A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala asked the Union government to file its response on the issue by February 15 and the final hearing on the pleas would commence from March 21.
A bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and B V Nagarathna issued notice to the Union government and said it will hear the petitions in February 2023.
The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a plea seeking initiation of contempt proceedings against heads of political parties for not following its directions to prevent criminalisation of politics in the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls held earlier this year.
The Trinamool Congress on Friday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of spreading lies and criminalising poverty over the detention of Bengali-speaking migrant workers in Odisha, while the saffron party charged the Mamata Banerjee dispensation with providing shelters to illegal immigrants.
PDP leader Iltija Mufti alleged that she and her mother, party chief Mehbooba Mufti, were placed under house arrest in Kashmir. They were planning to visit families of victims of army firing incidents in Sopore and Kathua. Iltija Mufti criticized the restrictions, stating that comforting victims' families is being criminalized in Kashmir.
Over 25 crore workers across India are set to strike against new labour codes and privatisation, potentially disrupting banking, postal, and other essential services.
Presently, a five-judge Constitution bench headed by the CJI is hearing pleas relating to regimes on grant of driving license for different kind of vehicles under the Motor Vehicle Act.
In a significant development, the Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Election Commission of India to provide details of cases in which it had either removed or reduced the period of disqualification from electoral rolls of leaders post their conviction in criminal cases.
The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on March 18 a plea seeking to debar from polls, candidates charged with serious offences. The plea, filed by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, seeks directions to the Centre and the Election Commission of India (ECI) to restrain such candidates put on trial for serious offences. The plea alleges that despite recommendations of the Law Commission of India and court's previous directions, the Centre and the ECI did not act. The plea also highlights the increasing number of MPs with declared serious criminal cases since 2009, with one MP declaring 204 criminal cases against him, including culpable homicide, house trespass, robbery, criminal intimidation, etc. It claims that political parties are competing with each other in a race to the bottom as they couldn't afford to leave their competitors free to recruit persons with criminal antecedents.
The Delhi high court on Monday granted two weeks to the Centre to state its stand on petitions seeking criminalisation of marital rape following Solicitor General Tushar Mehta's submission that the government is neither in favour nor against striking down the immunity granted to husbands under the Indian Penal Code.
India's bid to host the 2036 Olympics is not merely an attempt to make a statement internationally but also a well thought out plan to create world-class infrastructure, said Minister of State for Sports Raksha Khadse.
Under the new code, the board intends to criminalise match-fixing and spot-fixing and also specify punishments for offenders, including jail time.
'Why doesn't the prime minister wake up to these social issues?' 'This government is basically saying rape is all right.'
The first lady met 'members of Congress on a bill could speed the removal of intimate imagery posted online without an individual's consent, or revenge porn,' Associated Press reported.
The Supreme Court of India has ruled that family members of an accused in domestic violence cases cannot be implicated without specific charges. The court emphasized the need for sensitivity in handling such cases, noting that emotions run high in matrimonial disputes and there may be a tendency to indiscriminately implicate family members. The court stressed that criminalizing domestic disputes without specific allegations and credible evidence could have disastrous consequences for the institution of family.
The Delhi high court on Wednesday delivered a split verdict with one of the judges favouring striking down the provision, and the other holding it was not unconstitutional.
The Centre submitted that it has sent communication to all states and Union Territories asking their comments on the issue and urged the court that the proceedings be adjourned till such time the inputs are received.
Governments should look at criminalising doping in sports and increasing the resources of anti-doping agencies to include investigative functions in the wake of the Lance Armstrong revelations, the president of Cycling Australia has said.
Government has proposed to make bribery in private sector a criminal offence.
EC voices concern over criminalisation of politics
A parliamentary panel has asked the Information and Broadcasting Ministry to submit a note on amendments needed in existing laws to clamp down on controversial content like the one involving YouTuber Ranveer Allahbadia. Members from different parties voiced concern over Allahbadia's crass comments at a YouTube programme and called for stringent measures to punish him and to ensure that such an incident does not recur. The committee's chairperson and BJP MP Nishikant Dubey shared their concerns at the meeting attended by Information and Broadcasting Secretary Sanjay Jaju and other senior ministry officials.
The judge, however, ruled that there was a clear prima facie case under Section 354 of IPC for 'assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty".
The court was hearing a PIL by Gantavya Gulati, a lawyer who was appearing in person, seeking to address the "exigent legal lacuna" resulting from the enactment of the BNS which has also led to the repeal of section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
'It has to be ensured adequately that marital rape does not become a phenomenon which may destabilise the institution of marriage apart from being an easy tool for harassing the husbands,' the affidavit, filed through central government standing counsel Monika Arora, said.
Gay rights activists on Monday submitted in the Supreme Court that criminalising homosexual acts is against constitutional values and law should not interfere when consenting adults are involved.
Condemning the arrest of JNU students union president Kanhaiya Kumar in a sedition case, eminent journalist P Sainath on Friday took a "nationalism" lecture in the varsity's courtyard and advised the students to let their movement continue against "criminalisation of dissent".
The country's Sports Ministry worked closely with the International Cricket Council's (ICC) ACU during the process of drafting the bill.
In an affidavit filed in the court in response to petitions challenging the law, the Union of India said that despite the top court setting aside the practice in 2017, it has "not worked as a sufficient deterrent in bringing down the number of divorces by this practice" among the members of the Muslim community.
The Delhi high court on Wednesday delivered a split verdict on the issue of criminalisation of marital rape and granted leave to the parties to file an appeal before the Supreme Court.
Security experts have warned that using Signal for discussions of this nature violates every established protocol for handling classified information.
The bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra asked the Centre to file the response within a week on the plea.
The Supreme Court of India expressed concern about the "criminalization of politics" and questioned how convicted individuals can return to Parliament. The court sought the assistance of the attorney general on this issue, highlighting the apparent conflict of interest and the need for clarity on the Representation of People Act's provisions. The court also raised concerns about the slow pace of trials against lawmakers, with a significant number of cases pending. The issue has been referred to a larger bench for consideration.
Legal experts have been advocating for years the need to criminalise match-fixing in India, the lack of which has meant that the hands of authorities have been tied when it comes to investigating corruption in the popular sport.
According to the report, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Madhya Pradesh are identified as the states with the highest number of student suicides, together accounting for one-third of the national total.
'The BJP lacks a credible mass leader who matches Mamata Banerjee's popularity.' 'Given the division of votes among Opposition parties, the West Bengal government's dole-giving strategy, and the consolidation of the poor, significant sections of scheduled caste groups and Muslim minorities behind the ruling party, it will be difficult to dislodge the Trinamool from power.'
An Indian-origin PhD student at MIT, Prahlad Iyengar, has been suspended until January 2026 for his pro-Palestinian activism. The suspension effectively ends his NSF fellowship and disrupts his academic career. Iyengar is appealing the decision, arguing that it is a violation of free speech and a result of MIT's ties to the war industry. The suspension comes after MIT banned the distribution of a pro-Palestinian student-run magazine, "Written Revolution", which featured Iyengar's article "On Pacifism." The article included imagery and language that MIT deemed could be interpreted as a call for violent protest. Iyengar has been barred from campus and is facing a series of sanctions for his activism.
The bill makes it mandatory for candidates contesting parliamentary or assembly polls to disclose their criminal antecedents and declare their assets and liabilities after being elected.
Bangladesh's top legal official has proposed to remove the words 'secularism' and 'socialism' from the Constitution apart from a provision prescribing capital punishment for regime change through extra-constitutional means.
Pakistan wanted to be constitutionally communal, India wanted to be secular but is communalising itself. All three nations share a penal code, but they have amended their laws to enable the State to specifically target minorities, points out Aakar Patel.
The apex court referred to a larger bench a plea seeking decriminalisation of gay sex between two consenting adults.
