Page 34 - Supreme Court

'Objectionable' cartoons on PM, RSS: SC grants anticipatory bail to Malviya

The Supreme Court on Tuesday gave anticipatory bail to cartoonist Hemant Malviya who is accused of sharing allegedly objectionable cartoons of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and RSS workers on social media. Noting that he has apologised on his Facebook and Instagram accounts, a bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and N V Anjaria gave the police liberty to seek cancellation of his bail in case the cartoonist did not cooperate in the probe. During the hearing, Malviya's counsel Vrinda Grover informed the court that an apology was given and that the petitioner had not yet been summoned. Additional Solicitor General K M Nataraj replied that summoning will take place only after all the evidence is gathered. Malviya was booked by police in Indore in May on a complaint filed by lawyer and RSS worker Vinay Joshi who alleged that he had hurt the religious sentiments of Hindus and disturbed communal harmony by uploading objectionable material on social media. On July 15, a top court bench of Just

SC to interpret Constitution in Presidential reference, not specific cases

The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it will only interpret the Constitution while dealing with the Presidential reference on whether the court could impose timelines for governors and President to deal with bills passed by state assemblies. The remark by a five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice BR Gavai came when Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said if senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for parties opposing the reference, is going to rely on examples of constitutional provisions which concerned Andhra Pradesh, among others, then he needs to file a reply, as he has not argued on those aspects. Mehta told a bench also comprising Justices Surya Kant, Vikram Nath, PS Narasimha and AS Chandurkar, "If they (Tamil Nadu and Kerala governments) are going to rely on examples of Andhra Pradesh etc ... we would like to file a reply on this. Since, we need to show how the Constitution was taken on a joyride since its inception... let us see if we want to travel down that dirty path." CJI

SC dismisses PIL against E20 policy, backs ethanol blending programme

The Supreme Court has dismissed a plea challenging the E20 ethanol blending policy, reinforcing India's push for cleaner fuels and support for sugarcane farmers

Claims, objections to Bihar draft rolls allowed after Sept 1: EC to SC

The Election Commission told the Supreme Court that claims and objections to Bihar's draft electoral rolls will be accepted beyond the September 1 deadline, up to the last date of nominations

Supreme Court rejects plea opposing rollout of 20% ethanol-blended petrol

The petition asked for ethanol labelling at all petrol pumps, but the Centre opposed the move, arguing E20 fuel supports sugarcane farmers

Bihar SIR: Claims, objections can be filed beyond Sept 1, EC tells SC

The Election Commission of India on Monday said claims, objections and corrections in the draft electoral roll prepared in Bihar special intensive revision (SIR) exercise can be filed beyond September 1 but the same would be considered once the electoral roll was finalised. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi noted the submission of the Election Commission (EC) which said claims and objections could be filed till the last date of nomination forms in each assembly constituency. The top court while terming the confusion over the Bihar SIR as largely trust issue, directed the state legal service authority to deploy paralegal volunteers to assist individual voters and political parties in filling claims and objections to the draft roll, which was published on August 1. Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for EC, said, Any extension of deadline will lead to disruption of the entire exercise and finalisation of final electoral roll. The poll panel further said 99.5 p

SC clears way for construction of new passenger jetty at Gateway of India

The construction of a new passenger jetty and terminal at the iconic Gateway of India in south Mumbai would continue as the Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a plea against the Bombay High Court verdict allowing the project. The high court on July 15 had dismissed three petitions challenging the construction of the Rs 229 crore passenger jetty and terminal facility proposed by the Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB) near the Gateway of India. A bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran dismissed the appeal filed by one Laura D Souza against the high court verdict, saying the issue fell under the policy domain of the government. The project in the sea, approximately measuring 1.5 acres, will be nearly 280 metres from the Gateway of India, located near the Radio Club in south Mumbai. According to the plea, the project plan involves parking of 150 cars, VIP lounges/waiting areas, amphitheatre and ticket counters/administrative areas along with a huge tennis ..

SC upholds Telangana's domicile rules for admissions in medical colleges

The Supreme Court on Monday upheld the Telangana government's domicile rule permitting students, who have studied for the last four years up to Class 12 in the state, for admissions in medical and dental colleges under state quota. A bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran allowed the appeal of the state government and upheld the Telangana Medical and Dental Colleges Admission (Admission into MBBS & BDS Courses) Rules, 2017, amended in 2024. The impugned rules entitled only those students, who have studied for last four years up to Class 12 in the state to admissions in the medical and dental colleges under the state quota. The Telangana High Court had held the state's permanent residents cannot be denied benefits of admissions in medical colleges only because they lived outside the state for sometime. The top court on August 5 reserved its verdict on the pleas, including one from the Telangana government, against an order that struck down its ...

Motor vehicle tax not applicable if vehicle not used in 'public place': SC

Motor vehicle tax is compensatory in nature and if a vehicle is not used or not kept for use in a 'public place', then its owner should not be burdened with motor vehicle tax for such period, the Supreme Court has said. A bench of Justices Manoj Misra and Ujjal Bhuyan delivered its verdict on an appeal challenging a December 2024 judgement of the Andhra Pradesh High Court. "Motor vehicle tax is compensatory in nature. It has a direct nexus with the end use. The rationale for levy of motor vehicle tax is that a person who is using public infrastructure, such as, roads, highways etc. has to pay for such usage," the apex court said. Referring to section 3 of The Andhra Pradesh Motor Vehicle Taxation Act, 1963, the bench said the legislature has consciously used the expression 'public place' in this provision. Section 3 of the Act deals with levy of tax on motor vehicles. "If a motor vehicle is not used in a 'public place' or not kept for use in a 'public place' then the person concer

Bihar SIR: 200K pleas for removal and 33K for inclusion in voter list

The month-long period to demand inclusion or deletion of names from the electoral rolls of Bihar ends on Monday, with more than 33,000 electors filing pleas to add their names to the list. Over 2 lakh demands have been made by individuals seeking removal of names they claim have been wrongfully included in the draft rolls. The draft electoral rolls were published on August 1 and will remain open for "claims and objections" by individuals and political parties till September 1. People and parties have the right under election law to challenge inclusion of names who they think are ineligible. Similarly, people who think they are eligible but have been left out of the draft list can seek inclusion. The final electoral roll for Bihar, which will go to polls likely in November, will be published on September 30. The booth-level agents appointed by the political parties have so far filed 25 claims for inclusion and 103 for exclusion from the draft list. On Monday, the Supreme Court wil

SC to hear on Sept 1 plea over sale of 20% ethanol blended petrol

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday a plea which has challenged the nationwide rollout of 20 percent Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP-20), alleging that millions of motorists have been forced to use fuel not designed for their vehicles. The public interest litigation (PIL) is listed for hearing before a bench headed by Chief Justice B R Gavai on September 1. The plea, filed by advocate Akshay Malhotra, has sought a direction to the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas to ensure availability of ethanol-free petrol at all fuel stations. It has also sought a direction to the authorities to mandatorily label ethanol content on all petrol pumps and dispensing units, making it clearly visible to consumers, and also to ensure that consumers were informed about ethanol compatibility of their vehicles at the time of fuel dispensing. The plea said the authorities be directed to conduct a "nationwide impact study on mechanical degradation and efficiency loss due to ethanol blended fu

Why the wolf stayed: The long, messy love story of humans and dogs

The most theatrical demonstration came in Siberia during the Soviet era, when Dmitry Belyaev and Lyudmila Trut bred silver foxes for friendliness alone

Bihar SIR: SC to hear pleas seeking more time to file claims, objections

Petitioners seek more time for filing claims in Bihar's special electoral roll revision

SC to hear plea to extend Sept 1 deadline for Bihar SIR claim filing

The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear on September 1 pleas of the RJD and AIMIM seeking extension of deadline for filing of claims and objections in the special intensive revision of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar. The deadline for filing claims and objections is also September 1. A bench of Justices Surya Kant, Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi said it will hear the applications of the political parties on Monday after advocate Prashant Bhushan and senior advocate Shoeb Alam, appearing for the Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD), said that several of them have filed applications for extension of deadlines. Advocate Nizam Pasha, appearing for the AIMIM, said time needs to be extended due to large scale filing of claims and objections. "The number of claims filed are exponentially rising. The deadline needs to be extended," Alam told the bench. Pasha submitted that 80,000 claims were filed before the August 22 order while post the order 95,000 claims have been filed. "We are ..

SC issues notice to Centre on plea to declare 'Ram Setu' national monument

The Supreme Court on Friday sought response from the Centre on a plea by former Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy seeking a direction to the government to "expeditiously" decide his representation to declare 'Ram Setu' as a national monument. 'Ram Setu', also known as Adam's bridge, is a chain of limestone shoals between Pamban Island, off the south-eastern coast of Tamil Nadu, and Mannar Island, off the north-western coast of Sri Lanka. A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta agreed to hear Swamy's plea and issued notice to the Centre. It posted the matter for hearing after four weeks. In his plea, Swamy has referred to the January 19, 2023 order passed by the apex court in the matter. On January 19, 2023, the Centre had told the top court that it was looking into the issue pertaining to declaring 'Ram Setu' as a national heritage monument. The top court was then hearing Swamy's plea on the issue. "The solicitor general states that the process is currently underway in

Doctors, psychologists and activists oppose lowering age of consent to 16

Several doctors, psychologists, rights activists and lawyers on Thursday opposed attempts seeking lowering of legal age of consent from 18 to 16 years, with NHRC member Priyank Kanoongo terming the move a "time bomb", which, if "not defused", will "explode inside families". At a roundtable held here on the sensitive subject, many doctors argued that at 16, a human brain is "not mature enough" to take decisions related to healthy sexual relationship or weather its psychological impact, and for such girls it also carries the risk of teenage pregnancies and "concomitant health hazards". The Supreme Court has been urged by amicus curiae and senior advocate Indira Jaising to read down the statutory age of consent from 18 to 16 years. Jaising, who is assisting the top court in the 'Nipun Saxena vs Union of India' case, recently filed her written submissions challenging the blanket criminalisation of sexual activity involving adolescents aged 16 to 18 under the Protection of Children from

CJI B R Gavai to swear in new Supreme Court judges on August 29

Chief Justice of India B R Gavai will on Friday administer oath to Bombay High Court Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Patna High Court Chief Justice Vipul Manubhai Pancholi who were elevated to the Supreme Court on August 27. With their elevation, the apex court is set to regain its full working strength of 34 judges, including the CJI. Justice Pancholi will be in line to become the CJI in October 2031 after Justice Joymalya Bagchi's retirement on October 2, 2031. He would assume the CJI's office on October 3, 2031, and retire on May 27, 2033. On August 25, the apex court collegium recommended to the Centre the names of Justices Aradhe and Pancholi for elevation as top court judges. Collegium member and Supreme Court's Justice B V Nagarathna, however, registered a strong dissent to the apex court collegium's recommendation to elevate Justice Pancholi to the top court, saying his appointment would be "counter-productive" to the judiciary. Justice Nagarathna, the only woman judge in t

AIFF, FSDL respond to SC's resolution, ISL 2025 likely to start in December

The AIFF informed the court that the tender process would be completed by October 15, 2025, providing certainty for stakeholders

SC gets two new judges, Justice Pancholi in line to become CJI in 2031

Bombay High Court Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Patna High Court Chief Justice Vipul Manubhai Pancholi were on Wednesday elevated as judges of the Supreme Court, the government said. Their names were recommended by the Supreme Court Collegium on Monday and their appointments were announced by the Union law ministry on Wednesday. Once the two take oath, the top court will function with its full sanctioned strength of 34 judges, including the chief justice of India (CJI). Justice Pancholi will be in line to become the CJI in October 2031 after Justice Joymalya Bagchi's retirement on October 2, 2031. He would assume the CJI's office on October 3, 2031, and retire on May 27, 2033. Born on April 13, 1964, Justice Aradhe was appointed as an additional judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court on December 29, 2009, and as a permanent judge on February 15, 2011. He was transferred to the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and took oath on September 20, 2016. He was appointed as the acting chi

SC orders probe after NCLAT judicial member claims 'approached for favour'

The Supreme Court has ordered an inquiry into the claims of a judicial member of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) of being "approached by one of the most revered members of the higher judiciary". Sources privy to the development said the inquiry will be conducted by the apex court's secretary general with the top court deciding the future course of action on the basis of the outcome. Justice Sharad Kumar Sharma, the judicial member of the Chennai-based NCLAT, alleged being approached by a member of higher judiciary for a favourable order in a case which was pending before him. He recused himself from hearing the matter and even recorded the incident in a two-paragraph order passed on August 13. "We are anguished to observe, that one of us, Member (Judicial), has been approached by one of the most revered members of the higher judiciary of this country for seeking an order in favour of a particular party. Hence, I recuse to hear the matter (sic)," the NCLAT order