Page 40 - Supreme Court

No deletion in Bihar voter roll without notice, reasoned order: EC to SC

The Election Commission has told the Supreme Court that there would be no deletion of any voter's name from the draft electoral roll in Bihar without issuance of prior notice, affording opportunity of being heard and a reasoned order. The poll panel also said that statutory framework does not require it to prepare or share any separate list of names of people not included in the draft electoral rolls, or publish the reasons for non-inclusion of anyone in the draft rolls for any reason. The EC filed an additional affidavit in the apex court on Saturday, days after it came out with the much-anticipated draft electoral rolls in Bihar, enlisting 7.24 crore voters but knocking off more than 65 lakh names, claiming that most of the persons concerned had died or migrated. Separately, the EC also filed its reply to an application filed by the petitioner seeking direction to the poll panel to publish a full and final assembly constituency and part/booth wise list of names and details of ...

State Bar Councils, BCI cannot charge 'optional' fee from new lawyers: SC

State Bar Councils or the Bar Council of India cannot collect any "optional" fee other than the statutory charge from law graduates enrolling as lawyers, the Supreme Court has said while asking the Karnataka State Bar Council to stop collecting any such amount. A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan passed the direction on a contempt plea filed by K L J A Kiran Babu, alleging that directions issued by this court in July last year on not charging exorbitant fees from enrolling law graduates by state bar councils, especially the Karnataka State Bar Council are not being complied with in letter and spirit. The Bar Council of India, in its affidavit, said all state bar councils are complying with the directions of the court and the Rs 6,800 charged by the Karnataka State Bar Council for ID cards, certificates, welfare fund, and training, among others, and Rs 25,000 over and above the statutory fees are optional and not mandatory. "We make it clear that there is nothing like

SC tells Jharkhand HC judges to take leave to finish pending verdicts

In a peculiar development, the Supreme Court on Friday suggested the Jharkhand High Court judges to take leaves for penning pending verdicts after observing there were dozens of cases in which judgments weren't pronounced. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi asked the judges to take their sanctioned leaves and complete the pending work. "There are 61 cases pending. Ask Jharkhand High Court judges to take their sanctioned leaves for 10-12 weeks and write judgements. Nowadays judges have enough leaves left with them. Just get rid of these cases. People need judgements, they are not concerned about jurisprudence or something else. Give a reasoned order on whether relief is denied or allowed," the bench told senior advocate Ajit Sinha, appearing for the Jharkhand high court. Sinha was referring to data till January 31 and said orders in several cases had been passed since then. Justice Kant pointed out 61 cases was big number and asked him to convey the suggestion of the

Senior Advocate Dushyant Dave on what makes him a 'permanent pessimist'

Dave, who surprised everyone by quitting the legal profession, lists his concerns over the state of the judiciary and the country

Supreme Court halts MP HC order in Saif Ali Khan family estate dispute

The Supreme Court on Friday granted an interim stay on a Madhya Pradesh High Court order remanding a decades-old property dispute involving the royal estate of Bhopal's last Nawab, Hamidullah Khan, to the trial court for fresh adjudication. A bench comprising Justices P S Narasimha and Atul Chandurkar issued notice on a plea of Omar Faruq Ali and Raashid Ali, descendants of the elder brother of Nawab Hamidullah Khan, against the high court's order of June 30. The petitioners have challenged the high court's decision to set aside a February 14, 2000, trial court judgment that upheld the exclusive rights of Nawab's daughter Sajida Sultan, her son Mansoor Ali Khan (former India cricket captain), and their legal heirs, actor Saif Ali Khan, Soha Ali Khan, Saba Sultan, and veteran actress Sharmila Tagore, over the estate. The high court said the trial court's ruling was based on a 1997 Allahabad High Court verdict which was later overturned by the Supreme Court in 2019. However, instead

SC junks PIL seeking safety audit, says Air India tragedy singled out

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to hear a plea to appoint a retired top court judge for examining Air India's safety practices among other aspects and asked the petitioner why target the airline that witnessed an "unfortunate tragedy". A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi told the petitioner in-person Narendera Kumar Goswami to withdraw his PIL and asked him to move the appropriate forum in case of grievances. "Don't give the impression that you are playing with other airlines. Why target Air India only which recently witnessed an unfortunate tragedy? If you want some regulatory mechanism in place, then why did you not make other airlines as party in your petition? Why only Air India?" the bench asked Goswami, a lawyer. The petitioner claimed to be a victim of "some unfortunate incident" with the airline. Justice Kant then told him, "We also travel every week and know what is the status. There was a tragedy, a very unfortunate one. This is not a time to run down a

Supreme Court slams ED, questions low conviction rate in PMLA cases

The top court criticised the Enforcement Directorate, saying it "cannot act like a crook", citing concerns over its low conviction rate and the need to safeguard individual freedoms

In letter to CJ, HC judges seek meeting in Justice Prashant Kumar's matter

A group of judges of the Allahabad High Court has written to Chief Justice Arun Bhansali urging him to convene a full court meeting in response to the Supreme Court's recent order to have Justice Prashant Kumar removed from the criminal roster. The letter has been written by Justice Arindam Sinha expressing pain over the apex court order passed on August, 4,2025 and seven judges have signed the letter. In its order, the top court made strong observations against Justice Kumar's judicial reasoning and further directed the high court administration to remove him from the criminal roster. It also asked that he be assigned to a division bench alongside a senior judge until his retirement. The directions were issued by a bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and Justice R Mahadevan while hearing a petition filed by M/s Shikhar Chemicals. The company had approached the Supreme Court seeking to quash criminal proceedings initiated over a commercial dispute. The high court had earlier dismissed

SC nixes Justice Varma's plea, says conduct does not inspire confidence

Bench says in-house panel followed due process and affirms CJI's right to recommend action to Parliament; Varma can seek future remedies if needed

Want fresh resolution process: BPSL ex-promoters to Supreme Court

SC recalls earlier order liquidating BPSL; promoters call for fresh bidding as legal experts flag rare instance of review under IBC and Article 142 powers

SC urges Centre, IAF to recognise step-mothers for family pension

The Supreme Court on Thursday batted for liberal interpretation of word "mother" to include step-mothers too in grant of benefits under social welfare schemes including family pension. A bench of Justices Surya Kant, Ujjal Bhuyan and N Kotiswar Singh told the Centre and the Indian Air Force (IAF) that the definition of mother in regulations needed to be liberalised to include step-mother as well. "We need to liberalise the word 'mother'. It should include the word of step-mother as well especially when it comes to grant of benefits under social welfare schemes including family pension. Step-mother is de-facto mother," the bench said. The top court was hearing a plea of a woman, who raised her stepson after his biological mother died, and was seeking family pension. Justice Kant asked the Centre's counsel if a month-old child's mother passes away and the father remarries, would the step mother be not considered as the actual mother. "In law you may say her as step-mother, but she i

CJI not a mere post office, must uphold judicial transparency: SC

Defending the Chief Justice of India's authority to act on any judicial misconduct, the Supreme Court on Thursday said he couldn't be "merely a post office" but had the moral responsibility to ensure the judiciary functioned in a transparent, efficient and constitutionally appropriate manner. "We have no hesitation to say that the CJI is not a mere post office between the committee and the President/the Prime Minister that the report is to be forwarded without any remarks/recommendation. The CJI is clearly an important person, if not the most, in the larger scheme of maintaining institutional interest and credibility to ascertain whether a Judge has indulged in misconduct," the top court said. The observations came while deciding the plea of Allahabad High Court judge Yashwant Varma, against whom an SC-appointed expert panel filed a damning report over the discovery of burnt wads of cash from his official residence during his judgeship in Delhi. "As per the procedure, after receivin

ED recovered ₹23K cr laundered money, distributed it to victims: SG to SC

The Enforcement Directorate has recovered around Rs 23,000 crore laundered money and distributed it to the victims of financial crimes, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the Supreme Court on Thursday. The statement was made by the top law officer before a special bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma during the open court hearing on a batch of pleas seeking review of the controversial May 2 judgement of the apex court. The apex court had on May 2 ordered liquidation of Bhushan Power & Steel Limited (BPSL) while setting aside a resolution plan of JSW Steel Limited for the ailing firm. The CJI-led bench on July 31 recalled the verdict and decided to hear afresh the review pleas in the high stake matter. During the hearing on the review pleas, a lawyer referred to the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) probe in the BPSL case as well. Here also ED is there, the CJI quipped. In response, the solicitor general said, Let me tell a fact, which was never

SC dismisses Justice Yashwant Varma's plea challenging in-house probe panel

The Supreme Court upheld that the in-house committee followed due process. It ruled the CJI's letter to the Prime Minister and President was not unconstitutional

Ensured minimum disturbance while building Chenab, Anji bridges: LS told

To ensure minimum disturbance to Himalayan ecology, due care was taken for slope stabilization and the best institutes were roped in for execution of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link, including Chenab and Anji Bridge, the Lok Sabha was informed on Wednesday. On questions whether the government has conducted any environmental impact assessments of the Chenab and Anji Khad bridges in fragile Himalayan zones, the Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw provided an elaborate response on Environmental Impact Assessments of the project. Vaishnaw said that Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project having a total length of 272 km has been recently commissioned and it covers Jammu and Kashmir's Udhampur, Reasi, Ramban, Srinagar, Anantnag, Pulwama, Budgam and Baramulla districts. The USBRL project is one of the most difficult new railway line projects undertaken in the country post-independence. The terrain passes through young Himalayas, which are full of geological surprises

Ex-SC judge flags executive interference in judges' appointment process

Former Supreme Court judge Justice Madan B Lokur on Wednesday said there had been a considerable interference by the executive in the appointment process of judges. He was speaking at an event organised by The Global Jurists on the topic 'Morality in Judiciary, A Paradigm or a Paradox'. "Now, about the appointment of judges. We have had a lot of problems in the recent past. There has been, I think, a considerable interference by the executive in the appointment process," he said. "The Memorandum of Procedure (MOP) was finalised a long time back. But despite the MOP, which was, by the way, drafted in consultation with the Government of India, there have been all kinds of problems in its implementation," Justice Lokur added. In the appointment of judges, the former the former apex court judge said, "I believe, for reasons, that it has nothing to do with his merit. But it has something to do with a few cases that they decided," . He said that if the appointment process of judges was

IBBI calls for CoC to discuss, record section 29A eligibility under IBC

The idea behind the proposed changes to IBC regulations is to bring more transparency and procedural fairness to corporate insolvency resolution

SC clearance ruling to revive 493 stalled projects in MMR, Pune: CREDAI

Supreme Court allows state bodies to retain project clearance powers, set to revive over 493 stalled projects in MMR and Pune, unlocking 70,000 housing units and easing supply

Supreme Court pulls up states, discoms; sets April 2028 dues deadline

A regulatory asset is an intangible asset created by electricity discoms to account for the gap between the price at which they purchase power and the price at which they sell it to customers

SC asks EC for details of 6.5 mn deleted voters in Bihar draft rolls

The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Election Commission to furnish by August 9 the details of around 65 lakh electors left out from the draft electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar. A bench of Justices Surya Kant, Ujjal Bhuyan and N Kotiswar Singh asked the counsel for the poll panel to furnish the details of deleted voters, the data which has been already shared with the political parties, and give a copy to the NGO, Association For Democratic Reforms. The NGO, which has challenged the June 24 order of the Election Commission directing for Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, filed a fresh application seeking direction to the poll panel to publish the names of around 65 lakh deleted voters with the mention whether they are dead, permanently migrated or not considered for any other reason. The bench told advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the NGO, that the reason for deletion would come in subsequent time as it is now only a draft list. However, ...