Supreme Court Observer

🌄 Good Morning! 🇮🇳 Yesterday, Narendra Modi was sworn in as India's Prime Minister for a third consecutive term. 🧾 In 2015, his government passed the 99th Constitutional Amendment which replaced the Collegium system with the *National Judicial Appointments Commission* to appoint judges to the High Courts and the Supreme Court. 👨🏻‍⚖️ However, the top court held the Amendment to be unconstitutional, setting the stage for heightened tensions between the executive and judiciary. 🏛️ In the last decade, the Modi government has been called out several times for delays in notifying Collegium recommendations. 📧 In our latest desk drief, we explore how the executive-judiciary tussle around appointments will play out in the BJP's third term: https://bit.ly/3KxpLEG

🥀 Good Morning! 📖 _"If I find the Constitution being misused, I shall be the first to burn it,"_ said Dr BR Ambedkar in the Rajya Sabha in 1953. Over the years, scholars and critics of the Constitution have often quoted this statement in different contexts. 🖊️ But was Dr Ambedkar really in favour of destroying the Constitution? What was the context in which he made this statement? In his book 'The Foresighted Ambedkar', scholar Anurag Bhaskar busts the myths. Read an excerpt: https://bit.ly/4c3TPDm 🏛️ Ambedkar's foresightedness when it came to the Constitution extended beyond his contributions in the Constituent Assembly. In the only known Supreme Court case he argued, he evoked for the first time, the 'spirit' of the Constitution. https://bit.ly/3x2llCD

🌿 Good Morning! 🪑 In the first half of 2024, the Supreme Court heard three 9-judge bench cases. Each concerned a long-debated question—on states’ power to tax minerals; Union’s power to regulate industrial alcohol; and whether private property can be considered a ‘material resource’ of the community. 📖 Large benches are formed under Articles 143 and 145. Art. 143 grants the President the power to refer a “question of law” to the Supreme Court. Art. 145 allows the Court to constitute a bench of minimum of 5 judges to hear any case concerning “a substantial question of law". A video explainer: https://bit.ly/4aVCAmS 🔎 We’ve tracked the nine-judge bench cases blow-by-blow. See our ‘Cases’ page for more. https://www.scobserver.in/cases/

🪴Good Morning! 🇮🇳 Yesterday was counting day for the 18th Lok Sabha Election. This election season, the Supreme Court heard some crucial cases: https://bit.ly/44OAzHO 📑 The Court dealt with two cases related to transparency. In the first, the Court rejected a plea seeking 100% verification of votes cast through EVMs. Here’s why: https://bit.ly/3QFJsgR 🔢 In a second case, ADR demanded the release of the absolute number of votes in each phase, alleging discrepancies in voter turnout data. They requested the Court to direct the ECI to upload scanned copies of Form 17C. The hearing was adjourned: https://bit.ly/4dUu5eJ 👩‍⚖️ The elections are over but the top court's duty isn't. Stay tuned to scobserver.in for more stories!

🌄 Good Morning! 👨🏻‍⚖️ Harilal Jekisondas Kania, the first Chief Justice of independent India, and Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister, saw eye-to-eye on the need for an independent judiciary. 📨 In fact, in 1948, when Kania mentioned to Nehru that the “deterioration of the judiciary had begun", Nehru promptly wrote a letter to Home Minister Vallabhbhai Patel about Kania's concern. 📃 Yet, three days before Kania took office as the first CJI, Nehru wrote two letters to Patel seeking Kania's resignation. ⚖️ In our latest newsletter, we trace the fraught relationship between the two men, and what judge appointments to the Madras High Court had to do with it. Read here: https://bit.ly/3yJYxrD

🌼 Good Morning! 🏛️ On 16 May 2024, in _Tarsem Lal v ED_ , the Court confirmed a potentially meaningful check on the ED’s wide powers. 👨🏻‍⚖ The bench clarified that the ED cannot make an arrest after a Special Court had taken cognisance of the matter. However, experts warn against reading it as a shift from _Vijay Madanlal_, the 2022 judgement which upheld all the challenged provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. Read Ayushi Saraogi's analysis here: https://bit.ly/3yEGumC 🗒️ April was a happening month at the Supreme Court. The Court heard two Constitution Bench cases and delivered a verdict on a crucial case concerning electoral transparency. Our review captures the key developments of the month in one place: https://bit.ly/3yGbVNE

🪴 Good Morning! 🏫 Article 142 gives the Supreme Court the power to pass any order to do complete justice in any case before it. But what does "doing complete justice" mean? Does this give the Court unlimited powers? Find out now! http://bit.ly/3V6aKP2 📹 We’ve got loads of other videos explaining keys cases in the past few years, legal terminology that you hear often but can’t make sense of, and conversations with some very interesting people from around the world. Subscribe to SCO’s YouTube channel now! https://bit.ly/3yDtGwZ

🪷 Good morning! 🗳️ Last week, the Supreme Court adjourned a plea asking the Election Commission of India to publish copies of Form 17C within 48 hours of polling. What is Form 17C and what is the petition about? Our explainer covers the sequence of events and the issues: https://bit.ly/4dUu5eJ 🏢 Earlier this month, a nine-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court reserved judgement on whether the phrase “material resources of the community” in Article 39(b) could include privately-owned property. SCO's Matrix breaks down the key arguments in the case: https://bit.ly/4e281i1

🏞️ Good Morning! ⚖️ _*Jurisdiction, Causelist, Contempt Petition, Master of the Roster*_ ⁉️ Ever wondered what these terms mean but never really looked them up? Don't worry, we've got you covered! ▶️ Our short video explainers break down complex legal jargon and Court procedures in *under two minutes.* Check them out if you haven't already: ▪️ *Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court:* https://bit.ly/3yDs46p ▫️ *Causelist:* https://bit.ly/3yq98YR ▫️ *Contempt Petition:* https://bit.ly/4dgmjLT ▪️ *Master of the Roster:* https://bit.ly/4dkKpFc 📹 For more such explainers visit our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/3yDtGwZ ✍🏻 Which other terms would you like us to explain? Let us know by writing to us at admin@scobserver.in!

🦋 Good morning! 📖 In the recent hearings in Property Owners v State of Maharashtra, a nine-judge bench spent a lot of time discussing aspects about one provision of the Constitution - Article 31C 🪢 Is Article 31C active, dormant or dead? Neha Vinod uses it as an entry point to look at the Court’s tangled history with the doctrine of revival: https://bit.ly/4bU1ZOH 📊 In April 2024, a nine-judge bench heard arguments on whether the Union or state governments had the power to regulate industrial alcohol. The argument matrix breaks down six days of contentions on key issues: https://bit.ly/44YmTKd

🪴 Good Morning! 🧔🏻‍♂️ Opposition Chief Ministers Arvind Kejriwal and Hemant Soren were both arrested by the ED in PMLA cases in the months before the 2024 Lok Sabha election. Why did only one of them get interim bail from the Suprme Court to campaign? SC Observer’s latest newsletter explores: https://bit.ly/4aG7LlY Subscribe to SCO’s weekly newsletters for an interesting weekly read straight in your inbox! https://bit.ly/3WXAakd Recent hearings in a 9-judge Constitution Bench case brought a crucial constitutional question to the fore—is an original provision revived when an amendment is struck down? Read “The effect of striking down a substitution: The Article 31C story” now! https://bit.ly/3KhKQms Here’s a video explainer on the other big 9-Judge Constitution Bench case this year: https://bit.ly/3yqjKqk. The Court was hearing arguments on whether state or Union Government has the power to regulate industrial alcohol. At stake is revenue for states, public health and India’s federal structure.

Correction: The above message says former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren withdrew petition yesterday. Soren withdrew his petition on Wednesday (22 May 2024). The error is regretted.

🌳Good morning! 📁 April, the last full working month before the Court vacation, recorded the largest increase in pendency numbers in 2024. Some factors for this were fewer working days and two nine-judge Constitution Benches: https://bit.ly/3Vdxair 📈 In the same month, the number of cases instituted in the Supreme Court surpassed the number of cases it disposed of. However, disposal numbers were still healthy, despite the Court being occupied by the Constitution Bench hearings. https://bit.ly/3yvPNoV 🔙 Yesterday, former Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren withdrew his challenge to his arrest by the ED after a vacation bench expressed the inclination to dismiss the plea on grounds of withholding crucial information. Read the full report here: https://bit.ly/4dUS1OP

🎐 Good morning, 📃 Yesterday, former Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren withdrew his petition challenging arrest under PMLA by the Enforcement Directorate. This was after a Vacation Bench expressed inclination to dismiss the plea on grounds that the petitioner had come with "unclean hands." 🗝️ Soren's legal team was pulled up by the Court for withholding key information about a Special Court taking cognisance of the offence. Read more here: https://bit.ly/4dUS1OP 🏛️ Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, Soren's counsel, was relying on the recent ruling granting interim bail to Arvind Kejriwal to campaign in the ongoing election. Advocate Soutik Banerjee analysed the Delhi CM's bail order here: https://bit.ly/4bQknrE

🌼 Good morning! 🏛️ Yesterday, a 5-judge Bench led by CJI D.Y. Chandrachud dismissed a review petition against the Court's December 2023 judgement upholding the abrogation of Article 370. The matter was heard in chamber. Read the judgement summary here: https://bit.ly/4bMgK63 📚 Did the Court's simplistic reading of constitutional history, and its skewed historical narrative on Article 370 provide an alternative track to abrogate Article 370? Srinagar based lawyer Zaid Deva argued here: https://bit.ly/4bMgK63 ❕Yesterday in a Vacation Bench hearing about the arrest of former Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren, petitioners argued that the case against him was "fabricated". Read more: https://bit.ly/3K9n103

🏵️ Good Morning! 🗳️ Landmark decisions, frivolous petitions, review requests—the top court saw it all before going into its summer vacation. When the Court comes back in July, a new government will be settling in. But the election-related cases will not have dried out. More on the Court and elections: https://bit.ly/44OAzHO 👨🏻‍⚖️ Justice A.S. Bopanna retired on 19 May after a 5-year tenure at the top court. https://bit.ly/3QSVbc0 📜 As a Supreme Court judge, Justice Bopanna authored 91 judgements. Here’s his tenure in numbers: https://bit.ly/3ypxOQV ✍🏻 We've also compiled a list of Justice Bopanna's notable judgements here: https://bit.ly/4521Re1

🍃 Good morning! 💬 Today, the top court is expected to hear final arguments on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's plea challenging his arrest by the ED. Yesterday, the ED argued that it had enough 'material evidence' to arrest Kejriwal in the Delhi Excise Policy case: https://bit.ly/3UM2l2Z 👨‍⚖️ Today is Justice A.S. Bopanna last working day at the Supreme Court. During his 5-year tenure, he authored 91 judgements and was a part of 518 benches. Here are some of his Notable judgements: https://bit.ly/4521Re1 📊 We also analysed his Tenure in numbers here: https://bit.ly/3WK0CO7 🗳️ Yesterday, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal was elected as the President of the Supreme Court Bar Association. Here's a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the election: https://bit.ly/3QMewvo

🌻 Good Morning! 🏛️ Today, the Supreme Court Bar Association will vote to elect its new governing members. We've reported on the key contenders for President and the issues at play: https://bit.ly/3QMewvo 🪪 Yesterday, the Union issued the first set of citizenship certificates under the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019. This comes just weeks after the notification of the CAA Rules of 2024. In March, the top court had refused to stay the Rules: https://bit.ly/3TIwuks 🗳️ The Court recently rejected a plea seeking 100% vote verification through VVPATs. While a review petition against the judgement remains pending before the top court, we've curated a list of cases where the Court dealt with similar issues of transparency with EVMs: https://bit.ly/3V2BDnW

🌿 Good morning! 🏛️ Tomorrow, the Supreme Court Bar Association will vote into power its new leaders. With Kapil Sibal's last minute nomination after 22 years, it appears the cat has been thrown among the pigeons. But the politics of the day is complex and victory on any side is far from guaranteed. Read our exclusive coverage: https://bit.ly/3QMewvo 📰 Yesterday, the top court reserved judgement in the Patnajali Ayurved contempt case for its misleading advertisements. Here's everything you need to know about the case: https://bit.ly/4dCWB4d 💸 The Electoral Bonds judgement was perhaps the biggest decision on political funding preceding the 2024 general elections. We have curated a comprehensive timeline of the saga here: https://bit.ly/3WIcIYm

⭐️ Good morning! 🥂 In April 2024, 9 judges of the Supreme Court heard 6 days of arguments on states’ power to regulate Industrial Alcohol. Why does this matter? States argued that in the post-GST era, their taxing powers have been significantly limited, raising financial concerns. We’ve explained the whole story in our latest video: https://bit.ly/3yqjKqk 🥃 The 9-judge Bench will also decide whether the usage of the words "intoxicating liquor" only means drinking alcohol or includes industrial alcohol. This will further clarify whether the Union or state governments will enjoy the power to regulate industrial alcohol or "denatured spirits". https://bit.ly/3PNWbxx ‼️ This was one of two of the biggest cases this year which saw a turf war between the Centre and state governments. Which was the other one? Find out here: https://bit.ly/4b5no7i