Page 71 - Supreme Court

SC stays Nashik Dargah demolition, seeks HC report on plea non-listing

The Supreme Court has stayed in the interim the demolition notice of the Nashik civic body for razing the Hazrat Saatpeer Sayed Baba dargah and sought a report from the Bombay high court on non-listing of the shrine's plea. According to the sources, the structure was razed by civic body personnel hours before the court hearing. The civic body's action against the dargah at Kathe Galli in Nashik was reportedly carried out during the intervening night of April 15 and 16. The hearing in apex court took place on April 16 noon. A bench of Justices P S Narasimah and Joymala Bagchi had then noted the petition was filed before the high court on April 7 but not taken up for hearing. "In the meanwhile, there shall be a stay of notice dated April 1, 2025 issued by the respondent number 1 -Nashik Municipal Corporation as prayed for," the bench ordered and posted the matter on April 21. The court's "extraordinary measure" came after senior advocate Navin Pahwa, who was representing the dargah

SC rejects plea for CBI probe into death of Kerala's ADM Naveen Babu

A bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and K Vinod Chandran refused to interfere with the Kerala High Court order, which had declined to order a CBI investigation into his death

SC asks Centre, states to create swift response plan for road victims

The court went on to direct the NHAI to file an affidavit listing the steps to be taken in this regard within six months from today. The States, UTs shall be guided by the protocol forwarded by NHAI

Opposition welcomes Supreme Court's interim stay on key Waqf Act provisions

Opposition parties also welcomed the SC's interim order that waqf properties, including "waqf by user", will not be denotified until May 5

VP Dhankhar criticises SC deadline, questions FIR delay against judge

Vice-President objects to SC deadline for Presidential action under Article 201 and questions judicial delay in judge cash haul case

UK court defines 'woman' as biological; JK Rowling, others applaud

UK court rules 'woman' means biological female under law; JK Rowling, Martina Navratilova, and others hail decision amid fierce debate over trans rights

Courts must flag cash deals of ₹2 lakh or more to tax dept, says SC

Experts say that the judgment means anyone who has accepted such a cash payment will now think twice before filing a case in court

SC to examine plea for secular succession law over Shariat for Muslims

The court acknowledged petition filed by Naushad K K, a resident of Thrissur district in Kerala, who expressed his desire to be governed by the succession law rather than Shariat

Supreme Court bars Waqf Council appointments as Centre seeks time to reply

The Supreme Court bars Centre from making appointments to Waqf Council and boards after government seeks a week's time to file preliminary reply in the ongoing matter; next hearing on May 5

'Students should not suffer': SC allows 'untainted' Bengal teachers to stay

SC has allowed untainted West Bengal teachers to continue teaching until a new recruitment process is completed, but excludes non-teaching staff and imposes strict timeline for new hiring

Election rules row: SC gives EC 3 weeks to reply to Jairam Ramesh plea

The Supreme Court on Thursday granted three more weeks to the Election Commission to respond to the pleas of Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh and others against the recent amendments to the 1961 election rules. A bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar had issued a notice to the Centre and the poll panel on January 15 on Ramesh's plea and sought a response. Senior advocate Maninder Singh, appearing for the poll panel, sought three more weeks to file the reply. The bench allowed Singh's prayer and set the July 21 week for hearing. Aside from Ramesh, two similar PILs filed by Shyam Lal Pal and activist Anjali Bhardwaj are pending. Senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Singhvi represented Ramesh. The petitioners have said the amendments to the 1961 Conduct of Election Rules were made "very cleverly" and barred any access to CCTV footage claiming it would reveal the identity of the voter. Singhvi previously said voting choices were never rev

Waqf Act in Supreme Court: What are the three key concerns of the bench?

The bench did not issue any formal order but suggested that certain provisions might be put on hold

SC orders development of swift response protocols for accident victims

Observing that road accidents are on the rise, the Supreme Court on Thursday directed States and Union Territories to develop swift response protocols so that victims get help immediately. A bench of Justices Abhay Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan also directed the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to convene meetings of departments concerned of States and UTs to implement working hours of drivers. "Road accidents in our country are on the rise. The reasons may be different. There are cases where victims of road accidents do not get immediate help. There are cases where the victims may not be injured but they get trapped in vehicles. "We are of the view that the state governments and UTs must work on having swift response protocols as in every state at grassroots level," the bench said. The top court granted six months to states and UTs to develop swift response protocols. The order came on an application filed by advocate Kishan Chand Jain, who urged that a protocol should be in place

Couples marrying against parents' wishes can't claim police protection: HC

The Allahabad High Court has observed that couples who marry of their own will against the wishes of their parents cannot claim police protection as a matter of right unless there is a real threat perception to their life and liberty. The court gave the ruling while deciding an application filed by a couple seeking protection. It said the court can provide security to a couple in a deserving case but in the absence of any threat perception, such a couple must "learn to support each other and face the society". Justice Saurabh Srivastava made this observation while hearing a writ petition filed by Shreya Kesarwani and her husband seeking police protection and a direction for the private respondents not to interfere in their peaceful marital life. The court after going through the averments made in their petition, disposed of their writ petition, noting that there was no serious threat perception to the petitioners. Disposing of the writ petition, the court observed, "There is no ..

Waqf hearing: When we sit on bench, we lose our religion, says CJI

The Supreme Court on Wednesday took strong note of an analogy drawn by the Centre in support of the inclusion of non-Muslims in waqf boards and the argument that by that logic, a bench of Hindu judges should not be hearing pleas related to waqf. The bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna and Justices Sanjay Kumar and K V Viswanathan was questioning the provisions of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025 that allow for the nomination of non-Muslim members to the Central Waqf Council and state waqf boards. "Are you suggesting that minorities, including Muslims, should also be included in boards managing Hindu religious institutions? Please state that openly," the CJI said. Representing the Centre in the matter, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta defended the provisions, emphasising that the inclusion of non-Muslim members is limited and does not affect the predominantly Muslim composition of these bodies. The law officer also said objections to non-Muslim participation coul

Let's befriend every language: SC rejects plea to remove Urdu sign board

The plea had challenged the Bombay High Court's decision, which also ruled that the use of Urdu is not prohibited under any law in India

Finalised cases can't be reopened or justice system will face chaos: SC

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said finality of a litigation is a core facet of a sound judicial system and a case that has concluded cannot be reopened, otherwise there will be "chaos in the administration of justice". A bench of Justices Surya Kant, Dipankar Datta and Ujjal Bhuyan dismissed a writ petition filed by former employees of the Himachal Pradesh State Forest Development Corporation Limited, seeking pensionary benefits despite the issue having attained finality in a separate round of litigation in 2016. "It is crystal clear that the present writ petition is thoroughly misconceived and is liable to be dismissed. However, before parting with the record, we would like to emphasize and reiterate the principle of finality of an adjudication process. Finality of a lis is a core facet of a sound judicial system. Litigation which had concluded or had reached finality cannot be reopened," the bench said. It added that a litigant aggrieved by a decision rendered by this court in a

Dharavi: Review of survey documents of 70,000 tenements set to kick start

The survey is being conducted to determine the eligibility of the residents and businesses of Dharavi for rehabilitation, considering the redevelopment of the area

SC says no to making rules on cryptocurrencies: 'Can't lay down the law'

The petitioners wanted the court to tell the central government to create rules for cryptocurrencies since there is no law to control them right now

Waqf Amendment Act: How Article 26 emerged as a key legal flashpoint in SC

Article 26 of the Constitution took centre stage as the Supreme Court began hearing petitions challenging the Waqf Amendment Act, with Kapil Sibal leading arguments in court