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.
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 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.
"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.
"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.
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".
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.
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.
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.
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".
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.
Justice Sanjiv Khanna 'belongs to that school of legal luminaries who give the highest primacy to facts.'
Glimpses from the At Home reception hosted by President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Republic Day.
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.
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 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.
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 four-member team from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) conducted a survey of the recently-discovered Shri Kartik Mahadev temple, five pilgrimage sites, and 19 wells in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, India. The survey followed the discovery of three damaged idols inside a well of the Bhasma Shankar temple, which was reopened after being shut for 46 years. The Shri Kartik Mahadev temple, also known as the Bhasma Shankar temple, was reopened on December 13 after authorities found the covered structure during an anti-encroachment drive. The temple houses an idol of Lord Hanuman and a Shivling and had remained locked since 1978. The district administration has requested carbon dating of the temple, including the well, from the ASI. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has restrained courts across India from entertaining new lawsuits or passing any orders in pending ones seeking to reclaim religious places, especially mosques and dargahs, until further notice. This action halts proceedings in approximately 18 lawsuits filed by Hindu parties seeking surveys to determine the original religious character of 10 mosques, including the Gyanvapi at Varanasi, the Shahi Idgah Masjid at Mathura, and the Shahi Jama Masjid at Sambhal, where four individuals died in clashes. The Supreme Court will examine the legality, scope, and boundaries of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, which prohibits the conversion of places of worship and ensures the preservation of their religious character as it existed on August 15, 1947.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
There was no occasion for the woman to interact directly with the CJI, notes Supreme Court Secretary General S S Kalgaonkar.
The letter comes after a report by the London-based Financial Times, citing documents from George Soros-backed Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), alluded to a "fraud" by the Adani Group by selling low-grade coal as high-value fuel in 2013.
Section 6A, which was incorporated in the Citizenship Act 1955 following the signing of the 1985 Assam Accord, was upheld by the Supreme Court.
"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.
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.
The announcement on integration of WhatsApp with its Information and Communications Technology (ICT) services was made by the CJI before a nine-judge bench headed by him commenced the hearing on the vexed legal question arising from the petitions about whether private properties can be considered "material resources of the community" under Article 39(b) of the Constitution, which is a part of the Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP).
Cameras were focused on Chief Justice of India Justice Dr Dhananjay Yeshwant Chandrachud at the Independence Day event at the Red Fort in New Delhi on Tuesday morning.
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.
Mufti said the fundamental rights enshrined in the Indian Constitution and guaranteed to all Indian citizens "are being brazenly impinged upon".
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.
Allowing the Centre's review of the August 23, 2022 verdict, a bench Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justices PS Narasimha and Manoj Misra recalled the judgement delivered by a three-judge bench headed by former CJI NV Ramana.
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.
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.
A bench headed by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul said that nearly two years have passed and the possibility of retrieving electronic records is very less in the probe.