (Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Fees) Act, 2025. Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, appearing for the Delhi government, told the bench that the law will not be enforced in the current academic year. "In view of the clarification of S V Raju... that the legal regime will not be implemented with effect from 2025-26, no further orders are required," the bench said. The bench left all the issues open for being raised before the Delhi High Court which is hearing a batch of pleas challenging the 2025 Act and its subsequent rules. The top court was hearing pleas, including those challenging a January 8 order of the h

SC refuses to entertain PIL on process to record caste data for 2027 census

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a PIL questioning the procedure to be adopted to record, classify and verify the caste data of citizens in the 2027 general census. The top court, however, asked the Centre and the office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India to consider the suggestions made by PIL petitioner Aakash Goel, an academician, on the issue. Goel, represented by senior advocate Mukta Gupta, said a transparent questionnaire, to be used for recording, classifying and verifying the caste details of the citizens, has to be placed in public domain. The senior advocate alleged that the Directorate of Census Operations has not disclosed the criteria for recording the caste identity of citizens "notwithstanding the acknowledgement that caste enumeration has extended beyond the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled tribes this time". The bench told the PIL petitioner there is "no pre-determined data" to identify the caste data. "The census exercise is ..