The Supreme Court of India expressed its disappointment and concern after a man was denied the right to bury his Christian father in a Chhattisgarh village, despite the presence of a designated burial area for Christians in the village graveyard. The man, Ramesh Baghel, had to approach the Supreme Court after the Chhattisgarh High Court dismissed his plea, citing concerns about potential unrest. The court criticized the high court's decision and the lack of action by local authorities in resolving the issue, noting that the body had remained in the morgue since January 7th. The case highlights a growing concern about religious intolerance and the need for greater sensitivity and respect for diverse communities in India.
A five-judge bench of the Supreme Court will consider review pleas challenging the October 2023 verdict that declined legal sanction to same-sex marriage. The review pleas will be heard in chambers on January 9, with Justice P S Narasimha being the only member of the original bench that delivered the verdict.
The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a batch of pleas seeking to review its October 2023 verdict declining legal sanction to same-sex marriage.
The Supreme Court of India reserved its judgment on Tuesday in a case concerning the termination of two female judicial officers by the Madhya Pradesh High Court. The court had previously stated that judges should avoid social media and expressing opinions on judgments, emphasizing a "hermit life" and "work like a horse" approach. The case involves six women civil judges who were terminated for alleged unsatisfactory performance. Four were subsequently reinstated, but two, Aditi Kumar Sharma and Sarita Chaudhary, remained terminated. The court is considering the cases of these two judges, who joined the Madhya Pradesh judicial service in 2018 and 2017, respectively. The court is also considering arguments regarding potential violations of fundamental rights related to the termination process, including claims of unfair work assessment during maternity and child care leave.
"My son used to say that there is a lot of corruption but he will fight as he is on the path of truth. He was broken from inside, though he didn't tell anyone anything," Subhash's father Pawan Kumar told ANI.
In a judgment of far-reaching implications, the Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that a Muslim woman can seek maintenance from her husband under Section 125 of the CrPC and said the "religion neutral" provision is applicable to all married women irrespective of their religion.
A bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan also rejected the application for listing review petition in open court.
Justice BV Nagarathna said she had to dissent against the demonetisation move by the central government as in 2016, when the decision was announced, the Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes comprised 86 per cent of the total currency notes in circulation, and 98 per cent of it came back after they were banned.
The top court remarked that there is no place for flamboyance in judiciary.
The Supreme Court of India expressed deep concern over the rising drug abuse problem in the country, highlighting the impact on youth and the need for urgent intervention. The court emphasized the need for rehabilitation rather than demonization of drug users and called for open discussions to address the issue. The judgment came while granting bail to a man accused in a heroin smuggling case. The court cited a 2019 report that indicated a significant number of people in India use opioids, cannabis, and other substances, with alarming trends in opioid dependence.
The Supreme Court verdict on mining royalty case will give a further jolt to the Indian mining industry and will have very large financial implications, as arrears may work out to the tune of more than Rs 1.5 lakh crore to Rs 2 lakh crore, industry players said on Wednesday. The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the power of states to levy tax on mineral rights and mineral-bearing land, and allowed them to seek refund of royalty from April 1, 2005 onwards. According to a senior mines ministry official, the verdict will have a very large financial impact on mining, steel, power and coal companies.
'It has changed the political character of India by ejecting socialism as an ideology from the Constitution of India.'
The top court said the NCPCR was empowered to conduct enquiry and take action in accordance with law under the Commission for Protection of Child Rights (CPCR) Act, 2005.
"The doctrinal error in the Krishna Iyer approach was, postulating a rigid economic theory, which advocates for greater State control over private resources, as the exclusive basis for constitutional governance," the CJI wrote in the 193-page judgment.
In 1997, the seven-judge bench ruled that the Centre had the regulatory power over the production of industrial alcohol. The case was referred to the nine-judge bench in 2010.
Justice BV Nagarathna also partially agreed with the majority verdict but criticised the CJI's views on Justice Iyer's judicial approach in dealing with "material resources" and state's power over them.
'Who has seen what Sharia is? Who knows what actual Sharia is?'
In a significant verdict, the Supreme Court by a majority of 7:2 on Tuesday held all private properties cannot form part of "material resources of the community" empowering states to take them over for distribution to serve "common good" under the Constitution.
The apex court delivered its verdict on an appeal filed by a woman challenging an order of the Karnataka high court in a matter related to the grant of maintenance and compensation.
'The ruling does not automatically mean that your house can be taken away, but suppose it blocks an expressway or a highway or such essential development, then it can be taken away as long as there is a law to support that action.'
In a setback to the Centre, the Supreme Court on Thursday held that states have the legislative competence to impose taxes on mines and minerals-bearing lands under the Constitution.
The case dates back to 2005, when the Punjab police arrested a man under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) and later claimed that he escaped from custody. His father filed a habeas corpus and a few days later, a body was found and it was assumed that it was of the accused person arrested under the NDPS charges. Incidentally, the man was found alive after 14 years.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected the Centre's plea for prospective effect of its July 25 verdict, which upheld the power of states to levy tax on mineral rights and mineral-bearing land, and allowed them to seek refund of royalty from April 1, 2005 onwards.
A bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and N Kotiswar Singh, which issued notice on the plea of the Congress against the March 13 high court order, however, said the ITAT can proceed on the political party's appeal.
Senior-most Supreme Court judge Sanjiv Khanna on Wednesday recused himself from considering pleas seeking review of the apex court's judgment last year declining legal recognition to same-sex marriage, sources said.
According to the cause list of July 10 uploaded on the apex court website, a five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud would consider in chambers the pleas seeking review of the October 17 last year verdict.
A two-judge bench of the Supreme Court on Wednesday pronounced a split verdict on the Centre's plea for recall of its October 9 order granting permission to a married woman, a mother of two, to terminate her 26-week pregnancy, with one judge voicing her disinclination to allow abortion and the other asserting that the woman's decision "must be respected".
After a meeting of its working committee in New Delhi, the board adopted a resolution which stated that the recent judgment of the Supreme Court on the maintenance of Muslim divorcee women is "against the Islamic law (Shariah)".
The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Madhya Pradesh high court to decide within three weeks whether it can reconsider its decision to terminate the services of six women judicial officers for their unsatisfactory performance.
In a relief for the Congress, the Income Tax department on Monday told the Supreme Court that it will not take any coercive action against the opposition party for tax demand notices of Rs 3,500 crore approximately in view of Lok Sabha elections.
The Supreme Court on Monday quashed the Gujarat government's decision to grant remission to 11 convicts in the case of gangrape of Bilkis Bano and murder of seven of her family members during the 2002 riots in the state, saying the orders were "stereotyped" and passed without application of mind.
A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan had on October 12 last year reserved its verdict after an 11-day hearing on the petitions, including the one filed by Bano.
The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Centre and the Gujarat government to submit by October 16 the original records related to the remission of sentence of 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano gangrape case and murder of seven of her family members during the 2002 Gujarat riots.
She also said there was no independent application of mind by the Reserve Bank of India and only its opinion was sought, which cannot be said to be a recommendation.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to entertain a plea seeking a stay on release of the movie The Kerala Story on grounds that it's a "worst kind of hate speech" and an "audio-visual propaganda".
'I learnt today that Bilkis Bano had to change her house after these people were released as some of them lived in her vicinity.' 'This was an injustice to her, she had to do this under duress.'
The Supreme Court on Wednesday said the Constitution intended to bring about a 'sense of social transformation' and it would be 'dangerous' to say that the private property of an individual cannot be regarded as material resources of community and taken over by state authorities to subserve 'common good'.
The 11 convicts in the case of gang-rape of Bilkis Bano and murder of seven of her family members during the 2002 communal riots in Gujarat can approach the Maharashtra government with request for remission of their sentences.
'What did these men mean to the government? What does its support for these men say about this government?'
The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a PIL seeking a court-monitored CBI or SIT probe into the violence in West Bengal's Sandeshkhali village, saying the incidents cannot be compared to the savagery in Manipur.