Supreme Court Observer

☀️ Good Morning! ⚖️ Today, a Bench of five judges led by CJI B.R. Gavai is scheduled to hear the Presidential Reference on the powers of Governors and the President while granting assent to bills: https://bit.ly/3GzWuuM 👩🏻‍⚖️ The President has referred 14 questions to the Court under Article 143. Has the Court answered them in the _Tamil Nadu Governor_ Judgement? We explore: https://bit.ly/43ola0m 📝When has the President invoked the Court's advisory powers in the past? We examine 15 instances here: https://bit.ly/4mDhmRS 📖 *SCO.LR Vol 8, Issue 3* is out now! We cover five important judgements delivered last week. Read here: http://bit.ly/3JmWA9S

🌆 Good Evening! 🚨 Volume 8 Issue 3 of the Supreme Court Observer Law Reports (SCO.LR) is here! 📜 In this Issue, we have shortlisted five key judgements that deal with: - the value of pre-Independence documents in verifying caste claims - the factors to be considered in adoption cases - trademark law and - parallel investigations under the Central and State Goods and Service Tax regime. Read it here: https://www.scobserver.in/journal/sco-lr-2025-volume-8-issue-3-supreme-court-observer-law-reports/ 🌐 Find all judgements in HTML format on our dedicated SCO.LR page here: https://www.scobserver.in/supreme-court-observer-law-reports-scolr/

🌤️ Good Morning! 🇮🇳 On 15 August, we celebrated India's 79th Independence Day. Our weekend newsletter was about how the burning legal and political questions of today invariably contain the footmarks of the early days of Country, Constitution and Court. Read here: http://bit.ly/3Uyaf0o 🐾 Recently, three judges of the Supreme Court reserved judgement on whether to recall a two-judge Bench Order directing authorities to round up the stray dogs in the Delhi NCR region and send them to pounds. Here's the full story: http://bit.ly/3HrkBw3 🏛️ The motion for Justice Yashwant Varma's is now in Parliament. The Speaker of the Lok Sabha has constituted a three-member committee. What next? We explain: https://bit.ly/41KqkDU

🇮🇳 Good Morning and a Happy Independence Day! ♿ Prof. Vijay Tiwari and sociologist Kalpana Kannabiran discuss the term ‘Divyang’ and the constitutional lives of the disabled in our latest feature: https://bit.ly/4lslcLG 🪪 Yesterday, the Supreme Court directed the Election Commission to publish the list of the 65 lakh deletions, with reasons, from Bihar's rolls. Our report: https://bit.ly/415crA1 🏛️ Justice Yashwant Varma's motion for removal is now in Parliament. We explain what lies ahead: https://bit.ly/41KqkDU 🗃 In July 2025, pendency in the top court soared to over 87,000 cases, the highest in 2025 so far: https://bit.ly/4mawoxM

🌞 Good Morning! ⚖️ Today a Bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi will continue hearing the challenge to the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Bihar. 👩🏻‍⚖️ In yesterday’s hearing, petitioners called the process a “de facto deletion” of 65 lakh voters and highlighted that the exercise ignored the guidelines laid out in _Lal Babu Hussein_. Read our hearing report to know more: http://bit.ly/3HxY2pm 🔖 Our case background tells you everything you need to know about the case: https://bit.ly/41s6cqj 📜 July was a busy month at the top court. It heard a Presidential Reference on the Governor’s powers, a challenge to Bihar’s voter list revision and more. Our Monthly Review brings you highlights: http://bit.ly/3JkUlE1

🌄 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