Page 255 - Supreme Court

There was no proposal to reintroduce a modified NJAC, says Centre

The Centre further said that out of the 34 judge strength of the Supreme Court, 27 judges are working in the, which puts the vacancy to 7

SC to hear Maha govt's plea against acquittal of Saibaba, others on Jan 17

On October 15, the top court in a special hearing on Saturday suspended the October 14 order of the High Court which discharged Saibaba and others

SC reserves verdict on batch of pleas against bull-taming sport Jallikattu

The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its judgement on a batch of pleas challenging Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra laws allowing bull-taming sport 'Jallikattu' and bullock cart races. "Jallikattu", also known as "eruthazhuvuthal", is a bull-taming sport played in Tamil Nadu as part of the Pongal harvest festival. A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Justice K M Joseph heard submissions from senior advocates including Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Tamil Nadu, and several other counsel representing the intervenors. The bench, also comprising Justices Ajay Rastogi, Aniruddha Bose, Hrishikesh Roy and C T Ravikumar, asked parties to file a collective compilation of written submissions with a week. The top court had earlier said the petitions challenging the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Tamil Nadu Amendment) Act, 2017 needed to be decided by a larger bench since they involved substantial questions relating to interpretation of the Constitution. The bench framed five questions to b

Collegium law of land, comments against it not very well taken: SC to govt

Amid the ongoing friction between the Centre and the judiciary on the issue of appointment of judges, the Supreme Court on Thursday told the Centre that collegium system is the "law of the land"

Advise Centre to exercise restraint on comments: SC tells attorney general

In his maiden speech in the Rajya Sabha on December 7 and at a public event last week, vice president Jagdeep Dhankar criticised the Supreme Court's judgement overturning the NJAC

CJI Chandrachud releases latest version of Supreme Court mobile app

First version was released in 2019 on Constitution Day. Since then, the SCI Mobile App has been downloaded by 100,000-plus users

SC reserves verdict on demonetisation, asks govt, RBI for submissions

AG said note ban's success or failure in curbing black money not a reason to invalidate the decision judicially as the move was made in good faith, after following due process

SC directs Centre, RBI to put on record relevant info on demonetisation

The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Centre and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to put on record relevant records relating to the government's 2016 decision to demonetise currency notes of Rs 1000 and Rs 500 denomination. Reserving its verdict on a batch of pleas challenging the Centre's 2016 decision, a five-judge constitution bench headed by Justice S A Nazeer heard the submissions from Attorney General R Venkataramani, RBI's counsel and the petitioners lawyers including senior advocates P Chidambaram and Shyam Divan. "Heard. judgement reserved. Learned counsels of the Union of India and Reserve Bank of India are directed to produce the relevant records," the bench also comprising Justices B R Gavai, A S Bopanna, V Ramasubramanian, and B V Nagarathna, said. The AG submitted before the bench that he will submit relevant records in a sealed cover. The top court was hearing a batch of 58 petitions challenging the demonetisation exercise announced by the Centre on November 8,

SC directs Centre, RBI to produce records relating to 2016 demonetisation

The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Centre and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to put on record relevant records relating to the government's 2016 decision to demonetise currency notes of Rs 1000 and Rs 500 denomination for its perusal. Reserving its verdict on a batch of pleas challenging the Centre's 2016 decision, a five-judge constitution bench headed by Justice S A Nazeer heard the submissions from Attorney General R Venkataramani, RBI's counsel, and the petitioners' lawyers, including senior advocates P Chidambaram and Shyam Divan. The top court directed the parties to file written submissions by December 10. "Heard. Judgement reserved. Learned counsels of the Union of India and Reserve Bank of India are directed to produce the relevant records," the bench, also comprising Justices B R Gavai, A S Bopanna, V Ramasubramanian, and B V Nagarathna, said. The AG submitted before the bench that he will submit relevant records in a sealed cover. The top court was hearing a b

Restricted judicial review doesn't mean court will sit back: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Tuesday said limited scope of a judicial review in economic policy matters does not mean that court will fold its hands and sit back, observing that the manner in which a decision is taken by the government can always be examined. The top court was hearing a batch of 58 petitions challenging the demonetisation exercise announced by the Centre on November 8, 2016. During the hearing, the Reserve Bank of India(RBI) submitted that "temporary hardships" were there and that they are also an integral part of the nation-building process but there was a mechanism by which problems that arose were solved. A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Justice S A Nazeer said legal compliance of an economic policy can be examined by a constitutional court. "Court will not go into the merits of the decision taken by the government. But it can always go into the manner the decision was taken. But, just because it is an economic policy, does not mean court will fold its hands an

Jalan-Kalrock consortium looks to move SC over Jet Airways staffers' dues

The consortium won the bid to revive the grounded airline in October 2020, and its revival plan was cleared by the National Company Law Tribunal in June 2021

Denting democracy

India is heading for judicial authoritarianism as the system of checks and balances has gone askew

Nobody should sleep empty stomach, govt to ensure grains reach last man: SC

It is our culture to ensure nobody goes to sleep empty stomach, the Supreme Court said on Tuesday and asked the central government to see to it that foodgrains under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) reaches the last man. A bench of Justices M R Shah and Hima Kohli directed the Centre to submit a fresh chart with the number of migrant and unorganised sector workers registered on eShram portal. "It is the duty of the central government to ensure foodgrains under NFSA are reaching the last man. We are not saying that Centre is not doing anything, the Union of India has ensured foodgrains to people during Covid. At the same time, we have to see it continues. It is our culture (to ensure) that nobody goes to sleep empty stomach," the bench said. It was hearing on its own a public interest matter related to the plight of migrant workers during the Covid pandemic and the resultant lockdowns. Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for three social activists Anjali Bharadwaj, Harsh Man

Sisodia's claims regarding non-cooperation of officials vague: Centre to SC

The Centre has told the Supreme Court that no Union Territory has its own services under the Constitution and the present status of Delhi is in existence since 1993

'Fake currency, terror financing should be tackled', Centre to SC on DeMo

Fake currency, terror financing and black money are three evils and are like 'Jarasandha' (an antagonist in Mahabharat) and should be cut into pieces, the Centre told the Supreme Court on Monday while opposing the pleas challenging the 2016 demonetisation exercise. Attorney General R Venkataramani, appearing for the Centre, submitted before a five-judge Constitution bench headed by Justice S A Nazeer that the government is duty bound to address the three evils. "They (petitioners) have said we should have conducted studies before demonetisation. For more than a decade, central government and the Reserve Bank of India have been looking at the three problems (fake currency, terror financing, black money)... They are like Jarasandha. You have to cut it into pieces. If you don't cut it into pieces, it will always be alive," he said. Venkataramani said judicial review of an economic policy may be restricted to where the court may only determine if there is a rational nexus with the objec

Govt wants Delhi-Centre power dispute case be referred to larger SC bench

The Centre on Monday told the Supreme Court that it has filed a fresh plea seeking reference to a larger bench of nine or more judges a matter involving a constitutional issue related to the control of services in the national capital. The Delhi government, represented by senior advocate A M Singhvi, opposed the Centre's plea before a bench comprising Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha, saying, "this will only create delay and such tactics cannot be allowed". Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, said at the outset "there are no facts to be controverted. But, I have filed an IA (interim application) stating that this matter (Delhi-Centre case) may have to be referred to a larger bench". Singhvi opposed the submission, saying it amounted to seeking a review of the apex court order which had said the matter did not require reference to a larger bench and the only issue remaining between the parties was the dispute pertaining to control

'Serious issue': SC pulls up Punjab govt over sale of spurious liquor

The Supreme Court on Monday pulled up the Punjab government over the issue of sale of spurious liquor in the state, saying "Punjab is a border state and this is a very serious matter"

DMK files review petition against top court order upholding 10% EWS quota

Plea seeks an open court hearing in the matter on the ground that it affects a lot of citizens in the country

DMK seeks review of EWS quota judgement, says it overrules Mandal verdict

Tamil Nadu's ruling DMK on Monday sought a review of the November 7 verdict of the Supreme Court which upheld 10 per cent reservation for the economically weaker sections (EWS) in educational institutions and government jobs that excluded the poor among the SC/ST/OBC categories, contending it "legitimises discrimination". It said there is an apparent error in the judgement as it directly overrules the landmark 1992 nine-judge Constitution bench verdict in the Indra Swahney versus Union of India case, popularly referred to as the Mandal verdict'. The DMK said all five judges on the Constitution bench which pronounced its verdict on November 7 upholding the EWS quota introduced in 2019, have answered that the 103rd Constitution Amendment cannot be said to breach the basic structure of the Constitution and therefore it overruled the 1992 judgement, which authoritatively pronounced that reservation cannot be granted on the basis of economic criteria. The review plea said, "It is ...

Purpose of charity should not be religious conversion, observes SC

Asserting the purpose of charity should not be conversion, the Supreme Court reaffirmed on Monday that forced religious conversion is a "serious issue" and against the Constitution. The court was hearing a plea filed by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay seeking direction to the Centre and states to take stringent steps to control fraudulent religious conversion by "intimidation, threatening, deceivingly luring through gifts and monetary benefits". The Centre told the court it is collecting information from states on religious conversion through such means. Appearing before a bench of Justices M R Shah and C T Ravikumar, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta sought time to furnish detailed information on the issue. Mehta sought a week's time from the court which it granted. "The purpose of charity should not be conversion. Allurement is dangerous," the top court said, and acknowledged that forced religious conversion is a very serious matter. When a lawyer questioned the maintainability of