Justice Gogoi's tenure as judge and as CJI was marked by some controversies and personal allegations but that never came in his way of his judicial work that was reflected in the last few days when benches headed by him delivered some path-breaking judgments.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
Section 6A, which was incorporated in the Citizenship Act 1955 following the signing of the 1985 Assam Accord, was upheld by the Supreme Court.
The CJI said that to keep police excesses in check, dissemination of information about the constitutional right to legal aid and availability of free legal aid services is necessary.
'One of the major challenges to the protection of rule of law and human rights is the inability of the formal justice system to deliver speedy and affordable justice to all'
While some hailed it, others questioned it raising a controversy by saying Justice Bobde was neither wearing a mask nor a helmet.
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 Bhushan, who was elevated as an apex court judge on May 13, 2016, was part of several landmark judgements including the November 2019 verdict by a five-judge Constitution bench which cleared the way for construction of Ram Temple at the disputed site at Ayodhya and directed the Centre to allot a five-acre plot to Sunni Waqf Board for building a mosque.
Justice Bobde, who decided several key cases during his tenure including the historic Ayodhya verdict, was administered oath as the 47th CJI in November 2019 and retired on Friday.
The apex court termed the prevalence of "social evil" of child marriage as "sobering" and passed a slew of directions to the Centre, states, district administrations, panchayats and the judiciary to eradicate the malaise.
The bench wondered if it struck down the immunity clause in the penal codes then the offence will be covered under the main provision on rape or "can the court create a separate offence or adjudicate the validity of the exception (clause)".
Prior to the swearing-in of Justices Hima Kohli, Nagarathna and Bela M Trivedi, only eight women judges, including sitting judge Justice Indira Banerjee, were appointed as apex court judges.
Speaking in the Delhi Assembly on Wednesday, Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party convenor Arvind Kejriwal slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party over the Supreme Court overturning the outcome of the Chandigarh mayoral poll.
Justice Lalit said, "The element was purely based on circumstantial evidence. Law is clear that facts must point only in direction of the guilt of that man, unless and until that guilt is completely established, circumstantial evidence case theory is not to be accepted."
Activist Saket Gokhale had sought consent, a condition precedent for initiating criminal contempt proceedings, of the top-most law officer to initiate the case against the former CJI who had reportedly said at an event that the judiciary is "ramshackled" and it is quite unlikely for a person to get a timely verdict.
What sustains judicial institutions in the long run is the sense of compassion, sense of empathy and ability to answer cries of citizens, he said.
The Supreme Court on Friday got irked over a lengthy judgement penned by a single judge bench of the Delhi high court in a case related to an arbitral award involving media baron Kalanithi Maran and SpiceJet, saying there was no "application of mind". Suggesting that the case be now transferred to another judge by the Delhi HC, the top court said the judgement "has to be carefully articulated" and "the judge must apply mind to grounds of challenge and then deduce if interference is warranted". The strong observations against the single judge bench came from a bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud during the hearing of an appeal by Kalanithi Maran and Kal Airways against a Delhi high court order setting aside an arbitral award asking the SpiceJet to refund Rs 579 crore plus interest to the media baron and his firm.
Justice Ramana said the body was required to be "created under a statute" clearly defining its powers, functions, and duties.
Within a span of little over a month since Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud assumed office, the Supreme Court has disposed of 6,844 cases, including 2,511 bail and transfer petitions, sources said.
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.
The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Centre to provide information about the numbers and names reiterated by the apex court Collegium for appointment as judges in higher judiciary with reasons why they were not considered so far and at what level they were pending.
The Supreme Court on Friday termed as "unwarranted and extraneous" the Madras high court directive to YouTuber Felix Jerald to close down his channel as one of the bail conditions.
In a far-reaching verdict, the Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and the election commissioners will be done by the President on the recommendation of a committee, comprising the Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the CJI, to maintain the "purity" of the electoral process.
The legal battle over the alleged infringement of trademark of whisky brands witnessed an unusual sight in the Supreme Court as liquor bottles were placed before the country's highest court.
Justice Bobde has decided several key cases and was part of the recent historic verdict that cleared the way for the construction of a Ram Temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya.
The Supreme Court on Friday observed the 1976 amendment to the Constitution adding terms 'socialist', 'secular' and 'integrity' to the Preamble underwent judicial reviews and it cannot say whatever Parliament did during the emergency period was all nullity.
Justice S A Bobde, the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court, along with N V Ramana and Indira Banerjee will conduct an in-house inquiry into the allegations of sexual harassment levelled against Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi.
He will be the first former Chief Justice of India to be nominated to Rajya Sabha. Former Chief Justice Ranganath Misra was also a Rajya Sabha member but he was elected on a Congress party ticket.
Under the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, exception 2 to Section 63 (rape) says that 'sexual intercourse or sexual acts by a man with his own wife, the wife not being under eighteen years of age, is not rape'.
According to a notification issued by the government, Justice Ramana would take over as the 48th CJI on April 24 after incumbent CJI S A Bobde demits office a day before. Justice Ramana would retire on August 26, 2022.
A bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna, M M Sundresh and Bela M Trivedi will hear the plea of jailed JMM leader at 10.30 am on Friday.
Citizens' voices cannot be throttled by a threat of destroying their properties and 'bulldozer justice' is simply unacceptable under the rule of law, the Supreme Court has said.
Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud has agreed to meet the Gujarat High Court Advocates' Association on November 21 in view of the ongoing protest by lawyers opposing the Supreme Court collegium's recommendation to transfer Justice Nikhil S Kariel to Patna high court.
"Day in day out there exists a misconception in the minds of people that judges stay in big bungalows, work only 10 AM to 4 PM and enjoy their holidays. Such a narrative is untrue," Chief Justice N V Ramana said on Thursday while paying glowing tributes to Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman on his superannuation after over seven years at the Supreme Court bench.
A bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said Indian firms, involved in the export of arms and equipment to Israel, may be sued for breach of contractual obligations if they are stopped by it from supplying.
On February 1, grappling with the intractable issue of the AMU's minority status, the top court said the 1981 amendment to the AMU Act, which effectively accorded it a minority status, only did a "half-hearted job" and did not restore the institution the position it had prior to 1951.
