The top court said the old practices of "human sacrifices" and 'sati' amounted to murder under law and could not be saved on ground of "essential religious practice".
A bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and justices L N Rao and Dinesh Maheshwari said it was only going into the aspect of security of the two women and would not like to entertain any other prayer made in the petition.
The Supreme Court had on Thursday said "nobody would like to be told what to eat or how to dress" while ruling that these activities come under the realm of the right to privacy.
It asked that even in cases where the victim had died, 'why should there be disclosure of name'.
A petition filed by Swapnil Tripathi, a final year student studying at the National Law University, Jodhpur, prompted the Supreme Court to allow live streaming of the opaque proceedings within.
Following the intervention of a bench of Justices S S Shinde and Madhav Jamdar, the state said it will shift Rao, 81, who is lodged as an under-trial in the Taloja prison in neighbouring Navi Mumbai, to the Nanavati Hospital as a 'special case'.
A contempt plea alleged that incidents of mob lynching and vigilantism were taking place despite the apex court verdict in this regard.
In the plea, one of the women, who had been attacked by her mother-in-law following her entry into the hilltop shrine, has sought security for both the women.
There is no woman judge among the five new judges appointed in the Supreme Court who were sworn-in on Friday.
The apex court, which passed interim directions, said all migrant workers who are stranded at various places shall be provided food by concerned states and Union Territories (UTs) at places which shall be publicised and notified to them for the period they are waiting for their turn to board a train or a bus.
'To suggest that activists -- and that too 'five star activists' -- are driving the courts, is to betray an ignorance of the functioning of the legal system of the most gross kind,' says Senior Advocate and former Additional Solicitor General Indira Jaising.
The bench suggested that the hearing be adjourned "sine die" (adjournment of proceedings with no date of resumption).
Could Jayalalithaa remain a defendant to enable the recovery and return of the disproportionate assets in case the high court judgment is overturned?
A bench comprising Justices J Chelameswar and A M Sapre asked the Centre and NIA to file their responses within one week.
The government on Friday told the Supreme Court that it is difficult to block international porn sites in the country and sought more time to consult various ministries to find a solution.
The Supreme Court on Friday termed as a "serious matter" the issue of alleged mysterious death of special Central Bureau of Investigation judge B H Loya, who was hearing the Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case, and sought response from the Maharashtra government on pleas seeking an independent probe into it.
The former IPS officer had also sought impleadment of Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah, the then MoS Home in the state government and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh functionary S Gurumurthy as parties in his petition, which was also rejected.
Asserting that it would decide on the right of women to enter the historic Sabarimala shrine on the basis of constitutional principles.
Do Uddhav Thackeray, Aditya Thackeray, Sanjay Raut, and Sharad Pawar want the deaths of the Bhima Koregaon accused to be associated with their regime? asks Jyoti Punwani.
Jaising said that she is opposing the reopening of the 70-year-old assassination case of Mahatma and also questioned the locus of the petitioner, Mumbai-based Pankaj Phadnis, a researcher and a trustee of Abhinav Bharat.
Supreme Court on Monday issued a notice to the Department of Telecommunication seeking its response as to how to block websites with pornographic content in the country, particularly those featuring child pornography.
'Unfortunately, the judges chose not to address the issue of whether Hindutva is an appeal to religion.' 'From the moment the judgment is delivered, it is the law of the land.'
Registrar (Judicial) informed Chidambaram's lawyers that Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi has listed the matter for hearing on Friday.
'Mahesh Bhatt put his foot down during Ghulam and did not allow Aamir Khan to dictate a particular moment in my performance.' 'He just ignored Aamir's objection to something I did in a shot we had together.'
The state govt said that celibate status of deity cannot be a ground for barring entry of women.
A Supreme Court judge on Friday recused from hearing a plea against removal of Special Public Prosecutor by NIA in the 2008 Malegaon blasts case, saying that he had represented certain accused in the matter.
A fresh controversy has erupted with another woman intern accusing a Supreme Court judge, who has since retired, of sexual harassment and demands being made for an inquiry by the apex court into it.
The apex court said 'we are not straightaway arriving at any conclusion' as there were 'very strong views' on both sides. It said it will also see if there was any error in previous judgements which dealt with the issue and decide whether it can be referred to a larger or a five-judge constitution bench.
Not granting a stay or quashing the Centre's notification clipping AAP administration's powers, the Delhi high court on Friday directed the Lt Governor to "deliberate" on the city government's proposals on appointment of senior bureaucrats to key posts.
A former law intern, who accused ex-Supreme Court judge A K Ganguly of sexual harassment, has hit back at him for denying the charges and hinted that she may file a police complaint.
'The government is using the Intelligence Bureau to go after NGOs.' 'It is not only the NDA, the UPA also didn't like NGOs.' 'NGOs predominantly work with the poor. So, when you cancel an NGO, the affected are the poor, the Dalits, the tribals, the street children and the marginalised.'
"What kind of prayer is this," the bench said.
The CBI chief's advocate said there was no basis for the Central Vigilance Commission to pass such an order recommending to send him on leave.
As the hearing in the cases heated up again, the apex court took umbrage at the verbal duel between two senior lawyers Dushayan Dave and Pallav Shishodia, calling it 'unacceptable'.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected the review plea of death row convict Surinder Koli in one of the Nithari murder cases.
The bench said it was only the woman who can decide about her religious identity by exercising her right to choice.
It has been alleged by the AAP government that it is unable to function as most of its decisions are either annulled or changed by Centre at the behest of Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung on the ground that Delhi is not a complete state.
A former law intern, who has made sexual harassment allegations against Justice Swatanter Kumar, on Monday moved the Supreme Court seeking inquiry against the retired judge.
The Supreme Court asked on Friday as it said it would examine the issue of entry ban on women of menstrual age in the historic Sabarimala temple on the basis of constitutional parameters.
According to the govt, Greenpeace activist Priya Pillai cannot be allowed to travel to London as she would indulge in anti-national activities.
