Page 59 - Supreme Court

Can courts set deadlines for assent? President Murmu questions SC

President Droupadi Murmu has asked the Supreme Court whether courts can impose timelines on Governors and the President to clear state bills. The move follows a landmark ruling in the Tamil Nadu case.

SC warns of jail for officials over Kanacha Gachibowli deforestation case

A bench of Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih questioned why trees were felled taking advantage of a long weekend when the courts were not available

CJI Gavai's first verdict: SC calls Pune land transfer illegal, alarming

In his first ruling as CJI Justice BR Gavai declares 1998 Pune forest land transfer illegal slams politician bureaucrat builder nexus and orders land returned to forest department

SC concerned over drafting of arbitration clauses, says process misused

The Supreme Court on Thursday expressed concern over drafting of arbitration clauses in commercial agreements and said the arbitration process was being misused to complicate and prolong matters. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh raised "serious concerns" over the manner in which ambiguity was embedded into such agreements and instructed courts to show an "unwavering tendency" towards rejecting shoddily drafted clauses at the very threshold. "The drafting of arbitration clauses in commercial agreements in India leaves much to be desired. Despite arbitration being introduced as a means of ensuring speedy and effective dispute resolution, it is evident and ironic that, in certain cases, the process has been misused to further complicate and prolong the resolution of disputes," it said. "Whether this stems from administrative oversight or deficient legal advice is a matter best left for separate consideration," the bench added. The top court said "willful and wanton

SC rebukes Vijay Shah for remarks on Colonel Qureshi, FIR under review

Madhya Pradesh Minister Vijay Shah faces FIR over comments on Col Sofia Qureshi; SC questions decorum, next hearing on May 16 as HC terms FIR 'weak' but valid

SC directs Centre to set up special POCSO court on priority basis

The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Centre to set up on "top priority basis" dedicated POCSO courts to exclusively deal with cases of sexual offences against children. A bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and P B Varale said due to the inadequacy of the number of exclusive courts for the Protection of Children against Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act cases, the timelines mandated under the law for completion of trials weren't adhered to. "It is therefore expected that the union of India and the state governments shall take appropriate steps to sensitise the officials associated with the investigation of POCSO cases, and also to create dedicated courts to try POCSO cases on top priority basis," the bench said. The top court further directed filing of chargesheets within the mandatory period stipulated in law besides completing trials within the prescribed time frame. The apex court noted while majority states, with the funding from the Centre, complied with the directions for settin

SC raps HC judges over delays, 'coffee breaks'; seeks performance audit

The Supreme Court has observed that the efficiency of High Court judges must be addressed, highlighting the need for performance audits and timely delivery of reserved judgments

'Must exercise restraint': SC rebukes MP minister over Col Qureshi remark

SC criticises MP minister Vijay Shah over remarks against Colonel Sofiya Qureshi questions bypassing MP High Court and says ministers must exercise restraint

President Murmu flags SC overreach, seeks clarity on assent timelines

Invoking Article 143, President Murmu asks Supreme Court to clarify if it can set timelines for President and Governors to grant assent to bills amid row over Article 142 powers

Courting reform: Newly appointed CJI B R Gavai must address case pendency

Justice Gavai has been part of several seminal apex court judgments - among them, upholding the revocation of Jammu & Kashmir's special status, the one on demonetisation

Finality of biz transactions: How delays undermined the Bhushan resolution

Court ordered the liquidation of BPS, which had been successfully rescued under the IBC in 2019 with the approval of relevant market participants and layers of state agencies

SC questions bar on LGBT+ persons from blood donation, seeks expert opinion

The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Centre to seek expert opinion for removing the bias in the medical guidelines that bar transpersons, gay men and sex workers from donating blood. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh was acting on a batch of pleas against the blanket ban on blood donations by such persons from the LGBTQIA+ community. Aren't we creating a kind of segregated group? By these methods, stigma, biases and prejudices are all enhanced," the bench told Centre's lawyer, additional solicitor general Aishwarya Bhati. Bhati said the guidelines challenged in the petitions were issued by the Blood Transfusion Council of India which viewed these categories as "high-risk" and barred them from donating blood. Justice Singh, however, said, "What is worrying me...are we going to brand all transgenders as risky and thus indirectly stigmatise these communities? Unless you can show with some medical evidence that there is some kind of link between transgenders an

Justice Gavai takes oath as 52nd CJI, becomes first Buddhist to take post

Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai, the first Buddhist Chief Justice of India, was sworn in at Rashtrapati Bhavan and will serve a tenure of over six months till November 2025

If women fly Rafale in IAF, why fewer in Army legal wing: SC asks Centre

If a woman can fly Rafale fighter jet in the Indian Air Force, then why are fewer women officers in gender neutral posts of Judge Advocate General (legal) branch of the Army, the Supreme Court wondered recently and questioned the Centre's rationale on a 50-50 selection criterion. A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Manmohan on May 8 reserved its verdict on the plea of two officers Arshnoor Kaur and Astha Tyagi, who despite securing 4th and 5th ranks respectively -- higher in merit than their male counterparts -- weren't selected for the JAG department due to fewer vacancies earmarked for women. The officers challenged the disproportionate vacancies for men and women and said they could not be selected as there were only three vacancies for women out of the total six posts. "Prima facie, we are satisfied with the case set up by the petitioner 1 Arshnoor Kaur," the bench noted while reserving its verdict. The top court went on, "Accordingly, we direct the respondents to initiate .

'Ghost' litigant, phantom lawyers, and fake deal: SC duped in land dispute

A fake respondent, forged compromise, and mystery lawyers led the Supreme Court to quash real orders-until the true party exposed the fraud

Justice BR Gavai takes oath, becomes second Dalit Chief Justice of India

Justice Gavai, who was elevated to the Supreme Court on May 24, 2019, succeeds Justice Sanjiv Khanna

Plea in SC seeks FIR against Justice Varma after in-house inquiry findings

A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking registration of an FIR against Allahabad High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma in connection with the cash-discovery row. After an in-house inquiry panel indicted the judge, Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna nudged Justice Varma to resign and later wrote to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he refused. The petition, filed by advocate Mathews Nedumpara and three others, called for immediate initiation of criminal proceedings, saying the in-house committee found the allegations against Justice Varma to be prima facie true. The plea emphasised that while the internal inquiry might lead to judicial disciplinary action, it was no substitute for a criminal investigation under the applicable statutes. In March, the same petitioners had approached the apex court, challenging the in-house inquiry and demanding a formal police investigation. However, the top court had then dismissed the plea as prematur

Volume-based discounts do not amount to discriminatory pricing: SC

Supreme Court says volume discounts are not discriminatory unless unequally applied; experts say ruling may influence CCI probes into tech giants like Google and Amazon

Trial court lawyers must be considered for senior designation by HCs: SC

Observing senior designation couldn't be a monopoly of selected few, the Supreme Court on Tuesday said lawyers practising in subordinate judiciary and other fora must be considered for designation as senior advocates. A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka, Ujjal Bhuyan and S V N Bhatti said the process of designation must be objectively fair and guided and there is a need to have at least one exercise of designation conducted every year. "When we talk of diversity, we must ensure that the high courts evolve a mechanism by which the members of the bar practising in our trial and district judiciary and before specialised tribunals are considered for designation as their role is no inferior to the role played by advocates practising before this court and high courts. This is also an essential part of diversity," it said. The top court noted the high courts could always call for the views of the principal district judges or the heads of tribunals on such applicants. "Moreover, when the cases

Won't take up any official post after retirement from CJI post: Khanna

Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna on Tuesday said though he wasn't going to accept any post-retirement official assignments, he would continue his innings in law. Justice Khanna, who was elevated to the top court in January 18, 2029, was appointed as the CJI on November 11, 2024 and would be demitting office on Tuesday. After the conclusion of the ceremonial bench proceedings, the CJI met journalists in the apex court premises and said, I will not accept any post-retirement post ... .perhaps will do something with law. Many former apex court judges begin their innings in arbitration post judgeship. I will have a third innings and will do something related to law, the CJI said. Responding to a query related to the cash discovery controversy involving high court judge Justice Yashwant Vermam, he said, Judicial thinking has to be decisive and adjudicatory. He added, We see plus and minus points and decide the issue, then rationally we weigh various factors that help us to make a