Supreme Court Observer

🌞Good Morning! 🗳️ On Day 21 of the challenge to the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, the ECI defended its power to verify citizenship. Hearing report: https://bit.ly/4aP6Pja ⚠️ Yesterday, the Court said it would not grant "long adjournments" in the Delhi-NCR air pollution matter. It directed the Commission for Air Quality Management to identify causes for the continuing deterioration in air quality. Hearing report: https://bit.ly/4pu1bXh 🕰️ A new SOP caps the length of written submissions to five pages. It also requires lawyers to file a note, at least a day prior to the hearing, on how much time they will take for oral arguments. Our desk brief: https://bit.ly/49q3aGa

🌅 Good Morning ⚖️ Yesterday, the Supreme Court rejected bail pleas of Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, stating that continued detention is not “constitutionally impermissible”. Our hearing report: https://bit.ly/3N75VVl 5️⃣ The Court granted bail to five others accused in the 2020 Delhi Riots case, stating that they were on a separate footing compared to Khalid and Imam. We summarise the 142-page judgement: https://bit.ly/4pJqTHz 📰 In our latest edition of the Supreme Court Observer Law Reports, we list five bonus judgements from December 2025. Read here: https://bit.ly/49n2y41

🗓️ Good Morning! ⚖️ On 29 December, the SC stayed the operation of a Delhi High Court order which had suspended the life sentence awarded to Kuldeep Singh Sengar, a former MLA of the Bharatiya Janta Party, in the Unnao rape case. Hearing report: https://bit.ly/3N2onOP 👨🏻‍⚖️ Have you read our thematic year-enders? Top 10 verdicts: https://bit.ly/49tzJEd Bail: https://bit.ly/3KQvbyq Governance: https://bit.ly/3LeGPDb Constitution Benches: https://bit.ly/3Nm7VsE Collegium: https://bit.ly/4qssVfN Freedom of speech: https://bit.ly/4qoUSVD Environment: https://bit.ly/4siIbxB 🗃️ From rising pendency to fewer Constitution Benches: our latest newsletter looks back at the 'year of the three CJIs'. Read here: https://bit.ly/4jnlww8

🏙️ Good Morning! 🔟 For our year-end series, we have selected 10 verdicts that are already considered as ‘landmark’ or are likely to be in the years to come. Top 10 verdicts of 2025: https://bit.ly/49tzJEd 📰 The latest edition of SCO.LR is out: featuring judgements on cheque bounce cases, renewal of passports, reservation and more: https://bit.ly/3YhzTrW 🎉 This year, under the SCO.LR banner, we covered 250 judgements. Full list: https://bit.ly/4jhZYAN 👩🏽‍⚖️ Have you had a chance to go through our thematic year-end reviews? Bail: https://bit.ly/3KQvbyq Democracy and governance: https://bit.ly/3LeGPDb Constitution Bench decisions: https://bit.ly/3Nm7VsE Collegium: https://bit.ly/4qssVfN Freedom of speech: https://bit.ly/4qoUSVD Environment: https://bit.ly/4siIbxB

🌲Good morning! 🔟 In 2025, the Supreme Court delivered 1426 judgements. In our year-end list, we selected 10 verdicts that are already considered as ‘landmark’ or are likely to be in the years to come. Read more: https://bit.ly/49tzJEd 📰 The latest edition of SCO.LR is out featuring judgements on cheque bounce cases, renewal of passports, reservation and more: https://bit.ly/3YhzTrW 🎉 With this issue, our SCO.LR page now hosts 250 judgements from 2025. Access them here: https://bit.ly/4jhZYAN ⚖️ Check out our thematic year-end reviews: Bail: https://bit.ly/3KQvbyq Democracy and governance: https://bit.ly/3LeGPDb Constitution Bench decisions: https://bit.ly/3Nm7VsE Collegium: https://bit.ly/4qssVfN Freedom of speech: https://bit.ly/4qoUSVD

☀️Good morning 👨🏻‍⚖️“The Year of Three Chiefs”- From rising pendency to fewer Constitution Benches, reporter Namrata Banerjee looks back at the Supreme Court's 2025. Read the desk brief here: https://bit.ly/4jnlww8 ⚖️ It's the season for our thematic year-ender reviews. Here are the ones we've published so far: Bail: https://bit.ly/3KQvbyq Democracy and governance: https://bit.ly/3LeGPDb Constitution Bench decisions: https://bit.ly/3Nm7VsE Collegium: https://bit.ly/4qssVfN Freedom of speech: https://bit.ly/4qoUSVD

🍃 Good Morning! 👨🏻‍⚖️ Commentary: A brief history of the Union’s repeated attempts to change the tribunals law—and how the Court has addressed this executive creep. Read more: https://bit.ly/4qfjVdG ⚖️ In the first of our year-ender review articles, we highlight notable SC verdicts that walked the tightrope of jail and bail: https://bit.ly/3KQvbyq 🗣️ How much discretion does the Speaker have in the judicial impeachment process? We explore the question through the lens of two recent motions: https://bit.ly/3L58aYx

🌇 Good Morning 👨🏻‍⚖️ We kicked off our 2025 year-ender series with a review of the Court's notable verdicts on bail: https://bit.ly/3KQvbyq ⚖️ What the career of advocate Manohar Lal Sharma, who died last week, tells us about the Supreme Court: https://bit.ly/4pS7tkm 🗃️ In November 2025, pendency inched closer to 91000. How did the Court get here? More: http://bit.ly/4oYSMuK

Good Morning 🌅 ⚖️ Public-spirited advocate Manohar Lal Sharma died on 19 December. We look at what his career tells us about the Supreme Court: https://bit.ly/4pS7tkm 🗃️ As the year ends, pendency has inched closer to 91,000 cases. The backlog grew by 444 cases in November, reaching 90,694. Our report: http://bit.ly/4oYSMuK 👨🏻‍⚖️ In the latest edition of SCOLR, we cover five key judgements of the Supreme Court from last week: https://bit.ly/4jk0ZbK

☀️ Good Morning 🏥 Recently, the Supreme Court heard a passive euthanasia case from a patient in a permanent vegetative state. The Court will determine what constitutes “life-supporting treatment” in the context of passive euthanasia: https://bit.ly/4pbblMq ⚖️ In our latest commentary, Douglas McDonald-Norman and Arun K. Thiruvengadam write about the Tribunal Reforms judgement. They cover a brief history of the Union’s repeated attempts to change the tribunals law—and how the Court has addressed this executive creep: https://bit.ly/4qfjVdG 📰 Vol 12 Issue 4 of SCO.LR is out, featuring key judgements on leading questions in cross-examination, arbitration, endangered species and more: https://bit.ly/4jk0ZbK

Good morning 🌞 🗃️ As the year closes, pendency has inched closer to 91000 cases. The backlog grew by 444 cases in November, reaching 90,694. Read more: http://bit.ly/4oYSMuK 💉 In our latest desk brief, we cover a recent case that puts the Supreme Court’s 2018 passive euthanasia guidelines to their first real test. The Court will likely hear arguments on whether feeding tubes constitute ‘life-supporting treatment’. More: https://bit.ly/3MOAChV 👟On 14 November, a two-judge Bench dismissed an appeal filed by Bata and the other defendants against shoe company Crocs. By doing so, the Supreme Court missed an opportunity to clarify a key question of design and trademark law. Read: https://bit.ly/3YvhI22

🌇 Good morning! 👨‍⚖On 16 December, in Justice Varma’s case, the SC raised a question about limits to the Speaker’s discretion in deciding an impeachment motion. The recent motion against Justice Swaminathan may bring this imbalance into focus. Read: https://bit.ly/3L58aYx 😷 During a recent hearing on Delhi pollution, the Bench clarified that the restraint on authorities from taking coercive steps against specific vehicles operates only in respect of vehicles conforming to BS-IV and newer emission standards. Full hearing report: https://bit.ly/4aimiIb 👟"On 14 November 2025, in the case of Crocs vs Bata, the two-judge Bench missed an opportunity to clarify a key question of design and trademark law." IP lawyer Aparajita Lath's commentary: https://bit.ly/3YvhI22

🌇 Good morning! 👟On 14 November a two-judge Bench of the Supreme Court dismissed shoe-manufacturer Bata’s appeal in a trademark dispute with Crocs, which sued Bata for design infringement. In our latest commentary, Aparajita Lath writes that the Court missed an opportunity to resolve key questions of design and trademark law: https://bit.ly/3YvhI22 😷 Yesterday the Supreme Court declined to interfere with the temporary closure of primary schools in Delhi in response to rising AQI levels. The Court described it as a policy decision and heard submissions on stipends for construction workers and closure of toll booths on highways: https://bit.ly/4aimiIb 🗃 Today the Court will hear arguments by the Election Commission in the challenge to the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Bihar. In the previous hearing the Court declined to rely on news reports of mass deletion notices: https://bit.ly/3L3J8Ji

🌇 Good morning! 🚨 Yesterday, the Supreme Court gave the Union more time to respond and adjourned the hearing of the petition that alleged the disappearance of a family of five Rohingya persons. Our newsletter tells you more about the case: https://bit.ly/44pyfIo 🗳 On Day 20 of the challenge to Bihar's SIR, the Bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi heard submissions by petitioners on reports of large-scale deletion notices. Our hearing report: https://bit.ly/3L3J8Ji 🗃 In November 2025, the Supreme Court pendency inched closer to 91000. This trend is in line with our previous assessment that the Court is facing a looming pendency crisis. More: http://bit.ly/4oYSMuK

🌞 Good morning! 🕰 On Dec 2, the Supreme Court heard a habeas corpus plea alleging the disappearance of five Rohingya persons. The petitioner argued that deportation processes risk unlawful transfer or trafficking: https://bit.ly/44pyfIo 📰 Vol 12 Issue 3 of SCOLR is out, featuring key judgements on judicial review, bail, taxation, ICC jurisdiction in POSH cases, and compassionate appointments: https://bit.ly/4aRRE8G 📈 Our latest video explains the Constitution Bench decision that laid down binding guidelines on the progression of judges in the district judiciary. Watch here: https://bit.ly/3L043wO

*Correction:* Today's morning update incorrectly stated that Umar Khalid was granted bail from 16-26 December 2025. Khalid's bail is from *16-29 December 2025*. The error is regretted.

🌞 Good morning! 🕰 As the year ends, pendency has inched closer to 91000 cases. The backlog grew by 444 cases in November, reaching a total of 90,694. More here: http://bit.ly/4oYSMuK 📈 Delhi's Karkardooma Court has granted interim bail to Umar Khalid from 16-26 December to attend his sister’s wedding. Our tracker has the complete timeline of his bail proceedings across courts: https://bit.ly/4pC8ddm 🗳 The Supreme Court has heard 19 days of arguments in the challenge to the Bihar SIR. Meanwhile, the Bihar elections have concluded under the revised roll. As the exercise continues in 9 other states, we look at the time lag between adjudication and action: https://bit.ly/4iU0LYr

🪴 Good morning! 🗳️ Yesterday, petitioners argued that the Election Commission has misunderstood its constitutional role and approached the SIR from a position of suspicion rather than facilitation. More: https://bit.ly/4iU0LYr 📈 The Karkardooma Court in Delhi has granted Umar Khalid interim bail from 16 to 26 December to attend his sister’s wedding. Our bail tracker has the full timeline of his bail proceedings across courts: https://bit.ly/4pC8ddm 📕 Marking 75 years of India’s constitutional journey, V. Krishna Ananth’s book traces how State power, political movements and institutional choices have shaped the Constitution as a living document. Review: //bit.ly/4pwyDgJ

🌻 Good morning! 👮‍♂ Yesterday, the Court reserved judgement in Umar Khalid’s bail application. The Delhi Police relied on speeches, chats, meetings, CDR records and witness statements to argue that the riots conspiracy was planned months earlier. The Bench questioned whether the speeches meet the definition of a terrorist act under the UAPA: https://bit.ly/4a44h05 📈Follow our bail tracker for a full timeline of Khalid’s bail proceedings across courts: https://bit.ly/4pC8ddm 🗳 The Court will continue hearing the challenge to Bihar SIR today. In the previous hearing, petitioners argued that the SIR is being carried out with haste and opacity. They pointed to repeated deletions made without the inquiry and hearing required under the 1960 Rules: https://bit.ly/3KqeOI

🌞 Good Morning! 🕰 On Day 18 of the challenge to Bihar's SIR, petitioners argued that the constitutional scheme and the Representation of the People Act does not empower the ECI to determine the citizenship status of voters. The burden of proving of non-citizenship is on the state. Report: https://bit.ly/4iMbXq9 👮‍♂️ Today the Delhi police is expected to argue against the bail applications filed by Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and others accused in the 2020 Delhi Riots. Petitioners concluded their arguments challenging the prolonged custody and repeated supplementary chargesheet filed against the accused activists. Report: https://bit.ly/3Mnt71f 💨 The Court will hear the Delhi air-pollution matter today. Previously, the Court asked why stubble burning is being politicised and pressed authorities to show what their action plans have delivered. Our report: https://bit.ly/4oW8O8M