Supreme Court Observer

In a special sitting of the Supreme Court yesterday, a bench of Justices P.S. Narasimha & Joymalya Bagchi dismissed an appeal by the All India Trinamool Congress, challenging the ECI directive to deploy Central government employees for counting votes. Our newsletter covers the developments: https://www.scobserver.in/journal/through-courtrooms-and-constituencies/

🌄 Good Morning! 9️⃣ On Day 10 of the Sabarimala Reference, counsel for respondents argued that no religious practice can be recognised under Articles 25 or 26 if it runs foul of principles of equality. Read: https://bit.ly/4t3EHy8 📊 How long does the Supreme Court take to deliver a judgement? Our new data analysis looks at 60 cases where the Court reserved judgement in July 2025: https://bit.ly/423Yy5l 🪙 While the Supreme Court faces heat over the ₹9,800 crore settlement with Sterling Biotech, we examine conflicting views on precedent, principles and arithmetic that remain unresolved: https://bit.ly/4unoxRi

🌄 Good Morning! 9️⃣ Yesterday, respondents began submissions in the Sabarimala Reference, with Senior Advocate Indira Jaising leading the charge on how religious practices cannot violate constitutional guarantees of equality. Read: https://bit.ly/4t3EHy8 🪙 On 13 April, the Supreme Court compounded the last criminal complaint pending against promoters of Sterling Biotech, a Vadodara-based pharmaceutical group. We explain: https://bit.ly/4unoxRi ⚖️ Our latest issue of the Supreme Court Observer Law Reports has shortlisted five unmissable judgements from 20 April to 24 April 2026. Read: https://bit.ly/4eMuKBy

🚨 Day 10 arguments in the Sabarimala Reference conclude. Our hearing report: https://www.scobserver.in/reports/sabarimala-reference-day-10/ The Court will be back on 5 May (Tuesday) 10:30AM sharp. As always, SCO will bring you accurate live updates and hearing reports. Follow SCO on X: https://x.com/scobserver

🚨 Respondents began their arguments before the 9-judge Bench on Day 10 of the Sabarimala Reference. We bring you the mid-day updates from the first session. Here’s everything that has happened so far: https://www.scobserver.in/reports/sabarimala-reference-day-10/ Follow our live coverage for the latest updates: https://x.com/scobserver/status/2049355615496216847

On Day 10, respondents will begin arguments in the Sabarimala Reference challenging contentions raised by review petitioners in the past nine days. Our hearing report and X thread will give you live-updates throughout the day. Day 10 Report (to-be updated): https://www.scobserver.in/reports/sabarimala-reference-day-10/ Live thread: https://x.com/scobserver/status/2049355615496216847?s=20

🌞 Good Morning! 🛕 On Day 9 of the Sabarimala Reference, petitioners argued on the scope of social reform and tests for qualification of religious denominational rights through Article 25(2). Read: https://bit.ly/4ubmG1F 🗓️ Stay tuned for Day 10 as we bring you live updates on our website and X feed: https://x.com/scobserver?s=21 ⚖️ What does the New York Times article exposing the ‘Shadow Docket’ of the SCOTUS mean for an Indian lawyer watching from a distance. Find out more in our newsletter: https://bit.ly/3QzdVA8 📬 In our latest issue of SCO.LR, we bring to you five unmissable judgements from 20 April to 24 April 2026. Read: https://bit.ly/4eMuKBy

🚨 Day 9 arguments in the Sabarimala Reference conclude. Our hearing report: https://www.scobserver.in/reports/sabarimala-reference-day-9-nine-judge-bench/ The Court will be back tomorrow for Day 10 at 10:30AM sharp. As always, SCO will bring you accurate live updates and hearing reports. Follow SCO on X: https://x.com/scobserver?s=21

🚨 The 9-judge Bench has concluded the morning session of Day 9 in the Sabarimala Reference. Here’s everything that has happened so far: https://www.scobserver.in/reports/sabarimala-reference-day-9-nine-judge-bench/ Follow our live coverage for the latest updates: https://x.com/scobserver/status/2048991512776827263?s=20

🚨 The 9-judge Bench has concluded the morning session of Day 9 in the Sabarimala Reference. Here’s everything that has happened so far: https://www.scobserver.in/reports/sabarimala-reference-day-9-nine-judge-bench/ Follow our live coverage for the latest updates: https://x.com/scobserver/status/2048991512776827263?s=20

On Day 9, the nine-judge bench, led by CJI Surya Kant, including Justices B.V. Nagarathna, M.M. Sundresh, Ahsanuddin Amanullah, Aravind Kumar, A.G. Masih, P.B. Varale, R. Mahadevan, and Joymalya Bagchi, will continue to hear arguments on the review of the entry of women to the Sabarimala Temple. Read our report and follow the X thread below to get updates throughout the day. Day 9 Report (to-be updated): https://www.scobserver.in/reports/sabarimala-reference-day-9-nine-judge-bench/ Live Tweet thread: https://x.com/scobserver/status/2048991512776827263

🌞 Good Morning! 9️⃣ Today, Day 9 of arguments are scheduled to continue in the Sabarimala Reference. Previously, review petitioners submitted that “constitutional morality” cannot be conflated with religious rights under Articles 25 and 26. Read: https://bit.ly/42oPuIb ⚖️ In our latest newsletter, we write about the Shadow Docket of the United States Supreme Court and how interim orders shape public life long before the Court finds its words. Read: https://bit.ly/3QzdVA8 📬 The Supreme Court Observer Law Reports (SCO.LR) completes one year! Access 335 judgements on the SCO.LR page: https://bit.ly/423sT3R 5️⃣ In our latest Issue, we have shortlisted five unmissable judgements from 20 April to 24 April 2026: https://bit.ly/4eMuKBy

🌄 Good Morning! 🗳️ Last week, the Supreme Court refused to intervene in petitions seeking permission to vote in the West Bengal elections on account of appeals against deletion being pending in the West Bengal SIR exercise. Read: https://bit.ly/4vTEW1o ⚖️ On Day 8 of the Sabarimala Reference, the Supreme Court inquired about the limits of judicial review in matters of religion and determining religious practices. Read: https://bit.ly/42oPuIb 📄 “A generation of Indian legal scholars and journalists, including many who write for this publication, are his intellectual grandchildren, whether they name him or not.” Our farewell to jurist Marc Galanter. Read: https://bit.ly/48lyeap

🌻 Good Morning! ⚖️ “A generation of Indian legal scholars and journalists, including many who write for this publication, are his intellectual grandchildren, whether they name him or not.” Our farewell to Marc Galanter: https://bit.ly/48lyeap 9️⃣ On Day 8 of the Sabarimala Reference, review petitioners argued on denominational autonomy, the scope of social reform in religious practices, and the scope of judicial review. Read: https://bit.ly/42oPuIb 📊 In Part 1 of our Collegium series, we brought you the first publicly available dataset on the membership of the Supreme Court Collegium since its establishment in 1993. Read: https://bit.ly/4crAqPS 📈 In Part 2, we write about how and why the Supreme Court Collegium came to be. Read: https://bit.ly/3QfJZce

On Day 8, a nine-judge bench, led by CJI Surya Kant, including Justices B.V. Nagarathna, M.M. Sundresh, Ahsanuddin Amanullah, Aravind Kumar, A.G. Masih, P.B. Varale, R. Mahadevan, and Joymalya Bagchi, will continue to hear arguments on the review of the entry of women to the Sabarimala Temple. Follow this thread to get live updates of the hearing. Day 8 Report (To-be updated) https://www.scobserver.in/reports/sabarimala-reference-day-8/ Follow this X thread to get live updates from the hearing.

🌄 Good Morning! 9️⃣ On Day 7 of the Sabarimala Reference, review petitioners argued that social welfare legislations cannot eviscerate the character of religious denominations. Read: https://bit.ly/48gRANR ⚖️ Amidst uproar over women’s reservation in Parliament, two Supreme Court orders signal winds of change: https://bit.ly/48dVnLU 👥 How did the Supreme Court Collegium come to be? How many judges of the have been a part of it? Our series brings you the answers. Members of the Collegium since 1993: https://bit.ly/4crAqPS History of the Collegium: https://bit.ly/3QfJZce

The 9-judge Bench concluded the morning session of Day 7 in the Sabarimala Reference after hearing arguments from Senior Advocates Gopal Subramanium and Aryama Sundaram. Subramanium submitted that the essential religious practices doctrine can operate as an assistive tool instead of determining the validity of a practice. Sundaram argued that principles of equality under Article 14 does not apply to the freedom of religion under Article 25, unless expressly provided. Hearings resume at 2 PM. Follow our live coverage for the latest updates: https://x.com/scobserver/status/2046818370688004355?s=20