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.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to constitute a three-judge bench to consider the Delhi police's plea for a review of its verdict acquitting three death row convicts in the gangrape and murder of a 19-year-old girl in Delhi's Chhawla area in 2012.
The Supreme Court on Friday held that the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act cannot be stunted by personal laws and that marriages involving children violate the free will to have a life partner of choice.
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.
Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud on Friday said the Supreme Court, in its full court meeting, has decided that all the 13 benches will hear 10 transfer petitions pertaining to matrimonial disputes and equal number of bail petitions daily in a bid to lessen the pendency of cases.
The Supreme Court is scheduled to consider in-chambers on Tuesday a batch of pleas seeking review of its judgment which held that states are constitutionally empowered to make sub-classifications within the Scheduled Castes, which form a socially heterogeneous class, for granting reservation.
"We are faced with certain hard facts like several courts do not have proper facilities. Some courts function out of dilapidated buildings. Judicial infrastructure is important for improving access to justice," he said.
Chief Justice of India Uday Umesh Lalit Tuesday recused himself from hearing an appeal of the Andhra Pradesh government against the high court verdict that held the state legislature "lacked competence" to make any legislation for shifting, bifurcating or trifurcating the capital.
Counted as a judge who enriched the 'verdict docket' of the apex court, Justice Chandrachud is viewed as sharp, articulate and forward looking.
Newly sworn-in Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud on Monday asked Supreme Court and high court judges to shun "colonial mindset" and the "culture of subordination" while dealing with district court judges, saying the country needs to move towards a "more modern and equal judiciary".
No institution in a constitutional democracy, including the collegium, is perfect and the solution is to work within the existing system, Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud said on Friday.
"When the matter reaches the SC collegium, there is a fully perfect situation, whether the name be accepted or not to be accepted. It's not as if it is a whimsical exercise taken by someone. It's a fool proof arrangement," he said.
A Rs 1 crore defamation case and a petition seeking an injunction to restrain his autobiography has been filed against Rajya Sabha MP and former Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi by Assam Public Works (APW) president Aabhijeet Sharma at a local court in Guwahati.
Justice Chandrachud will serve as the CJI for two years till November 10, 2024.
Justice NV Ramana is the senior-most judge in the top court after the CJI.
A seven-judge Constitution bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices BR Gavai, Vikram Nath, Bela Trivedi, Pankaj Mithal, Manoj Misra and Satish Chandra Sharma said there is no error apparent on the face of the record.
Over 260 eminent citizens, including former judges and bureaucrats, have written to Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud urging him to take cognisance of DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin's 'eradicate Sanatan Dharma' comment, calling it "hate speech".
The Supreme Court of India has ordered a status quo on a private well located near the entrance of the Sambhal Jama Masjid, prohibiting any action regarding the well without its permission. The order came in response to a plea by the mosque's management committee, which challenged a lower court order that allowed a survey of the mosque, citing concerns over violence and loss of life during previous surveys. The court also instructed the authorities to file a status report within two weeks.
Chief Justice of India N V Ramana on Wednesday termed as "very unfortunate" certain "speculations and reports" in the media about the collegium meeting regarding the appointment of judges in the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court on Friday termed as "unfortunate" and rued the "new trend" of maligning judges by governments if judicial pronouncements are not as per their liking.
Speaking at a function organised by the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) to observe the "Legal Services Day", CJI NV Ramana said students, educated in law, are empowered to be the voices of vulnerable and marginalised sections of the society. "Your decision to join the legal aid movement will pave the path for a great career. This will help you inculcate empathy, understanding and a sense of selflessness. Remember, unlike other professions, the legal profession is not about profit maximization, but about service to the society," the CJI said.
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.
Chief Justice of India N V Ramana on Thursday said the government not giving priority to the medical sector and its problems such as insufficient number of professionals and infrastructure are 'issues of immediate concern' as he lamented that doctors are brutally attacked on duty for someone else's failure.
The electoral bonds scheme for funding political parties should not become a tool for "legitimisation of quid pro quo" between power centres and people who are benefactors of that power, the Supreme Court said on Thursday as it underscored the need for reducing the cash component in the electoral process.
Glimpses from the At Home reception hosted by President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Republic Day.
A local court in Ajmer has issued notices to the dargah committee, the Ministry of Minority Affairs, and the Archaeological Survey of India on a plea seeking to declare the shrine of Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti a temple. The petition, filed in September, has sparked a heated debate, with politicians and community leaders weighing in on the potentially volatile issue. The dargah committee has declined to comment, but the Anjuman Syed Zadgan, a body representing the caretakers of the dargah, described the petition as a deliberate attempt to fracture society along communal lines. The petition comes just days after four people were killed in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, following a local court ordering survey of a Mughal-era shrine. The Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, which fixed August 15, 1947, as the cut-off date for status quo on the character of religious places, is at the centre of much of the debate. Several politicians, including Union minister Giriraj Singh and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, have weighed in on the issue. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has called the civil court's decision to entertain the petition unwarranted and has asked the Supreme Court to immediately intervene.
Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud has constituted an all-woman bench comprising Justices Hima Kohli and Bela M Trivedi to hear transfer petitions involving matrimonial disputes and bail matters on Thursday.
There was no occasion for the woman to interact directly with the CJI, notes Supreme Court Secretary General S S Kalgaonkar.
At the level of the high court, the official language is English, though many HCs have had to allow applications, petitions and even documents in regional languages, he said.
Quoting Greek philosopher Socrates, Justice Bopanna emphasised that there are four qualities that are expected of a judge -- to hear courteously, to consider soberly, to answer wisely and to decide impartially.
In an affidavit filed in the apex court, the Union law ministry rejected the petitioner's claim that the two election commissioners were hastily appointed on March 14 to "pre-empt" the orders of the top court the next day, when the matters challenging the 2023 law were listed for hearing on interim relief.
The interesting fact was revealed to public for the first time by the Supreme Court Bar Association president and senior advocate Vikas Singh during his address on occasion of the farewell ceremony for the CJI.
"I don't want you to cry but with anger, you have to shout and demand that we need 50 per cent reservation," the CJI said.
Justice Sanjiv Khanna 'belongs to that school of legal luminaries who give the highest primacy to facts.'
The accused, Tapas Ghosh, 49, was arrested on Tuesday night. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) is looking into the matter under the supervision of DCP Vinita Sahu, said Nagpur commissioner of police (CP) Amitesh Kumar.
Chief Justice of India S A Bobde on Thursday said that nothing is conferred as right of freedom of speech in 'absolute and untrammelled terms' and the framers of the Constitution have struck a resilient balance between liberty and the rights and conditions on which the states can deny it.
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.
Mufti said the fundamental rights enshrined in the Indian Constitution and guaranteed to all Indian citizens "are being brazenly impinged upon".
Bhushan submitted that his tweet about Chief Justice of India riding a motorbike was to underline his anguish at the non-physical functioning of the Supreme Court for last more than three months, with hardly any cases being heard.
Justice Ramana said that he took up the issues concerning the appointment of judges and infrastructure during his term and hoped that he stood up to the expectations of the legal fraternity.
