Supreme Court Observer

🌅 Good Morning! 👨‍⚖️After the Supreme Court's judgement in the Tamil Nadu Governor case, its power to use its discretionary power to 'do complete justice’ under Article 142 is back in the limelight. Has the Court been trigger-happy with the provision? We analyse: https://bit.ly/4lHoyvQ 📝 We also summarised the 415-page judgement here: https://bitly.cx/ciC3K ⚖️ The Court's decision in the TN Governor case will likely impact cases involving other Opposition-ruled states. Listed for hearing today is a similar plea by the Kerala government: https://bit.ly/4apXIBV 🛫 Yesterday, the Court deferred hearing YouTuber Ranveer Allahbadia’s plea seeking the release of his passport to 28 April. We report: https://bit.ly/3Ej0PBp

🌼 Good Morning! 🏛️ Last week, the Supreme Court commenced hearing challenges to the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025. 📜 The Court granted the Union a week to file responses on the assurance that no new members would be appointed to the Waqf Council or State Waqf Boards and that no waqfs would be denotified until the next hearing. 📩 For now, the Court has steered clear of diving into deeper questions, such as the scope of the fundamental right to manage religious affairs. In our latest newsletter, we summarise what's at stake: https://bit.ly/4cGlcVR ⚖️ Today the Court is scheduled to hear YouTuber Ranveer Allahbadia's case. Last month the Court allowed him to resume his show: https://bitly.cx/tj34

🎊 Last week, we launched our new initiative: the Supreme Court Observer Law Reports (SCO.LR). 📜 This week, we released Volume 4, Issue 2 of SCO.LR, which covers judgements delivered between 7 and 13 April 2025. Read it here: https://www.scobserver.in/journal/sco-lr-volume-4-issue-2/ 📄 Look out for our unique citation format, in addition to the Supreme Court’s neutral citations. The format includes: - The date of judgement - SCO.LR issue number (in brackets) - The case number within that issue - Our key words/phrases telegraph the decision at a single glance. 📱 Stay tuned for more updates on how SCO.LR can support your research. Share feedback to join us to build the most accurate and accessible archive of the Indian Supreme Court!

🗞️ Good Morning! ⚖️ Yesterday, the Supreme Court granted the Union one week to file responses to the challenges against the Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025, on the assurance that no fresh appointments would be made to the Waqf Council or Boards before the next hearing. 📜The Court also retitled the case and directed that no waqf properties, including 'waqf by user', can be denotified before the next hearing. Our report: https://bitly.cx/TsvKY 1️⃣: On Day 1, petitioners argued that the 2025 Act infringes the Muslim community’s right to manage its religious affairs: https://bit.ly/3RhXEwC 👨🏻‍⚖ Last week, the Court found that the TN Governor’s withholding of assent to 10 bills was 'illegal'. We summarise the 415-page judgement here: https://bitly.cx/ciC3K

🌲 Good Morning! ⚖️ Today, the Supreme Court is expected to continue hearing arguments in the challenge to the constitutional validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025. 🗣️ Yesterday, petitioners argued that the law violates the Muslim community's right to manage its religious affairs. The Court also considered granting interim relief. Our report: https://bit.ly/3RhXEwC 🕌 Our case background summarises everything you need to know: https://bit.ly/4lOhEFc 🔍 We also published the latest edition in the SCO.LR series, with crisp summaries of five key decisions from last week. Find it here: https://bit.ly/3GbZeOi

🌅 Good Morning! *Today in Court:* 🏛 The Supreme Court will hear a slew of petitions challenging the amendments to the Waqf Act, which governs the management of Muslim charitable properties. The Bill received presidential assent earlier this month. 🗣 The petitioners argue that the law violates the fundamental right to equality by, among other things, mandating non-Muslim members to be on the Waqf Board. The government has maintained that the changes improve transperency in Waqf management. *Breathless in the Capital:* 💨 Since November last year, the SC has been monitoring the Delhi pollution crisis at regular intervals. The hearings have opened several workstreams for authorities. But can the SC double down on enforcement? https://bit.ly/3Y2ax1x

🗞 Good Morning! ⚖️ Yesterday was B.R. Ambedkar’s birth anniversary. Here's an essay exploring what the disability justice movement can learn from his conception of disability in the caste context: https://bitly.cx/Wc91 🏛️ Today, the SC is scheduled to hear the suo moto case against a Lokpal order that granted itself jurisdiction over HC judges. In the last hearing, the Court appointed an amicus: https://bitly.cx/k2x8x 💨 The Court will also continue hearing the Delhi-NCR pollution case. Our coverage: https://bit.ly/3YpiP3y ✍ Also listed is a suo moto case where the top court had stayed an HC ruling which held that ‘grabbing breasts’ and ‘loosening a pyjama string’ did not amount to ‘attempt to rape’. Our report: https://bit.ly/442ksYH

🪴Good Morning! 🌼 SCO's Spring Session Review is here! It covers key developments in the Court between 1 January and 31 March. Here are all the highlights in one place: https://bit.ly/4cC4gQo 👩‍💼 One of the highlights was a case concerning the process of designating Senior Advocates in India, a hot issue for both the bar and the bench. ⚖️ Last month, the Supreme Court reserved judgement in the case to decide if the process needs fine-tuning or a complete overhaul. While we await the judgement, we explore how other countries approach designation or "taking silk": https://bit.ly/4jtm3Lx 🗣️ Here’s a breakdown of all the arguments made during the hearings last month: https://bit.ly/4cexbJV

🌅 Good Morning! 💨 This week, the Supreme Court pushed for the creation of mass awareness on solid waste management in the National Capital Region. The Court also reviewed Delhi-NCR’s compliance with colour-coded stickers and vehicle pollution rules. Our report: https://bit.ly/4cyCNz2 🏛️ The top court has been monitoring the Delhi Pollution Crisis since November last year. While initial hearings were focussed on air quality management, the focus later shifted to addressing a broad range of issues for long-term solutions. Our coverage: https://bit.ly/3YpiP3y 📧 But has the Court's constant intervention created any palpable change? Stay tuned to our weekend newsletter at 6:00 pm tomorrow to find out! Subscribe here: https://bit.ly/3Yr3WOe

🍃 Good Morning! 🎉 We are excited to introduce the *Supreme Court Observer Law Reports* (SCO.LR). 🗃️ Since 2017, SCO has developed a comprehensive Archive of all cases of public importance. 🖐🏻 Now, in addition to our Archive, there is SCO.LR, where we select, summarise and present easily accessible versions of five significant judgements delivered each week. 📜 Here's Volume 4 of SCO.LR which features judgements from the first week of April: https://bitly.cx/95KOr 📧 Want these in your inbox every week? Subscribe now: https://bit.ly/3Yr3WOe

*Presenting SCO.LR* Each week, the Supreme Court of India hears hundreds of cases and decides tens of them. Since 2017, the Supreme Court Observer has developed a comprehensive Case Archive of all cases of public importance, or those that change the law. This Case Archive includes court submissions, hearing reports and analyses for every case. Today, we announce our new initiative: the Supreme Court Observer Law Reports (SCO.LR). Each week, SCO.LR will select, summarise and present easily accessible versions of five significant and unmissable judgements. Taken together, the SCO Case Archive and SCO.LR are the only resources you will need to track the Supreme Court of India! Today, we release Volume 4 of the SCO.LR and this issue covers judgements from 1 April to 7 April 2025. Each week we will release a new issue, and over time we will add new features and incrementally cover all back issues from January 2025. Read our first issue here: https://www.scobserver.in/journal/sco-lr-volume-4-issue-1/

🌸 Good Morning! 📑 Yesterday, the Supreme Court ruled that Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi’s withholding of 10 state bills was “illegal” and “erroneous”. Exercising its discretionary powers, the Court deemed the bills to have received assent. Our report: https://bit.ly/4ia2UNN 🚧 In our latest analysis, we examine how the CJI’s power to recommend a judge’s removal based on an in-house inquiry report may dilute the separation of powers: https://bit.ly/4jtrs5x ❓As calls to revive the National Judicial Appointments Commission for the appointment of judges to the higher judiciary grow louder, we revisit why the Supreme Court struck down the Commission in 2015: https://bit.ly/3Ym8Yvm

🌅 Good Morning! 💵 Today, the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the Kerala government’s petition against the Governor’s delays in granting assent to state legislature bills. Here’s what you need to know: https://bit.ly/4apXIBV 🏭 The Delhi pollution crisis matter is also listed in Court today. Last week, the judges refused to relax the ban on firecrackers and demanded compliance reports on stubble burning control. Our report: https://bitly.cx/Sm52 ⛓️ A Division Bench is expected to continue monitoring steps taken by the Union and state governments to tackle caste, gender and disability-based discrimination in Indian prisons. More here: https://bit.ly/41mdyfj

🍃 Good Morning! 👨🏻‍⚖Reportedly, in a full-court meeting last week, SC judges unamimously resolved to publicly declare their assets. The news came in the wake of the Justice Varma 'cash-in-house' controversy. While this signals a push for transparency, history offers reason for caution. Our latest newsletter explores: https://bitly.cx/1FKu 🧨 Affirming clean air as a constitutional right, the Court refused to relax the firecracker ban in Delhi-NCR and sought action on stubble burning: https://bitly.cx/Sm52 💨 The Court also pushed back on regulatory delays in curbing pollution from thermal power plants: https://bitly.cx/nHyH ✍️ Read our Monthly Review for key developments at the top court in March: https://bitly.cx/CnJMM

⛅️ Good Morning! ❔ Looking to dive into the latest literature on legal issues? Head over to scobserver.in for curated book excerpts from some recent releases. 🏢 This week, we published an excerpt from 'Tareekh pe Justice', a new book by Prashant Reddy T and Chitrakshi Jain on reforms in the Indian District Courts. The excerpt looks into the Supreme Court’s funding directives and their lack of a clear constitutional foundation: https://bit.ly/4i0NoDM 📘 Last month, we published an excerpt from 'The Indian Constitution: Conversations with Power' by Gautam Bhatia. It argues that India’s Constitution enables central dominance over institutions like the ECI: https://bit.ly/3XQ42yE 🖱️ Read other excerpts published by the SCO here: https://bit.ly/4lcez1n

🌄 Good Morning! 📩 Every Saturday at 6:00pm SCO brings you a crisp newsletter straight to your inbox. Here's what we published in March 2025: 👩🏻‍⚖️ On sensitivity towards women in the judiciary: https://bit.ly/3QDapBA ♀️ On representation of women in the legal profession: https://bit.ly/4kE9i27 ⚖️ On the prosecutrix’s ‘unshaken’ testimony in a rape trial: https://bit.ly/4kAXz4A 📜 On ‘mitigating circumstances’ while commuting a death sentence: https://bit.ly/4iWTAhc 👨🏻‍⚖️ On the conversation after Justice Varma's 'cash-in-house' incident: https://bit.ly/4247BnH 📮Sign up for our newsletters here: https://bit.ly/3rvqmRa

✨ Good Morning! 📖 'Tareekh pe Justice' by Prashant Reddy T. and Chitrakshi Jain is a new book on reforms for the district judiciary. In this excerpt we published, the authors point out that the Supreme Court’s orders to increase funding for the district judiciary often fail to articulate a constitutional basis: https://bit.ly/4i0NoDM 👨🏻‍⚖️ The 'cash-in-house' controversy involving Justice Yashwant Varma has revived the debate on judicial appointments and the Court's 2015 NJAC decision. But should the conversation focus on accountability instead? We explore: https://bit.ly/4247BnH ⚖️ Today, the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear challenges against the Tribunal Reforms Act, 2021. Our case background: https://bit.ly/3XIUcid

Good Morning! 💵 In the wake of the cash controversy involving Justice Yashwant Varma, much of the conversation has turned to judicial appointments rather than judicial accountability. Our newsletter explores: https://bit.ly/4247BnH 🏛️ Our coverage has focused on many aspects of the Justice Varma episode, including whether judicial work can be withheld during an ongoing in-house enquiry process: https://bitly.cx/4G8I ⏪ Want a brief introduction into how it all began? Here’s all you need to know: https://bit.ly/4iTuUGi

🗞 Good Morning! 👨🏻‍⚖ In light of the controversy surrounding Justice Yashwant Varma, we dive into the framework governing the powers of the Chief Justice to withhold judicial work from a judge before an in-house inquiry concludes: https://bitly.cx/4G8I ⚖️ A Supreme Court judgement commuting a death sentence to life imprisonment prompts us to revisit the issue of ‘mitigating circumstances’. Watch our latest video about this judgement from February: https://bitly.cx/892 📖 More of a reader? Start the week with a text version of this story: https://bit.ly/4iWTAhc

🗞 Good Morning! 👨🏻‍⚖ Can the CJI withhold work from a judge before an in-house inquiry concludes? In the wake of currency piles being found at Justice Yashwant Varma's official residence, we answer this question: https://bitly.cx/4G8I ✍ Earlier this week, the Supreme Court took suo moto action and stayed an Allahabad HC ruling which held that ‘grabbing breasts’ and ‘loosening a pyjama string’ did not amount to an ‘attempt to rape’ charge. Read: https://bit.ly/442ksYH 🏛 The process of designating Senior Advocates involves a point-grading system and an interview. Last week, after two days of hearings, a Special Bench reserved judgement on whether these parameters needed a relook. The full story: https://bit.ly/4cexbJV