Page 19 - Supreme Court

Courts cannot fix deadlines for Guv, Prez on assent to Bills, says SC

Experts say ruling 'reaffirms federal balance'

Timelines can't be fixed for governors to give assent to bills, says SC

A five-judge Constitution Bench ruled that courts cannot prescribe fixed timelines for governors or the President to decide on bills, but emphasised that governors cannot indefinitely delay a bill

Doctors, engineers engaging in anti-national activities: Delhi police in SC

The Delhi police on Thursday vehemently opposed the bail pleas of activists Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and others in the February 2020 riots case, saying it had become a trend now for doctors and engineers to engage in anti-national activities. Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing for the Delhi police, told a bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and N V Anjaria that the delay in trial was attributable to the accused and they cannot take advantage of it. Raju showed in the top court videos of Imam giving "inflammatory speeches" against the Citizenship Amendment Act. The videos showed Imam giving speeches at Chakhand, Jamia, Aligarh, and Asansol in 2019 and 2020 before the riots in February 2020 riots in Delhi. Pointing out that Imam is an engineering graduate, the advocate said, "Nowadays there is a trend that doctors, engineers are not doing their professions but engaging in anti-national activities." Raju added, "It's not a simple protest. These are violent protests. They a

Talaq-e-Hasan under SC lens: How it is different from Talaq-e-Biddat

The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019 declared the instant divorce granted by pronouncement of talaq three times as void and illegal

SC raises retirement age of MP judicial officers from 60 to 61 years

The Supreme Court on Thursday raised the retirement age of judicial officers of Madhya Pradesh from 60 to 61 years. In an interim order, a bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justices Prasanna B Varale and K Vinod Chandran referred to a similar decision taken by the Telangana High Court. It asked why judicial officers should be denied the relief when the state government was willing to do so. It is needless to say that judicial officers as well as other employees of the state government draw salaries from the same public exchequer, the bench said, adding that the retirement age of other state government employees is 62 years. In any case there is a difference of one year between the retirement age of high court judges and the district court judges, the court said. High court judges retire at the age of 62 and now the age of superannuation of district court judges in Madhya Pradesh will be 61. The bench posted the plea for final hearing after four weeks. Senior advocate G

Indiabulls probe: SC slams Sebi, CBI and MCA for 'passive approach'

SC criticised Sebi, the CBI and the MCA for inconsistent and passive handling of allegations against IHFL, now Sammaan Capital, and directed coordinated action and fresh affidavits in the case

SC quashes age, tenure norms for tribunals; calls for new oversight body

The Supreme Court scrapped the 50-year age bar and four-year tenure for tribunal members under the 2021 law, restored earlier rules, and directed the Centre to set up a National Tribunals Commission

SC may consider referring Talaq-e-Hasan challenge to 5-judge bench

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it may consider referring the challenge to the validity of Talaq-e-Hasan, a form of divorce among Muslims in India, to a larger five-judge constitution bench while deprecating the practice of sending notices on the husband's behalf. Through Talaq-e-Hasan, a man can dissolve a marriage by pronouncing the word "talaq" once every month over a three-month period. In 2017, the top court declared Triple Talaq, also a form of divorce prevalent among Muslim community, as unconstitutional after finding it to be arbitrary and violative of fundamental rights of Muslim women. A bench of justices Surya Kant, Ujjal Bhuyan and N Kotiswar Singh which deprecated the practice adopted by Muslim husbands while giving Talaq-e-Hasan under which they authorises any person and mostly lawyer to give divorce notice to their wives on their behalf saying, "should a civilised modern society allow this". Asking the parties to submit notes with regard to types of Talaq which c

SC's post-facto green nod rollback pulls core sectors 'back from brink'

Reversal restores 2017 and 2021 norms, reopening door to regularise past lapses

SC mulls abrogating Talaq-e-Hasan, asks should civilised society permit it

The top court was hearing a PIL filed in 2022 by journalist Benazeer Heena, who sought a declaration that the practice is unconstitutional

SC asks govt to frame national policy, rules on organ transplantation

The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued a slew of directions to the Centre to frame a national policy and uniform rules in consultation with States to ensure a transparent, and efficient system for organ donation and allocation. A bench comprising Chief Justice BR Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran passed the directions on a PIL filed by the Indian Society of Organ Transplantation. The CJI, in its order, requested the Centre to persuade Andhra Pradesh to adopt the 2011 amendments to the Transplantation of Human Organs Act, 1994. It also directed that states like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Manipur, which have not yet adopted the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Rules, 2014, to do so expeditiously, stressing the "importance of the issue. The bench asked the Centre to develop a national policy with "model allocation criteria" for organ transplants. This policy must address and mitigate issues of gender and caste bias and establish "uniform criteria for donors across the coun

No 'blanket orders' protecting doctors involved in RG Kar protests: SC

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it cannot pass "blanket orders" protecting doctors involved in protests in the aftermath of the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. A bench of Justices MM Sundresh and Satish Chandra Sharma said any order passed would amount to interference with the authority of the police. Observing that the matter cannot be heard "piecemeal", the apex court said it was inclined to transfer the matter to the Calcutta High Court. "We are grappling with so many things and there is no end to this. It is easier for the Calcutta High Court to monitor protests. Is it possible for us to monitor the protests in Kolkata sitting in Delhi? "How can we pass blanket orders protecting doctors. The police has a right to call you," the bench observed orally. The top court directed senior advocate Karuna Nundy, representing the Association of junior and senior doctors, to submit a table of matters pending before the Calcutt

SC strikes Tribunals Act provisions, says govt reintroduced quashed clauses

The Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down several provisions of the 2021 Tribunals Reforms law related to the appointment, tenure, and service conditions of members of various tribunals, saying they had been re-enacted by the Centre with minor tweaks. A bench of Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran said the impugned provisions violated the principles of separation of powers and judicial independence, and they should not have been brought back. The bench said that dealing with the backlog of cases was not the sole responsibility of the judiciary, and the onus must be shared by the other arms of the government. The bench held that Parliament had sought to "legislatively override" binding judicial precedents by re-enacting clauses previously quashed by the court. "We have compared the provisions of the Ordinance and the 2021 Act, and it shows that all provisions struck down, with minor tweaking, have been re-enacted again," the CJI said while reading the judgment. "T

People should get proper remedy against pharma firms' malpractices: SC

The Supreme Court on Tuesday said procedures under the uniform code for pharmaceutical marketing should be so strong that any consumer who is cheated should have access and proper remedy against unethical practices. A bench of justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta observed there should be appropriate measures where the consumers have a convenient mechanism for lodging their complaints and ensuring that action is taken against erring companies. The top court was hearing a plea seeking that the uniform code of pharmaceutical marketing practices should curb alleged unethical practices of pharma firms. Additional Solicitor General K M Nataraj, appearing for the Centre, said the government has introduced several policies for the purpose of either restricting the pricing of medicines and to regulate such activities. He referred to the Uniform Code for Pharmaceuticals Marketing Practices (UCPMP), 2024, which prohibits pharma companies from offering gifts and travel facilities to healthca

Court frames charges against Nawab Malik in PMLA case linked to Dawood

The Enforcement Directorate registered the case in 2022 and arrested Malik in February that year. He is currently out on medical bail granted by the Supreme Court

SC declines to hear wellness expert's PIL on India's air pollution

The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to entertain a fresh PIL by a wellness expert seeking urgent judicial intervention to tackle a "persistent and systemic failure" in addressing the country's rising air pollution levels. The top court, however, allowed holistic health coach Luke Christopher Coutinho to withdraw the PIL and file an intervention plea in a pending case filed by environmentalist M C Mehta on pollution. "The petitioner seeks liberty to withdraw the plea to file an intervention in pending proceedings in the MC Mehta case," the CJI said. The court is scheduled to hear the main plea on pollution on Wednesday. Coutinho had filed the plea on October 24 and made the Centre, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), several Union ministries, NITI Aayog, and the governments of Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Maharashtra as parties. The plea said the current air pollution crisis has reached proportions of a "public

Kerala govt asks Supreme Court to defer SIR to after local body polls

The state government sought deferment of the SIR until the ongoing process for Local Self-Government Institutions (LSGI) in the state is completed

SC issues notices to Centre, CBI, ED, and Anil Ambani on PIL alleging fraud

The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notices to the Centre, CBI, ED, Anil Ambani and others on a PIL seeking a court-monitored probe into alleged massive banking and corporate fraud involving Reliance Communications (RCOM), its group companies and their promoter. A bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran took note of the submissions of lawyer Prashant Bhushan, appearing for PIL petitioner and former Union secretary E A S Sarma, and sought the replies within three weeks. The bench has now posted the PIL for further hearing after three weeks. Bhushan alleged that the probe agencies are not investigating the alleged complicity of banks and their officials in the huge banking fraud. He sought a direction to the CBI and the ED to file respective status reports with regard to the probe against banks and their officials in the case. Issue notice returnable in three weeks. Let them file their replies, the CJI said. The PIL alleged systematic diversion of publi

Delhi's air quality remains 'very poor'; winter smog sets in, mercury sinks

Delhi-NCR records slight improvement in AQI but it may worsen as mercury dips under 10 degrees Celsius; Supreme Court urges long-term pollution plan

Repair damage to Corbett Tiger Reserve: Supreme Court to Uttarakhand

The Court has asked Uttarakhand to remove illegal structures, restore habitats and enforce strict safari and tourism rules after major violations in Corbett