"Law is supposed to be a noble profession," the Supreme Court observed on Thursday, and voiced surprise over how can one of the convicts in the Bilkis Bano gang-rape case and murder of her family members during the 2002 Gujarat riots practise law after his conviction, the remission of his sentence notwithstanding.
The Supreme Court on Friday said it would hear after four weeks a plea seeking a direction to the Centre and others to take steps to create an appropriate system which empowers citizens to petition Parliament and seek initiation of deliberations on issues highlighted by them.
A cordial relation between the Bar and the Bench is absolutely necessary for smooth running of the administration of justice in the courts, the Supreme Court has said.
The Constitution bench is hearing a batch of 58 petitions challenging the demonetisation exercise.
A bench of Justices KM Joseph and BV Nagarathna said the earlier regime of four percent quota to Muslims will continue to hold field till May 9, when the matter will be heard next, without any prejudice to the contentions to be raised by the state government.
While posting the matter for hearing on April 18, a bench of Justices K M Joseph and B V Nagarathna said there is a gamut of issues involved and it needs to hear the matter in detail.
"Public outcry will not affect our judicial decisions," the Supreme Court asserted on Tuesday, as it began weighing the legality of the remission granted to all the 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano gang-rape case and murder of seven of her family members during the 2002 Gujarat riots.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday set aside the Kerala high court order suspending the conviction and sentence of Lakshadweep Lok Sabha MP Mohammed Faizal in an attempt to murder case and remanded the matter back to the high court for fresh adjudication in six weeks.
Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra has also filed a separate plea challenging the grant of remission to the convicts by the Gujarat government.
Migrant workers play a very vital role in building the nation and their rights cannot be ignored at all, the Supreme Court said on Thursday while asking the Centre to devise a mechanism so that they receive food grains without ration cards.
The top court said in order to declare whether the exercise is academic or infructuous, it needs to examine the matter since both sides are not agreeable.
The Supreme Court on Thursday adjourned to November 11 the hearing on a plea filed by Nalini Sriharan, serving life sentence in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, seeking premature release.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it does not want freedom of press to be muzzled but it cannot create a separate avenue for journalists to approach it directly for quashing of FIRs lodged against them.
The Supreme Court on Friday directed the premature release of six convicts, including Nalini Sriharan and R P Ravichandran, serving life term in the assassination case of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, noting that the Tamil Nadu government has recommended remission of their sentence.
The bench said that it has to be in exceptional circumstances when the conviction needs to be stayed and it cannot be a norm.
A bench of justices KM Joseph and BV Nagarathna asked senior advocate Vivek Tankha and advocate Sumeer Sodhi to serve the copy of the petition to the standing counsel of Uttar Pradesh government and posted the matter for further hearing on April 5.
The apex court, which dismissed the pleas filed by the West Bengal government and the State Election Commission (SEC) challenging the high court order, said the tenor of the high court order was ultimately to ensure free and fair election in the state.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday questioned the CBI and the Gujarat government as to why they want to send social activist Teesta Setalvad and her husband Javed Anand back in jail after they have been out for over seven years on anticipatory bail.
In the FIR, Kejriwal has been accused of an offence under Section 125 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which pertains to promoting enmity between classes in connection with elections.
A bench of Justices MR Shah and BV Nagarathna said there cannot be any deviation from the educational qualifications mentioned in an advertisement of job.
Electoral bonds have been pitched as an alternative to cash donations made to political parties as part of efforts to bring transparency in political funding.
The apex court said this while dealing with an application filed by the Assam which had sought a clarification whether each of the children of the deceased parents would be provided ex-gratia payment of Rs 50,000, in case there is more than one child.
The apex court, hearing a plea that has raised the problems faced by sex workers due to the COVID-19 pandemic, has been passing orders for their welfare and on September 29 last year, it had asked the Centre and others to provide dry ration to them without insisting on their identity proof.
A bench of Justices MR Shah and BV Nagarathna said the nodal officer to ensure all eligible claimants apply for ex-gratia compensation.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday set aside the order of the Gujarat high court granting 14-day furlough to rape convict Narayan Sai, son of self-styled godman Asaram Bapu.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed the plea for interim bail of former Fortis Healthcare promoter Shivinder Mohan Singh who along with others is accused of misappropriating Rs 2,397 crore of Religare Finvest Ltd (RFL) funds. Singh had sought interim bail for a short period on "humanitarian grounds" for helping his ailing mother to take part in the last rituals of his maternal uncle, who died on March 8 in Haryana. "We are of the opinion that the presence of the accused was not a must...," said a bench of Justices M R Shah and B V Nagarathna while dismissing the plea.
The Supreme Court on Thursday said that candidates belonging to the Other Backward Class category are required to be adjusted against the general category who were more meritorious than the last of the general category candidates appointed.
There can be a conviction based solely upon the dying declaration without corroboration, the Supreme Court said on Tuesday while setting aside a verdict of the Allahabad high court which had acquitted a woman's father-in-law and brother-in-law of the charge of murdering her by setting her ablaze.
"You cannot just pick Rs 8 lakh out of the thin air and fix it as a criteria. There has to be some basis, some study. Tell us whether any demographic study or data was taken into account in fixing the limit. How do you arrive at this exact figure? Can the Supreme Court strike down the criteria, if no study was undertaken?" the Supreme Court asked.
The Supreme Court on Monday observed it cannot give a 'judicial diktat' for sending children to schools disregarding the possibility of a fresh spike in COVID cases as it refused to entertain a Class 12 student's plea seeking resumption of physical classes across the country.
In a relief to some Women Short Service Commission Officers (WSSCO) in the Army, the Supreme Court on Friday directed the Centre to issue orders granting Permanent Commission (PC) to 39 such officers in seven working days and furnish the details of 25 officers with reasons, who were not considered.
The government can verify 5 per cent of claims in four states -- Maharashtra, Kerala, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh -- where the gap between number of claims and recorded deaths was wide, said a bench of Justices M R Shah and B V Nagarathna.
The Supreme Court Friday set aside a Madras High Court direction that the Centre must seek the top court's approval before implementing 10 per cent reservation for the economically weaker sections in all-India quota seats of medical colleges.
The Supreme Court held on Friday that Preliminary Enquiry (PE) is not mandatory before FIR registration by the CBI under the Code of Criminal Procedure or Prevention of Corruption Act or the investigative agency's manual and the accused cannot insist on it as a right.
In a relief to thousands of young doctors pursuing higher specialisation courses, the Centre on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that in the interest of students, it has decided to implement changes in the pattern of the NEET-Super Speciality (NEET-SS) examination from the academic year 2022-23.
Amidst protests by some Hindu groups in parts of Karnataka, American evangelist Benny Hinn has cancelled his visit to Bangalore on Wednesday.