Justice Abhay S Oka, known for his unwavering commitment to liberty and constitutional values, bid farewell to the Supreme Court of India. In his final address, he stressed his dedication to upholding constitutional liberties, emphasizing that it was his "honest endeavor" to fulfill the dream of the Constitution's framers. He also expressed gratitude to the bar and his colleagues for their support and shared heartfelt memories from his time on the bench. Justice Oka's departure marks the end of a distinguished judicial career spanning over two decades, during which he served as a judge of the Bombay High Court, Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court, and ultimately, as a Supreme Court justice.
The SC directed Delhi and NCR states to comply with these decisions which were taken at Tuesday's meeting to curb air pollution.
The Supreme Court of India censured the Assam government for keeping persons declared foreigners in detention centers indefinitely and not deporting them. The court questioned the state's explanation for not sending nationality verification forms to the Ministry of External Affairs, stating that detainees should be deported immediately once identified as foreigners. The court directed the Assam government to initiate the deportation process of 63 declared foreign nationals whose nationality was known and file a status report in two weeks. The court also directed the Centre to provide details of those deported and how it plans to deal with detainees whose nationality is unknown.
"Are you waiting for some muhurat," the Supreme Court remarked on Tuesday as it came down heavily on the Assam government for keeping people declared as foreigners in detention centres indefinitely rather than deporting them.
The Supreme Court on Monday said the pleas challenging the Waqf (Amendment) Act's constitutional validity will now be taken up by a bench headed by Chief Justice of India-designate Justice B R Gavai on May 15 as the incumbent CJI will be demitting office on May 13.
"Are we not giving a picture that there is no other person and the entire department is full of incompetent people?" a bench headed by Justice B R Gavai told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta.
Underscoring the 'presumption of constitutionality in favour of law', the Supreme Court on Tuesday said petitioners challenging the waqf law needed a 'strong and glaring' case for interim relief.
The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed the bail pleas of three convicts serving life term in the 2002 Godhra train burning case, which plunged Gujarat into one of the worst communal riots, terming it a "very serious incident".
The Supreme Court of India has asked DMK leader V Senthil Balaji to choose between his ministerial post in Tamil Nadu and his freedom. The court expressed concern over Balaji's reinstatement as a minister despite being granted bail in a money laundering case related to the "cash-for-job" scam. The court fears that Balaji's presence as a minister could influence witnesses in the case. The court has given Balaji until April 28 to make a decision.
A five-judge bench of the Supreme Court will consider review pleas challenging the October 2023 verdict that declined legal sanction to same-sex marriage. The review pleas will be heard in chambers on January 9, with Justice P S Narasimha being the only member of the original bench that delivered the verdict.
The Supreme Court of India has announced its intention to establish an effective mechanism to address caste-based discrimination in educational institutions throughout the country. The court directed the University Grants Commission (UGC) to draft regulations to prevent such discrimination and to provide data on institutions that have implemented equal opportunity cells as mandated by the 2012 UGC equity regulations. The court's decision stems from a public interest litigation filed in 2019 highlighting the prevalence of caste-based discrimination in higher education institutions and its tragic consequences, including the suicides of students like Rohith Vemula and Payal Tadvi.
A bench comprising Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan took note of the submissions of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Gujarat government, and did not pass any interim status quo order in the meantime as sought by the counsel of the Muslim parties.
The court said the disqualification petitions have to be adjudicated expeditiously.
The Supreme Court on Thursday steered clear of the political talk about it having made an exception for Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in granting him interim bail for campaigning in the Lok Sabha polls but said 'critical analysis of the judgment is welcome'.
The Supreme Court has adjourned pleas challenging the appointments of the chief election commissioner (CEC) and election commissioners (ECs) under the 2023 law. The court indicated the matter would be listed after the Holi festival break due to a paucity of time. Petitioners, including the NGO Association for Democratic Reforms, argued for an urgent hearing, emphasizing the importance of the issue and the potential impact on democratic processes. The appointment of the new CEC and ECs under the 2023 law, which excludes the Chief Justice of India from the selection panel, has been a point of contention, with petitioners alleging it undermines the independence of the election commission.
The apex court in May agreed to hear a plea filed by the father of one of the victims challenging the high court's order acquitting Koli in the case.
The Kashmir issue should be resolved through dialogue and consultation between India and Pakistan, China said on Tuesday while reacting to the Supreme Court judgment on Article 370 upholding the central government's decision on the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.
The Supreme Court of India has dismissed a plea seeking directions to states to take immediate action against mob lynching and cow vigilantism, particularly against Muslims. The court stated that it was not feasible to "micro-manage" such incidents from Delhi and referred to its 2018 verdict, which issued guidelines to address mob violence and cow vigilantism. The court also noted that the new Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) criminalizes mob lynching as a separate offence. The plea argued that there was "gross non-compliance" with the 2018 directions, but the court maintained that authorities were bound by its previous rulings.
In a viral video of the court proceedings, the judge was seen reprimanding a woman lawyer on Thursday and reportedly made some objectionable comments.
The Bombay high court on Monday refused to grant an interim stay on setting up a fact-checking unit (FCU) under the recently amended Information Technology (IT) Rules to identify fake and false content on social media against the government, noting that no grave and irreparable loss would be caused.
The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a batch of pleas seeking to review its October 2023 verdict declining legal sanction to same-sex marriage.
Former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt wants BJP chief Amit Shah to be made a respondent for allegedly foisting wrong criminal cases against him, former additional solicitor general Indira Jaising tells Prasanna Zore/Rediff.com
The bench took note of the submissions and fixed Khera's plea for hearing on March 3 making it clear that the interim bail, granted to him on February 23, will remain in force till then.
The top court asked the state government to spell out details of its actions taken against the culprits and the encroachers.
The chief minister had challenged the approval given by Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot for an investigation against him in the alleged irregularities in the allotment of 14 sites to his wife by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) in a prime locality.
A bench of Justices B R Gavai and K V Viswanathan clarified that its order will not be applicable to unauthorised structures on public roads, footpaths etc.
The apex court said when a particular structure is chosen all of a sudden for demolition and the rest of similarly situated structures in the same vicinity are not even being touched, "mala fide may loom large".
Delhi Police on Friday filed two FIRs against WFI chief Brij Bhushan on allegations of sexual harassment levelled by seven women wrestlers.
The Supreme Court said on Friday it may consider granting three more months to SEBI for concluding its probe into the allegations of stock price manipulation by the Adani group and lapses in regulatory disclosure, and listed a batch of PILs and plea by the market regulator on May 15. A bench of Chief Justices DY Chandrachud and Justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala said the court registry has received the report of the apex court-appointed Justice (retd) A M Sapre committee on the issue and would like to hear the matter on Monday after perusing the findings of the panel. "We will go through the report in the meantime.
The observations were made by a bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice Manoj Misra during the hearing of an appeal filed by the City and Industrial Development Corporation, Navi Mumbai against a Bombay high court verdict.
The Supreme Court on Thursday questioned the Centre over the procedure adopted for the appointment of election commissioners and asked how six names were shortlisted from 200 within a few hours.
With several state administrations flattening the houses of those involved in criminal cases with bulldozers, the Supreme Court on Monday questioned how can anybody's house be demolished just because he is an accused.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it will lay down guidelines for all citizens and not for any particular community on the issue of demolition of properties.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) alleged in the Supreme Court on Thursday that there was an attempt to cover up the rape and killing of a post-graduate medic at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital by the local police as the crime scene was altered by the time the federal agency took over the probe.
The Gujarat government told the Supreme Court on Thursday that the petitioners who have sought a probe into the alleged fake encounters in the state from 2002 to 2006 need to explain the reasons for their "selective public interest" in raising the issue.
This came a day after he argued before the top court as petitioner in-person in a matter related to the abrogation of Article 370, which accorded a special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir and was revoked by the Centre on August 5, 2019.
A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra took note of the submissions of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the office of the speaker, that some more time will be needed to pass orders on the disqualification pleas.
The bench allowed the rejoinder affidavit to be filed by petitioners in two weeks thereafter and posted the matter for final hearing in January, 2025.
The Supreme Court on Thursday announced the launch of portal 'SuSwagatam', which would enable advocates, visitors, interns and others to register themselves online and get e-passes to enter the apex court.
Justice Sanjiv Khanna, who headed the bench which heard Kejriwal's petition against his arrest in the case, said, "We will pronounce the interim order (on interim bail) on Friday. The main matter related to the challenge to arrest will also be taken on the same day."
