Page 66 - Supreme Court

SC praised Col Sofiya Qureshi when granting PC to women in Indian Army

While ruling in favour of granting Permanent Commission (PC) to women officers in the Indian Army, the Supreme Court in 2020 had acknowledged the achievements of Colonel Sofia Qureshi, one of the two women officers who briefed the media on 'Operation Sindoor' on Wednesday. In its February 17, 2020, judgement, the top court said that absolute exclusion of women from all positions, except staff assignments, in the Army was indefensible and their blanket non-consideration for command appointments without any justification cannot be sustained in law. The apex court, which allowed Permanent Commission (PC) to women officers in the Army, said an absolute prohibition of women Short Service Commission (SSC) officers to obtain anything but staff appointments evidently did not fulfil the purpose of granting PC as a means of career advancement in the Army. The top court also referred to the distinctions achieved by women officers, and put out an example of Col Qureshi's achievements. "Lieuten

Online gaming firms oppose retrospective 28% GST, not the levy itself

Gaming firms tell Supreme Court they accept 28 per cent GST on entry value but challenge retrospective tax demands based on gross volume rather than real stakes

Land compensation must reflect equity, justice and fairness: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said the compensation for land acquisition cannot be assessed in a mechanical manner but must be guided by considerations of equality, equity and justice. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan said a fundamental principle in land acquisition jurisprudence was that lands with similar locational and developmental potential must be compensated equitably unless clear, objective distinctions justify otherwise. The bench said it must caution against an "excessively positivist" approach in matters of land acquisition. "It is well understood that the very exercise of assessing compensation is antithetical to rigid formalism. Compensation cannot be assessed in a mechanical or formulaic manner but must be guided by considerations of equality, equity, and justice," it said. The apex court's verdict came on a batch of cross-appeals filed by the Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation and several landowners challenging the ...

'Impeachment if he does not resign': Justice Varma indicted in cash row

Justice Yashwant Varma found culpable in 'cash scandal' by an in-house panel; CJI Sanjiv Khanna has sought his resignation or may recommend his impeachment to the President of India

Two-judge bench can hear Godhra appeals as HC gave no death penalty: SC

The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected the argument that a three-judge and not a two-judge bench should hear appeals of convicts in the 2002 Godhra train burning case as the issue was of capital punishment. A bench of Justices J K Maheshwari and Aravind Kumar dismissed the argument of senior advocate Sanjay Hegde, who was representing two convicts. A three-judge bench has to hear appeals in cases in which the high courts have either confirmed death penalty or awarded it after hearing the appeals of parties but the Gujarat High Court commuted the death penalty to life imprisonment in the present case, it observed. A Constitution bench of the apex court in September 2014 held a three-judge bench would hear appeals in all such cases in which death penalty was awarded by the high court. "The Gujarat High Court, in the present case, commuted the death penalty of 11 convicts into life imprisonment and did not award the death penalty. The trial court had awarded the death penalty in this .

SC ruling on BPSL likely to have adverse bearing on JSW Steel's financials

The Supreme Court ruling against JSW Steel's resolution plan for BPSL take over is likely to have an adverse bearing on the financials of the Sajjan Jindal-led steel major which may witness a 13 per drop in revenues, ratings firm CreditSights said on Tuesday. JSW Steel may also lose its competitiveness along India's mineral-rich east coast, where BPSL's steel plant is located, the FitchSolutions company said in a report. CreditSights said it views that the loss of BPSL as modestly credit negative for JSW (Steel). Last week on Friday, the Supreme Court set aside a resolution plan submitted by JSW Steel for BSPL, holding it illegal and in violation of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). A bench comprising Justices Bela M Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma criticised the conduct of all key stakeholders in the resolution process -- the resolution professional, the Committee of Creditors (CoC) and the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) -- for enabling what it termed a "flagrant .

From luxury flats to gold jewellery: SC judges' assets made public

SC has made judges' asset declarations public; 21 of 33 judges have disclosed their wealth, including crores in investments and properties, with CJI Khanna holding a fixed deposit of ₹55 lakh

SC makes assets of 21 judges public after April resolution decision

The incoming Chief Justice of India Justice B R Gavai has more than Rs 19.63 lakh as deposits in the bank

Nifty PSU Bank index slips 3%; PNB, Union Bank fall up to 4%, here's why

Thus far in the calendar year 2025, Nifty PSU Bank index has underperformed the market by falling 2.5 per cent, as compared to 2.8 per cent rise in the Nifty 50.

Centre in SC opposes Kerala's stand to withdraw plea against governor

The Centre in the Supreme Court on Tuesday opposed Kerala government's stand to withdraw its petition against Governor over the delay in approving bills passed by the state assembly. The submission of senior advocate K K Venugopal, appearing for the Kerala government, before a bench comprising Justices P S Narasimha and Joymalya Bagchi was opposed by solicitor general Tushar Mehta. These are constitutional issues. It cannot be filed lightly and withdrawn lightywe are working on the issues involved, Mehta said. Calling it strange, Venugopal asked how could his plea be opposed. When a person of your stature withdraws then even withdrawal has to be taken seriously, Mehta added. Venugopal said the petition, which was filed against the delay on the part of Governor in granting assent to bills, had become infructuous as the bills were sent to President later. He said the aspect was challenged in a subsequent plea of the state government. The bench acknowledged that the state had the r

SYL canal row: SC directs Punjab, Haryana to cooperate with Centre

The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the governments of Punjab and Haryana to cooperate with the Centre to resolve the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal row. A bench of Justices B R Gavai and Augustine George Masih was informed by the Centre that it has already taken effective steps to resolve the issue amicably. "We direct both the states to cooperate with the Union of India in arriving at an amicable solution," the bench said. The bench said it would hear the matter on August 13 if it is not resolved by then. "We have made efforts for mediation, but the states have to walk the talk," Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Centre, told the bench. The SYL canal was conceptualised for the effective allocation of water from the Ravi and Beas rivers. The project envisaged a 214-km canal, of which 122 km was to be constructed in Punjab and 92 km in Haryana. Haryana has completed the project in its territory, but Punjab, which launched the construction work in 1

Of 221 HC judge recommendations since Nov 2022, 29 await Centre's nod

In a first of its kind move towards enhancing transparency, the Supreme Court has declared the names of judges recommended by the collegium, their relations to sitting or retired judges of high courts or the apex court and the number of resolutions confirmed by the government. According to the data released by the Supreme Court from November 9, 2022 to November 10, 2024 -- a time when former Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud was at the helm of affairs -- of the 303 candidates approved by the Supreme Court collegium for appointment as high court judges, 170 have been cleared by the central government. The data shows 17 names are still pending with the government for approval. Out of the 303 names recommended, 12 were related to former or retired judges of the high court or the Supreme Court and one name who had relations with the retired or serving member of the high court or the apex court, was not cleared by the Centre. Seven of the 303 names belonged to the Scheduled Caste ..

Govt weighing next move after SC's JSW-BPSL order: DFS Secretary M Nagaraju

The DFS is assessing the Supreme Court's Bhushan Steel ruling with lenders and may chart next steps soon; IDBI Bank's 61 per cent stake sale will conclude in 2025

SC puts assets, appointment process of judges in public for transparency

In a bid to enhance transparency, the Supreme Court on Monday said it has uploaded statements of assets of judges on its website, in accordance with a full-court decision to place the relevant details in the public domain. "The full court of the Supreme Court of India has on April 1, 2025 decided that the statements of assets of the judges of this court shall be placed in the public domain by uploading the same on the website of this court. Statements of assets of judges already received are being uploaded. Statements of assets of other judges will be uploaded as and when the current statement of assets is received," a release issued by the court said. The top court has also placed the complete process of appointments to the high courts and the Supreme Court, including the role assigned to the High Court Collegium, the role of and inputs received from the state governments, Union of India and consideration by the Supreme Court Collegium, on its website for the knowledge and awareness

SC flags RP's failures in Bhushan Power and Steel's insolvency plan

Supreme Court cites non-compliance by resolution professional in Bhushan Power case, declaring JSW Steel's plan illegal and urging greater due diligence under IBC

Trading in Bitcoin in India is refined way of doing Hawala business: SC

The Supreme Court on Monday said trading in Bitcoin in India is like "dealing with a refined way of Hawala business" as it lamented that the Centre has till now not come out with a clear regime on regulating virtual currency. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh made the remarks while dealing with a bail application of Shailesh Babulal Bhatt who was arrested by the police for alleged illegal Bitcoin trade. The bench said that two years back while dealing with a case related to Bitcoin trade it had asked the Centre to apprise the court about the policy regime on the trade of virtual currency but till now it has not received any response. Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Bhatt, submitted that trading in Bitcoin is not illegal in India after the apex court quashed a circular of the Reserve Bank of India and therefore his client was wrongly arrested. Justice Surya Kant told Rohatgi that though he personally does not understand much about Bitcoin, but the cour

No difference between skill and chance in GST levy, Centre tells SC

Centre argues before Supreme Court that betting on game outcomes is gambling and attracts 28% GST, regardless of whether the game is based on skill or chance

SC terms delay in verdicts 'very disturbing', to issue mandatory norms

Frowning upon the Jharkhand High Court for not pronouncing verdicts after reserving them for years, the Supreme Court on Monday sought reports within a month from all high courts on cases where judgements have been reserved on or before January 31. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh termed such non-pronouncement of verdicts by courts a "very disturbing issue" and said it will lay down some mandatory guidelines for the high courts. "Let us see. Honestly speaking it is a very disturbing issue but we don't know the circumstances -- why it has happened -- but we would like to definitely lay down some mandatory guidelines. It cannot be allowed to happen like this," the bench observed. The top court perused a report of the registrar general of Jharkhand High Court on a plea of four life convicts who have complained that the high court has not pronounced its verdict on their criminal appeals despite reserving its order in 2022. "Having perused the report sent by the ...

JSW Steel may need to rework Odisha plan after SC order on BPSL: Analysts

JSW Steel's ambitious cost optimization plans hit a roadblock as it will have to rework its strategy in Odisha after the Supreme Court order to liquidate Bhushan Steel and Power Ltd (BPSL), according to a BigMint report. Last week on Friday, the Supreme Court set aside a resolution plan submitted by JSW Steel for Bhushan Steel and Power Limited (BSPL), holding it illegal and in violation of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). In its analysis report, BigMint said, "BPSL's strategic importance was in its location in the eastern part of India where JSW Steel had taken up considerable iron ore mining assets. The company's Netrabandha iron ore mine in Odisha, expected to commence production in Q1FY26 with an estimated capacity of 2 MT per annum, could have resulted in significant cost optimization of BPSL's operations.". Besides JSW Steel has Narayanposhi Iron Ore & Manganese Block (185.1 MT reserve), Ganua Iron Ore Block (118.92 MT reserve) and Nuagaon Iron Ore Block (789 05 MT .

SC says High Courts not giving verdicts in criminal appeals is 'disturbing'

The Supreme Court's observation follows the Jharkhand High Court's failure to deliver verdicts in 67 criminal appeals reserved between January 2022 and December 2024