The court, in its order, said even if a sexual relationship between two willing partners does not culminate in marriage, still the same will not amount to rape, in the absence of any factor that vitiates the consent for sex.
A CBI court in Kerala sentenced 10 individuals to life imprisonment for the murder of two Youth Congress workers in 2019. Four others, including a former CPI(M) MLA, received five years in prison. The court found the accused guilty of murder and criminal conspiracy, citing political rivalry as the motive. The case involved the deaths of Kripesh and Sarath Lal P K, who were allegedly killed by CPI(M) workers in Kasaragod district. The verdict sparked reactions from both the Congress and CPI(M), with the Congress calling it a blow to the CPI(M)'s violent political culture and the CPI(M) challenging the verdict and claiming political motives in the CBI investigation.
The petitioners had stated that a person who had 'genuine interest' in the welfare of the two communities should be appointed as the minister. They also sought a special audit to find the reasons for the lapse of crores of rupees every year for the welfare of the SC-ST department.
The Supreme Court on Monday took suo motu cognisance of the deaths of three civil services aspirants in the basement of a coaching centre in New Delhi and sought responses from the Centre and the Delhi government.
The petitioner, Sister Teena Jose, also sought a declaration that religious priesthood was not a profession and that she, a religious nun, should be allowed to enrol.
Justice R Basant's observation came in response to the statement made by CBI counsel that the investigations had been stopped for two days due to the uncertainty caused after the order of judge K Hema, who severely criticised CBI on the course of the investigation. If there is any conflicting opinion, it has to be clarified, the court held. The system wants truth to come out, Justice Basant said.
In the months immediately following the 2024 tragedy, reporting on the landslide per se had been a straightforward affair. On one side was death and destruction. On the other side, survivors and the business of survival. It was black and white. What direction to take was clear. Rehabilitation in comparison, felt like a complex situation. One that is fraught with shades of grey. As grey as human life, explains Shyam G Menon.
The court also said that the "frivolous contentions" by the petitioner objecting to the PM's photo and his "morale boosting message" on the vaccination certificate, was "not expected from a citizen of the country".
Tata Tea counsel and senior Supreme Court advocate Soli J Sorabjee submitted before the court that the company had not trespassed or encroached on any land at Munnar.
"This is disturbing... This is a recipe for disaster," the court said in its oral observations and also questioned the state government whether it could prove withdrawal symptoms can be treated by the use of alcohol.
Kerala's election discourse operates surreptitiously. Its explicit face focuses on important national and local issues. At the same time, it seeks to secure apt communal equations to ensure votes, notes Shyam G Menon.
The Kerala high court on Thursday issued notices to the authorities and Parents Teachers Association of a school in Kottayam, where five HIV positive children were facing 'boycott' by other students.
Former Jalandhar bishop Franco Mulakkal, who was acquitted by a local court in Kerala last year over rape charges by a nun, met Pope Francis in Vatican last week, a church source said in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday.
The Supreme Court on Thursday set aside the Kerala high court's order acquitting 35 accused in the Suryanelli gangrape case of 1996 in which a 16-year-old girl was gang-raped for over 40 days.
Court documents show that the Kerala government, whose case was treated as the 'lead case' among all the petitions filed against Adani, made four allegations to convince the court to cancel the contract for the Thiruvanathapuram airport. The state's legal team couldn't substantiate most of these allegations with documentary proof and its self-defeating arguments in court failed to convince the judges to cancel the contract given to Adani. The battle for the Thiruvananthapuram airport between the Communist-led Kerala government, the Adani group and the Modi government over the past year hasn't had a dull moment since the proceedings began. Claims of a smoking gun turned out to be a damp squib, says Sai Manish.
The Kerala high court on Tuesday asked the police not to take any action against actor Dileep, in connection with a new case registered against him and five others for allegedly threatening investigation officers probing the sexual assault of an actress back in 2017, till January 14.
The consent is akin to a blanket nod for the agency to probe scheduled offences specified in the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act (DPSE) Act, 1946.
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".
The Supreme Court on Wednesday came down heavily on Manipur high court judge Justice MV Muralidaran, saying despite being granted an opportunity he did not correct his judgment on grant of quota to the majority Meiteis in the strife-torn state.
Amid protests against a proposed oil refinery in Maharashtra's Ratnagiri district, state industries minister Uday Samant on Tuesday said the current site for the mega project was suggested by then chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, while the Opposition urged the government to stop soil survey work and be sensitive in handling the situation arising out of the agitation.
Suresh and Sarith had moved a joint plea seeking protection from arrest in the case lodged by the police on the complaint of a ruling Left Democratic Front MLA's complaint alleging conspiracy behind her revelations against him, the chief minister and his family.
Even as the victim-nun moved the high court to set aside the acquittal, the state government on Wednesday granted sanction for filing an appeal against the trial court's January 14, 2022 decision.
There are challenges galore before him, and it is not going to be easy. In the next four years, he has to conjure a system that changes the optics about him and the BJP both nationally and internationally so that he can ride back on his own, claim the top slot, and not have to lean on a coalition, asserts Ramesh Menon as Modi 3.0 completes a year in power.
Tahawwur Rana, accused of involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, is expected to be extradited to India from the United States soon. The US Supreme Court denied his last-ditch effort to stop his extradition, moving him closer to being handed over to Indian authorities. Rana's extradition is expected to help probe agencies expose the role of Pakistani state actors behind the attacks and shed new light on the investigation. He is associated with Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley, one of the main conspirators of the 26/11 attacks.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday slammed the practice of filing sealed cover reports in courts and said it violates both principles of natural justice and open justice.
Justice PV Kunhikrishnan said the prime minister was elected to power by the people of the country and therefore, what was wrong with having his photograph on the vaccination certificate.
A special bench of Justices Devan Ramachandran and Kauser Edappagath directed the State Police Chief to come out with a new set of protocols for ensuring security of the doctors and other healthcare professionals in all government hospitals in the state.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin has announced the formation of a panel headed by a retired Supreme Court judge to study the relationship between the Union and state governments and ensure state autonomy. The panel, which will submit its interim report in January 2026 and its final report in two years, will examine the transfer of subjects from the State List to the Concurrent List, citing the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) as an example of a subject outside state purview.
The Supreme Court on Friday said that successful civil services aspirants have no right to be allocated a cadre of their choice or their home state, and also noted that before selection they opt to serve anywhere in the country "with eyes open" but later "scramble" for home cadre.
The Kerala high court has directed the Centre to allow scheduling, on CoWIN portal, of second Covishield dose after four weeks from the first for those who want to take it earlier than the present suggested gap of 84 days.
The dramatic moves of Donald Trump, which have shaken up the global order, dominated the discussion. A sense of bewilderment prevailed, but there was also expectation that President Trump would settle down to a more traditional style of governance after a time of shock and awe, observes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan, an attendee at literary festivals in Calicut, Jaipur, Kochi, Sharjah and Thiruvanathapuram.
Kerala-based Hadiya, an alleged victim of love jihad, on Saturday expressed happiness at being "free now," days after the Supreme Court set aside a Kerala high court order annulling her marriage with a Muslim man.
The collegium has recommended to the Centre to appoint justices N H Patil and D K Gupta as the chief justices of the Bombay and Calcutta high court.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, however, said that the National Investigation Agency may continue its investigation in the matter.
Nine people, including five students, were killed after a private tourist bus hit a state-run KSRTC bus from behind at Vadakkenchery in Palakkad district, Kerala Road Transport Minister Antony Raju said on Thursday.
It was in 1989, 39 years after the setting up of the Supreme Court in 1950, that Justice M Fathima Beevi was appointed. Meet the brilliant legal minds who have shattered the glass ceiling since then.
In a first, the Supreme Court Collegium had last week recommended for appointment to the apex court three women judges, including Justice B V Nagarathna who will be in line to be the first woman Chief Justice of India (CJI) in September 2027 if she gets the final nod.
65-year-old Sathasivam, whose appointment triggered debate in legal and political circles on the propriety of giving gubernatorial assignment to a former CJI, is the 23rd governor of the state.
The court passed the interim order on Thursday while deciding on the allegations of plagiarism against Varaha Roopam.
Senior-most judge of the Supreme Court Justice U U Lalit, who is in line to become the next Chief Justice of India (CJI), has been part of several landmark judgments including the one which held the practice of divorce through instant 'triple talaq' among Muslims illegal and unconstitutional.
