Supreme Court Observer

🌄 Good Morning! 🪪 Today, the Supreme Court will continue hearing the challenge to the Election Commision's Special Intensive Revision of the rolls in Bihar. 🗣 Yesterday, election analyst Yogendra Yadav, who is a petitioner in the case, put forth arguments in Court. He was accompanied by two persons who he alleged have been presumed dead under the SIR exercise. For more, read our detailed hearing report: https://bit.ly/416nWr0 📄 Have you read the lastest Issue of the Supreme Court Observer Law Reports? This Issue covers key five judgements from last week. Subjects include conviction in cases where only circumstantial evidence is available and the power of Pollution Control Boards. Read here: https://bit.ly/4fwflDQ

🌇 Good Morning! 🗳️ Today, the Supreme Court will hear a batch of petitions challenging the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar. The petitioners argue that the process is unconstitutional and arbitrary. Case background: https://bit.ly/44yvFif 📑 In the previous hearing, the Court refused to stay the publication of the draft electoral rolls. The rolls have since been published on the Election Commission website. The ECI claims that no political party has filed any complaints: https://bit.ly/3UwPBgW 🪪 The Court had suggested that the ECI consider including Aadhaar Card as a valid document for submission along with SIR forms. The ECI had resisted the proposal: http://bit.ly/44C828v

📱 Good Evening! 8️⃣ Here’s the latest issue of the *Supreme Court Observer Law Reports* (SCO.LR)! In Volume 8, Issue 2 of SCO.LR, we look at some of the most important Judgements of the Court from the second week of August 2025. 🗒 These judgements concern conviction in cases where there is only circumstantial evidence, power of pollution control boards, testimony of POCSO victims and many more: https://www.scobserver.in/journal/sco-lr-2025-volume-8-issue-2/ 🌐 All these judgements are in HTML format on our SCO.LR page. What does this mean? HTML pages allow you to read the judgements in a clean format, with links to footnotes and with the option to hyperlink relevant paragraphs from any judgement *in your own research*: https://www.scobserver.in/supreme-court-observer-law-reports-scolr/ Enjoy!

🌻 Good Morning! 🗣️ Justice Dipankar Datta's "true Indian" remark about Rahul Gandhi stirred debate on the propriety of casual oral observations and their role in judicial discovery. Read our full piece here: http://bit.ly/4ouaDdX 👨🏻‍⚖ A Bench dismissed Justice Yashwant Varma’s writ petition against the in-house procedure and a committee report linking him to burnt currency recovered from his residence. Judgement summary: https://bit.ly/45H6mfI ⚖️ In the 'Vijay Madanlal' review hearing last week, ASG S.V. Raju defended the PMLA verdict, arguing that the review petition is “an appeal in disguise” and fails the maintainability threshold. The Bench questioned the ED’s low conviction rates. Our hearing report: http://bit.ly/4m9XiWx

🍀 Good Morning! 👨🏻‍⚖️ Yesterday, the Supreme Court dismissed Justice Yashwant Varma's petition challenging the legality of the in-house procedure. The Court noted that the process enjoys legal sanctity and is not a parallel mechanism outside the constitutional framework. 📄 We had analysed the key contentions in Justice Varma's petition: https://bit.ly/4mj4U92 💸 The Court also briefly heard the review petition challenging its 2022 Judgement in _Vijay Madanlal_ which upheld the wide powers granted to the Enforcement Directorate under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. 📜 Our case background summarises everything you need to know about the case: https://bit.ly/4ok45yl

🌻Good Morning! ⚖️ A Bench of Justices Surya Kant, Ujjal Bhuyan, and N.K. Singh will hear arguments challenging the 2022 _Vijay Madanlal_ judgement that upheld wide powers of arrest and investigation granted to the Enforcement Directorate under the PMLA. 📖 Read our Case Background to know more: http://bit.ly/4ok45yl 👨🏻‍⚖️ Last week, the Court settled the scope of issues, as parties clashed over the framing of issues. Read: http://bit.ly/456dvGh 📘 Volume 8, Issue 1 of SCO.LR is out! It covers five major judgements from 28 July to 2 August on arbitration in public-private partnership contracts, employee rights and the timeline for deciding defection petitions. Read here: http://bit.ly/41sfK4l

🍀 Good Morning! 🚸 Recently, the Supreme Court directed the Union to frame guidelines for pedestrian safety. The Court reiterated that the right of pedestrians to use safe footpaths or footways is guaranteed under Article 21: http://bit.ly/45CMsm3 🏞️ In a recent case concerning the construction of a resort in a "green area" in Himachal Pradesh, the Supreme Court batted for ecological conservation and environmental protection. Here's what happened: http://bit.ly/4m62wTj 🏛️ A key legal principle in political defection cases is that of _quia timet._ It refers to action taken to prevent future harm or injury. We explore how the Court has deployed it over the years in our latest newsletter: https://bit.ly/458nSba

🌄 Good Morning! 🎱 Volume 8, Issue 1 of the _Supreme Court Observer Law Reports_ (SCO.LR) is here! This Issue features five crucial Supreme Court judgments from 28 July to 2 August. 📜They cover topics such as the method of arbitration in public-private contracts, employees' rights when seeking compensation and the powers of the Speaker: https://bit.ly/45juPXg 🗒 You can access them all in HTML format here: https://bit.ly/4kSbYst 🗣 We analysed one of these judgments in our weekly desk brief. The Court directed the Speaker of the Telangana Legislative Assembly to decide disqualification petitions within three months: http://bit.ly/458nSba 📩 Don't miss our newsletters. Subscribe here: https://bit.ly/3rvqmRa

🌃 Good Evening! 8️⃣ We bring you Volume 8, Issue 1 of the Supreme Court Observer Law Reports (SCO.LR). In this first Issue of SCO.LR for August 2025, we bring you five significant Supreme Court judgements from 28 July to 1 August: https://www.scobserver.in/journal/sco-lr-2025-volume-8-issue-1/ ✋ These judgements cover topics such as the mode of arbitration in public-private contracts, the rights of employees while claiming compensation and seeking alternate employment and the timeline within which the Speaker must decide disqualification petitions in defection cases. 👀 Read them all in HTML format on our dedicated SCO.LR page. Happy reading: https://www.scobserver.in/supreme-court-observer-law-reports-scolr/

🍵 Good Morning! ⚖️ The Supreme Court recently held that the Speaker of a legislature does not enjoy constitutional immunity when deciding anti-defection petitions under the Tenth Schedule. 📍 The Court invoked the doctrine of quia timet to justify imposing a three-month timeline on the Telangana Assembly Speaker to decide 10 disqualification petitions. Yet, it stopped short of going the _Rajendra Singh Rana_ way, where it had directly disqualified defecting MLAs. Read our latest newsletter for more: http://bit.ly/458nSba 📜 The ruling signals a crucial reaffirmation of judicial oversight over anti-defection proceedings. Here's what happened in the case: http://bit.ly/3JhQVSk

🌄 Good Morning! 📜 Yesterday, the SC directed the Speaker of the Telangana Assembly to decide a disqualification petition against 10 MLAs within three months. The Court held that a Speaker does not enjoy immunity when acting as an adjudicating authority: https://bit.ly/3Hd3duM 👮 On 6 August, the Court is scheduled to hear a review petition challenging its 2022 verdict in 'Vijay Madanlal', which upheld the ED's wide arresting powers under the PMLA. The Court has narrowed down the issues: https://bit.ly/4mnLL5Q 🏭 Yesterday, the Court admitted a petition seeking review of its order to liquidate Bhushan Steel and Power. In a commentary, Srinivas Kotni noted that the verdict had created a lot of uncertainty among investors: http://bit.ly/4lKSA0P

🌞 Good Morning! ⚖️ Today, the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a review petition against its judgement from May which unravelled JSW Steel’s ₹19,700 crore acquisition of Bhushan Power under the Insolvency Code. In our Commentary, Srinivas Kotni argues that the ruling undermined commercial wisdom: http://bit.ly/4lKSA0P 👨🏻‍⚖️ Yesterday, the Court reserved judgement in Justice Yashwant Varma's plea challenging the in-house committee's findings of his guilt after wads of cash were discovered at his official Delhi residence in March: https://bit.ly/4o93gbz 📽️ In our latest video we summarise the Court's recent move to extend reservations to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe employees within its own administrative ranks: https://bit.ly/4fpRiGD

🌅 Good Morning! 👨🏻‍⚖️ Today, the Court is scheduled to continue hearing Justice Yashwant Varma’s challenge to the in-house committee’s finding of misconduct. ⚖️ Filed as _XXX v Union of India_, the petition challenges the legality of the committee’s report and questions the 'media trial' that took place in its wake: http://bit.ly/45fkfAp 📱 The Pegasus spyware matter may also see movement today. Petitions alleging state-sponsored surveillance remain pending and the petitioners seek disclosure of a committee’s full findings. More in our case background: http://bit.ly/4l9qtaZ 5️⃣ Don’t miss the latest issue of the Supreme Court Observer Law Reports. We’ve summarised five key judgments from last week: http://bit.ly/4faKbS9

🌳 Good Morning! ⚖ Today, a Special Bench led by Chief Justice B.R. Gavai is scheduled to hear the Presidential Reference concerning the powers of the Governor and President while granting assent to bills. In the previous hearing, the Court issued notice to all state governments and the Union: https://bit.ly/3IXbnry 💳 Yesterday, the Court heard the challenge to the revision of electoral rolls in Bihar. Even as the Court refused to stay the exercise, it reiterated its suggestion to the Election Commission to consider the Aadhaar card as a valid document: https://bit.ly/3UwPBgW 5️⃣ Don't miss our latest Issue of the Supreme Court Observer Law Reports. We selected and summarised five most important judgments from last week: http://bit.ly/4faKbS9

🌕 Good Evening! 📝 The Supreme Court is back in the swing of things after its return from the summer break. While the headlines were dominated by the Presidential Reference and Justice Varma’s petition against the in-house committee’s report, it was also a week when the Court delivered 22 new judgements. 5️⃣ We cover five key ones in this final July Issue of the Supreme Court Observer Law Reports (SCO.LR). The verdicts cover topics as diverse as perverse bail orders, the doctrine of merger, the presumption of validity of a Will, admissibility of a second FIR quashing application and mental health in educational institutions. Read here: http://bit.ly/4faKbS9 📋 You can also find these judgements in HTML format on the SCO.LR page: https://bit.ly/4miVoTb

✨ Good Morning! 👨🏻‍⚖️ Today, the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear Justice Yashwant Varma's plea against the legality of the in-house committee's report. Parliament is expected to discuss his impeachment in the Monsoon Session: https://bit.ly/4mj4U92 📄 His petition challenges the in-house committee's finding of his guilt. The committee report had concluded that he had "tacit or active control” of the store room where wads of cash were found. More here: https://bit.ly/4llTTDq ⚖️ The Court's decision on the petition is unlikely to influence removal proceedings in Parliament. Previous instances suggest that the Inquiry Committee constituted by Parliament will arrive at its own findings. Here are some examples: https://bit.ly/4jtrs5x

🌿 Good Morning! 🗳️ Today is the deadline for voters in Bihar to submit ennumeration forms as part of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls. The exercise was challenged in the Supreme Court earlier this month: https://bit.ly/44yvFif 🗣️ The ECI shared that over 98% voters have submitted their forms. Petitioners had argued that the SIR reverses the burden of proving eligibility on voters and risks disenfranchising lakhs of people months before the assembly election: http://bit.ly/44C828v 📬 In a previous edition of our newsletter, we covered how the Court reiterated its inclination to trust the ECI in this case while also offering some friendly advice: https://bit.ly/3TAkm4j

🌻 Good Morning! 👨🏻‍⚖️ Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar resigned from office earlier this week citing health concerns. What happens next? 📙 While the Constitution provides for the election of a new VP, it does not provide for an Acting Vice President. The Constituent Assembly debates offer insight into why such a vacuum was contemplated and permitted: http://bit.ly/3TVFnqk 📱 Tomorrow, the Karnataka High Court is expected to resume hearing X Corp’s (formerly Twitter) challenge to government-issued take-down orders under Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act. 🎙️Relying on the top court’s ruling in _Shreya Singhal v Union of India_, X contends that only Section 69A empowers the government to block online content: http://bit.ly/40v6JHp

🌿 Good Morning! ⚖️ Yesterday, a Special Bench of five judges gathered in Court 1 to lay out the next steps for the Presidential Reference on the powers of Governors and the President while granting assent to bills. 🏛️ The Court issued notice to all state governments and listed the case for next week. More here: https://bit.ly/3IXbnry 📜 President Draupadi Murmu referred a total of 14 questions to the Supreme Court invoking its advisory jurisdiction under Article 143. The Reference came in the aftermath of th Court's judgement in the _TN Governor case_: https://bitly.cx/ciC3K 🔎 Did the Reference ask any questions not already answered by the Supreme Court? We explore here: https://bit.ly/43ola0m

📰 Good Morning! ⚖️ Today, a Special Bench led by Chief Justice B.R. Gavai will hear the Presidential Reference on the powers of Governors and the President while granting assent to state bills: https://bit.ly/3GzWuuM 🔎 The Reference follows the Supreme Court’s judgement in the Tamil Nadu Governor case, where the Governor’s indefinite delay on 10 bills was declared “illegal” and “erroneous.” Our judgement summary: https://bitly.cx/ciC3K 📘 What are the 14 questions referred by the President? Has the Court already addressed them? Find out: https://bit.ly/43ola0m 📖 Senior Advocate M.R. Shamshad argues that the Reference may amount to litigation of settled questions. Read here: https://bit.ly/3Teghm7