Supreme Court Observer

🎄Good morning! 📚 As 2023 comes to a close, the pile of pending cases has officially crossed the 80,000 mark. This number may seem alarming, but the number of cases that the Court disposed of this year inspires hope. 🛠️ Some of the systemic reforms introduced at the top court this year has caused a sharp uptick in its disposal numbers, increasing from 39,800 in 2022 to 52,220 this year. 🗒️ This week’s newsletter discusses how Court functioning changed and what we’ll need to ensure that the growing pile of pending cases at the Supreme Court has begun to stabilise. https://www.scobserver.in/journal/though-80346-cases-remain-pending-in-the-top-court-hope-persists/

🌻 Good Morning! 👨‍🏫 Dr. Udit Bhatia is a professor at the University of York and a political theorist whose research focuses on normative democratic theory, constitutionalism, and political epistemology. 🎥 Recently, in conversation with SCO, he discussed the role of transparency in political funding for elections. His research proposes a model of corporate funding that does not permit donations to further one’s corporate economic interests. Instead it is vested with the workers’ unions to ensure democratic decision making at the source. ⚖️ He also discusses the arguments made in challenge to the 2018 electoral bonds scheme (judgement reserved by the Supreme Court). Watch here: https://bit.ly/3RSfPKi

🌸 Good morning! 🗒️ In India, judgments in the area of arbitration have seen a more expansionist approach in recent years. 🖋️ Gulnar A. Mistry, a Mumbai based civil litigator writes about how the Supreme Court’s recent decision of a Constitution Bench in Cox & Kings v SAP India Pvt. Ltd is a continuation of that trend.  🏢 The Constitution Bench draws a doctrinal distinction between independent entities (though forming part of a larger group of companies) who may yet be drawn into an arbitration agreement despite being non-signatories, and those that hold a derivative status as an alter ego. Read more: https://bit.ly/3vaRvun

🌅 Good Morning! 👨‍🏫 In the wake of the Supreme Court’s judgement upholding the abrogation of Article 370, SCO caught up with distinguished jurist and constitutional law expert Dr. M.P. Singh on the past and present of the federal scheme. 🎥 Lending his support to the judgement, Singh stated that sovereignty of India was one and therefore, the Court was right to hold that J&K did not retain any internal sovereignty. Watch the full interview here: https://bit.ly/48ttkpr ⚖️ Other experts have had contrasting views. Anuradha Bhasin writes that the Supreme Court’s endorsement of the abrogation violates law and history. Read here: https://bit.ly/484BynR ✍️ We'd love to hear from you! Write to us at admin@scobserver.in with your thoughts on the judgement.

🌸 Good morning! 🥾 “Jackboots in the dead of night, the longest internet ban in the country’s history, preventive arrests and detentions—and then the gloss of endless arguments about Articles, recommendations and concurrence.” SCO’s Editor-in-Chief writes on the Article 370 judgement https://bit.ly/48nAFXh 📚 Anuradha Bhasin writes that the Supreme Court’s endorsement of the Abrogation of Article 370 has deepened the legal fictions that violate the terms of a historical promise. Read her views here: https://bit.ly/484BynR 📧 If you enjoy sitting back on a Sunday morning and reading a crisp newsletter on the highlight of the week, SCO Desk Briefs are for you. This weekly newsletter tells our subscribers the full story in the simplest way. Subscribe now! https://bit.ly/3rvqmRa

🌫️ Good Morning! ⚖️ The Supreme Court's recent judgement in the abrogation of *Article 370* has sparked much debate around the country. 🎥 But what does the judgement actually say? What reasons did the five senior most judges of the Court give to uphold the Union's abrogation of the provision? Find out in our detailed video explainer: https://youtu.be/F5hrGND1zUg 📃 Prefer to read? Here's our judgement summary:https://bit.ly/3GC2Eqi 🏔️ In the wake of the judgement, what do the people of Kashmir think? Read our ground report from foggy Srinagar: https://bit.ly/3NsDmPA

🌼 Good morning! 🏔️ In the wake of the Supreme Court’s upholding of the abrogation of Article 370, here’s a ground report from chilly, foggy Srinagar. https://bit.ly/3NsDmPA 📱Search and seizure of digital devices of journalists runs rampant today, with 300 devices from 90 journalists seized from one digital news organisation alone. The grounds: that they were raising funds for terrorist acts and promoting enmity between different groups.  ⁉️Does seizing electronic devices without proportionality checks violate the right against self-incrimination? https://bit.ly/3RoqQBN

🌻 Good Morning! *Is an unstamped arbitration agreement valid?* 📜 Previously, a five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court had answered in the negative. Today, a seven-judge Bench of the Supreme Court reconsidering the older judgement will pronounce the Order clarifying the legal position on the matter once and for all. 📑 Here's everything you need to know about the case: https://bit.ly/47UpKVd ⚖️ Today, another five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court will start hearing a new case to decide if a stay granted in pending matters lapses automatically after six months. 🎥 Watch the live stream of the Constitution Bench proceedings on www.scobserver.in

✨ Good morning! 🏔 Yesterday, 5 senior most Judges of the Supreme Court upheld the Union’s abrogation of Article 370, which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir. All judges agreed that Article 370 was a temporary provision, designed to accommodate the immediate needs of J&K till its complete integration with the rest of India. Summary of the Judgement here: https://bit.ly/3GC2Eqi 🗺 The Bench left the substantial questions of reorganisation of J&K open in light of the Union’s assurances that statehood would be restored soon. The Court directed the Election Commission of India to ensure elections are conducted in J&K by 30 September 2024. 📊 SCO’s matrix breaks down the 476-page judgement. https://bit.ly/3v17xXo

🔆 Good Morning! 🏛️ Today, the Supreme Court of India will deliver a historic verdict in the challenge to the abrogation of *Article 370*. https://bit.ly/46KHlO1 🗓️ Three months ago, a Constitution Bench of five senior-most judges of the Supreme Court heard 16 days of arguments on sovereignty, federalism, legislative powers, and the nature of Article 370. https://bit.ly/3Rkq3li 🏞️ The judgement will conclude a significant chapter in India's modern legal and political history. The impact of the decision will change the way we look at federalism and Kashmir's position in the democratic republic of India. https://bit.ly/3GDd3Cj 🕥📹 Catch the judgment pronouncement at scobserver.in, at 10:30 AM today!

🌞 Good Morning! 🗣️ On Day 3 of the Constitution Bench hearings about the validity of the Section 6A Section of the Citizenship Act, 1955 (the Assam NRC), the respondents including the Union government commenced arguments in favour of the provision. They asserted that Parliament had the power to make laws about citizenship. 📃 The Bench directed the Ministry of Home Affairs to submit data regarding the number of citizenships granted, foreigners detected in Assam, and the number of immigrants who entered India. More: https://bit.ly/3GuAzBs ⚖️ In other Constitution Bench news, the Supreme Court will deliver the judgement in the challenge to the abrogation of Article 370 on 11 December 2023. Our full coverage of the case here: https://bit.ly/46KHlO1

🔆 Good Morning! ⚖️Yesterday, a five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court unanimously upheld the validity of the “Group of Companies Doctrine” in Indian arbitration jurisprudence. Under this doctrine, a company that is not a signatory to an arbitration agreement can be bound by it, if it belongs to the same group of companies. https://bit.ly/3Nil9Ee The Court also continued to hear Day 2 of arguments in the challenge to Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, 1955. Petitioners argued that Assam was “singled out” despite the presence of illegal immigrants in other border states, which has disrupted right to self-governance, and has “undermined economic, social, and political aspirations” of the community residing in Assam. https://bit.ly/3NkTpP9 Today, Respondents will begin arguments in the case.

🔆 Good Morning! 📜 Today, a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court will deliver the judgement on the applicability of the group of companies doctrine for arbitration cases in India. The Court will decide if parties who did not sign an arbitration agreement can be made part of the arbitration proceedings: https://bit.ly/3t87h8z ⚖️ A five-judge Constitution Bench will continue hearing arguments challenging the constitutional validity of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, 1955, today. Yesterday, the petitioners argued that uncontrolled immigration from Assam has altered the state's voter demographic, raising concerns about the local population being "reduced to a minority." Full report here: https://bit.ly/46GXoMN

🌤️ Good Morning! 🏛️ Today, a 5-Judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court is set to hear challenges to Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, 1955—effectively a challenge to the Assam NRC exercise. 📇 The Assam NRC stands in stark contrast to Section 3 of the Citizenship Act. Notably, Assam is the only Indian state to have a cut-off date for citizenship. 📃 Our explainer expands the history and controversy surrounding the Assam NRC and its journey to the apex court: https://bit.ly/45e5XOw 🎥 In other news, SCO recently spoke to Senior Advocate C.S. Vaidyanthan. He candidly discussed the accountability of government officials, fundamental duties, Special Leave Petitions and more. Watch full video here: https://bit.ly/3R4ul01

🌼 Good morning! 🖋️ On the International Day of Disability (4th Dec) we observe that the Supreme Court has long been the choice platform for disability advocacy. But it may be the symptom of a larger problem. Without infrastructure for local adjudication, how far can disability advocacy go? Read here https://bit.ly/3T8Drv5 🧑🏻‍⚖️ Accessibility litigation has existed as an adversarial tool and a dreary reminder of the RPwD Act's unrealised promises. http://bit.ly/4aftGlc 🎤 The Supreme Court Observer was in conversation with Justice Sapana Malla, judge of the Supreme Court of Nepal. Justice Malla who was a lawyer, member of the Constituent Assembly and a gender equality activist before her judgeship spoke about the power of public interest litigation in changing unequal laws. Watch now! https://bit.ly/47FGyPM

🌞 Good Morning! ⚖️ In Indian criminal jurisprudence, bail is the rule and jail is the exception. However, in reality, there is many a slip between jail and bail. Activist Umar Khalid was arrested under charges of conspiracy for instigating the Delhi riots in 2020. 🏛️ Khalid's bail hearing which has been pending since October 2022, was adjourned by the Supreme Court yet again yesterday. In fact, he has not received a substantial hearing the whole of 2023 More: https://bit.ly/3N4wis2 📜 The Supreme Court is hearing a petition by the Kerala government against the inaction of the state's governor to assent to bills passed by the legislature. Yesterday, a Bench led by CJI Chandrachud cautioned against delays and insisted that the Governor was accountable to the Constitution. https://bit.ly/3SZtOix

🌅Good morning! 👨‍⚖️Justice Arjuna Obeyesekere of the Sri Lankan Supreme Court was part of a Bench that upheld a Bill that decriminalised same-sex relationships. 🇱🇰 In conversation with SCO, he spoke about judicial independence in SL, the Indian SC's decisions on queer persons' rights, and the fine line between privacy and accessibility that judges have to walk. https://www.scobserver.in/journal/judiciary-of-sri-lanka-has-maintained-independence-personalities-havent-mattered-justice-arjuna-obeyesekere/

☕ Good morning! 👩‍⚖️When a woman returns to the legal profession after the birth of her child, she must be protected by a support system of her family, her seniors and others in her life, Justice Nagarathna of the Supreme Court said, in conversation with SCO. ⚖️ “When it comes to male advocates, nobody speaks about cooperation of a family, because it is a given.” For women to thrive in the judiciary, her family must support and cooperate with her, she said. 📝 Watch SCO’s interview with Justice Nagarathna now! https://youtu.be/RYc4_iv3p1A?si=n9Yu6qGlB3cWpWAl

🔆 Good Morning! 🇮🇳 Happy Constitution Day! On 26th November 1949, the Constituent Assembly adopted the Constitution of India, laying the foundation for our thriving democracy. In honour of Constitution Day, the Supreme Court Observer brings you special messages from two sitting judges of the Supreme Court of India. 👨‍⚖️ Justice S.K. Kaul emphasised the need for better law making, and urged the citizens to uphold the doctrine of constitutionalism. https://bit.ly/3MYJAWQ 👩‍⚖️ Justice B.V. Nagarathna's message calls upon citizens to embrace the fundamental principles enshrined in the Constitution. The Indian Constitution, she said, is the binding force that bimds together every citizen of this country. https://bit.ly/47PENiz

✨ Good Morning! 💸 Yesterday, the Special Bench hearing the batch of petitions seeking the reference of the 2022 PMLA judgement deferred the case to a later day. During the hearing, the petitioners argued that the 2022 judgement upheld unconstitutional provisions. However, the Union sought more time to respond to the petitions filed: https://bit.ly/3STecwM 🏳️‍🌈 Yesterday, CJI D.Y. Chandrachud agreed to consider the review petition against the same-sex marriage judgement to be heard in open court. Currently, the case is listed in 28 November 2023. The judgement summary here: https://bit.ly/3S3HM29 📢 We at SCO will be at the 36th Law Asia Conference, Bengaluru as lead media partners over this weekend! Stay tuned to www.scobserver.in for updates!