Supreme Court Observer

☕ Good morning! 📰 In our latest commentary, lawyers Abhijnan Jha and Durga Priya Manda highlight former CJI DY Chandrachud’s key rulings that strengthened arbitration jurisprudence in India. However, there was one 'blip' in the road of welcome developments. Read: https://bit.ly/4ggMFxH 👨🏻‍⚖ Justice Manmohan took oath yesterday. He became the first SC judge appointed under the CJI Khanna-led Collegium. The top court now has 33 judges, one short of its sanctioned strength. Read about Justice Manmohan here: https://bit.ly/41kZa7g 📉 In November, pendency reduced by 654 cases. However, discrepancy between two National Judicial Data Grid webpages has muddied the waters, with one showing resolved cases as still pending. More: https://bit.ly/3CYXJBv

🌸 Good Morning! ☑️ Yesterday, the Union government notified the appointment of Justice Manmohan, Chief Justice of the Delhi HC, as a judge of the Supreme Court. He will be the first Supreme Court judge appointed under the Collegium led by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna. 📄 Read more about Justice Manmohan here: https://bit.ly/3VmnvWE 📉 Supreme Court pendency reduced by 654 cases in November 2024. This is the second consecutive month where we noticed a downward trend in pendency numbers. However, confusion was caused by two webpages of the National Judicial Data Grid displaying conflicting figures for the same data points. More: https://bit.ly/3CYXJBv

🗞️ Good Morning! 💨 Delhi Air Pollution crisis: The SC continued to scrutinise lapses in enforcing measures under the Graded Response Action Plan. From disguised trucks to ignored construction bans, here are the key takeaways from yesterday’s hearing: https://bit.ly/4eTfE9W 🗣️ Kevin Sebastian explores the concept of ‘compelled speech’, highlighting its implications on free speech and its limited development in Indian Supreme Court jurisprudence. More: https://bit.ly/4gylGy7 ⚖️ Recent petitions by Hindu groups for surveys of the Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal and Ajmer Sharif Dargah have stirred tensions. CJI Sanjiv Khanna has the chance to prevent further escalation. More in our weekend newsletter: https://bit.ly/4hg4Wjw

🌳 Good Morning! 💨 Today, the Supreme Court is expected to hear updates around the Delhi air pollution crisis. 📉 Last month, the Court directed the Commission for Air Quality Management to report whether a downward trend in the Air Quality Index has been observed. If such a trend is confirmed, the Court may consider easing the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) measures in the NCR. 🚛 Additionally, the Court reprimanded the Delhi Police and state authorities for failing to enforce preventive measures, particularly regarding the entry of trucks into the capital: https://bit.ly/3COSHr9 🗒️A quick overview of the hearings so far: https://bit.ly/4fJ4p4Z

🗞 Good Morning! 👨🏻‍⚖ Yesterday, the SC Collegium led by CJI Sanjiv Khanna unanimously recommended Delhi High Court's Chief Justice Manmohan as judge to the top court. 🔎 Collegium activity is crucial to understand the Court's interaction with the Union. We trace the activity under former CJI D.Y. Chandrachud here: https://bit.ly/3ZrPJlf 🕌 Today, the Court will hear the management committee of the Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal in the aftermath of the violence that erupted last week. A District Court had ordered a survey of the Mosque based on the claim that it was constructed on a Hindu temple. 🛕 The case is the latest in a long list of title disputes in Ayodhya and Gyanvapi. Here's an excerpt about the Ayodhya verdict: https://bit.ly/3CMFmQ2

☕ Good Morning! 🌆 Today, the Supreme Court is scheduled to continue hearing updates on the Delhi Air Pollution Crisis. On Monday, the Court pulled up the Delhi Police and state authorities for failing to enforce GRAP Stage IV rules in the region. More here: https://bit.ly/3COSHr9 ⚖️ Earlier this month, the Court held that unilateral arbitrator appointment clauses in public-private contracts were invald. Here are two expert commentaries on the judgement: - Senior Advocate Sajan Poovayya writes that the majority’s decision was grounded in constitutional law: https://bit.ly/3COiEaa - AoR Hima Lawrence and Advocate Abhinav Hansaraman write that the decision encourages the government to be a better commercial player: https://bit.ly/4i6YpEU

🌁 Good Morning! 💨 This year, like every year, the Supreme Court has been monitoring the deteoriating air quality in Delhi. Last week, the Court came down heavily on the Union and state governments for delays in implementing measures to curb air pollution. 🏛️ To rectify the "failure" of the states and ensure that Heavy Vehicles were not entering the NCR, the Court appointed 13 advocates as Court Commissioners at various check points and directed them to submit a report: https://bit.ly/4fJ4p4Z 🔎 On Monday, the Court reviewed the report. It revealed several mishaps such as inadequate barricading and the absence of police personnel at as many as 83 checkpoints inspected in the NCR. More here: https://bit.ly/4eR7W02

🇮🇳 Happy Constitution Day! 📖 Today marks 75 years since the Constitution of India was adopted. 👨🏻‍⚖ To commemorate the day, we recall a historic conference in 1948. Federal and High Court judges from across the country gathered in Delhi to discuss issues concerning the judiciary in the work-in-progress Constitution: https://bit.ly/4eKIwkC 📜 We’ve also launched a special series to commemorate 75 years of the Supreme Court. The series has articles about the Court's history and essays that analyse its impact on public life. 📖 From the inaugural speech by the first Chief Justice of India H. J. Kani’s to an overview of India's death penalty jurisprudence, we have it all: https://www.scobserver.in/75-years-of-the-supreme-court/

🌳Good Morning! 🔍Last week, we published a series of stories analysing different aspects offormer Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud’s tenure. Read here: 1. 15% of *Collegium* recommendations were not cleared by the Union: https://bit.ly/4fE0G8X 2. *Pendency* rose by 3,648 cases during his tenure: https://bit.ly/4fZwsNj 3. His *Public engagement* invited unprecedented attention to the top court:https://bit.ly/3OpFFTk 📑 We've also published a list and a commentary on CJI Chandrachud's disability rights jurisprudence. - Read the list here: https://bit.ly/4948U7S - Read our latest commentary here: https://bit.ly/4hWMfOZ 📖 For more stories from the Supreme Court, visit scobserver.in. Happy reading!

☕ Good Morning! 📜 Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna's first office circular recently announced that regular matters will not be heard until further orders. 🗣️ Even as advocates predict that the measure is temporary, they expressed disappointment that the Bar was not consulted on listing issues. More in our reported story: https://bit.ly/3V4vpUn 🏛️ There is also anticipation about how this move will impact the pendency of cases. Though former Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud introduced several institutional reforms, pendency at the top court was over 82000 at the time of his retirement. 📈 How did the Chandrachud Court deal with pendency? Did the former Chief's vision to reduce case backlog match the numbers? We analyse: https://bit.ly/4fZwsNj

🌻 Good Morning! 📸 Unlike previous Chief Justices, who kept restrained public profiles, D.Y. Chandrachud displayed a certain keenness for public engagements. His frequent appearances invited unprecedented attention to an opaque institution: https://bit.ly/3CByrZP 👩🏽‍🦼 Justice Chandrachud’s interest in furthering the conversation around disability rights has resulted in a rich body of jurisprudence. We look at some of his significant judgements: https://bit.ly/3B3aeuW 🏛️ Recently, the Court announced that miscellaneous cases will be listed by the Registry no more than 10 days after the expiry of the period directed by the Court. This may address the issue of delays that advocates pointed out in our story about listing woes: https://bit.ly/4i0e3BI

🌦️Good Morning! 🍔 Our morning updates often coincide with notifications from food delivery apps or reminders from cab services nudging you to choose them to head to work. 🛵Yesterday, the Supreme Court heard a plea concerning the rights of gig workers of these platforms who are currently classified by companies as "partners" and not "employees." 🚛 The plea before the Court seeks for their recognition as “unorganised workers” under the _Unorganised Workers’ Social Security Act_. More here: https://bit.ly/3ASQIBn 🎙️We spoke with Professor Babu Mathew, who highlighted that social security is a labour right. Listen to our podcast for more insights: https://bit.ly/4fV2H07 🔊 Catch our podcasts on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or Amazon Music!

🌤️ Good Morning! 👨🏻‍⚖️ Justice Sanjiv Khanna assumed office as India's 51st Chief Justice on 11 November. Each recent Chief has faced unique administrative challenges. 🏛️ Justice N.V. Ramana had to grapple with the changing dynamics of the Court during the second wave of the pandemic. Justice U.U. Lalit inherited a Court that hadn’t heard a Constitution Bench case since June 2021. 📰 Justice D.Y. Chandrachud moved the needle on several technological reforms. His media appearances have also reshaped the public perception of the Court. 🔎 CJI Khanna's tenure will inevitably invite heightened public scrutiny. But will his six months in office mark a return to more unassuming ways? We explore in our latest newsletter: https://bit.ly/4109Ojw

🍃 Good Morning! ✒ On 8 November, the Supreme Court pronounced its much-awaited seven-judge bench decision in the matter concerning the minority status of Aligarh Muslim University. 👨‍🏫 Professor Faizan Mustafa, a former Registrar of AMU, writes that what looks like a 4:3 majority might be closer to 6:1 on key points of the reference & indicators to determine minority character of an institution. Read: http://bit.ly/3YV4bjZ 📺 We explain the AMU judgement in this video: https://bit.ly/40Sfyfb 📝 Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud retired from the Supreme Court on 10 November. In this video, we highlight 10 of his most significant judgements from an eight-year tenure at the Court here: https://bit.ly/4ezPkS5

🍁 Good Morning! 🚧 Earlier this week, the Supreme Court issued pan-India guidelines to curb illegal bulldozer demolitions. The bench held that any violations of these guidelines would amount to contempt of court: https://bit.ly/3UNcOvS 📃 The Court had reserved judgement in the case in October. In our Monthly Review, we summarise key arguments in this case and bring you other highlights of the month: https://bit.ly/3AHTgSO 📊 In October, the Court cleared an average of 351 cases per day. More number of cases were instituted and disposed in Oct 2024 than in Octobers of the previous two years: https://bit.ly/3CtJa8I 📉 Notably, pendency also saw a dip last month, with the backlog reduced by 99 cases: https://bit.ly/3AQJ7TN

🌤️Good Morning! ⚒️ Yesterday, the Supreme Court held that government-initiated bulldozer demolitions, particularly targeting homes of individuals accused of crimes was illegal and issued pan-India guidelines to curb them. ❌ The Court made sharp observations that bulldozer demolitions indicated a “lawless, ruthless state of affairs”. Further, that such state actions are arbitrary, undermine the rule of law and disregard the principles of natural justice. 🗣️ The pan-India guidelines framed by the Court mandate that property owners or occupants are given a fair hearing and all possible alternatives are thoroughly considered before taking the “extreme step” of demolition. Read more: https://bit.ly/3UNcOvS

🌤️ Good Morning! 📜 Today a Division Bench of the Supreme Court will deliver the judgement in a batch of petitions challenging unlawful bulldozer demolitions by government authorities nationwide. 👨🏻‍⚖️👨🏻‍⚖️ The Court has been hearing the petitions since 2022 and a bench of Justices B.R. Gavai and K.V. Viswanathan reserved judgement on 1 October 2024. More here: https://bit.ly/4hMprkH 🏛️ Last month, a 9-judge bench upheld states power to regulate industrial alcohol. In SCO's latest commentary, Advocate M. Jannani writes that the decision is a welcome shift in jurisprudence. Find out why: https://bit.ly/3UQWavn 📑 Our matrix breaks down the 364-page industrial alcohol judgement here: https://bit.ly/3UO41ty

🍃 Good Morning! 👨🏻‍⚖ Eight and a half years since he first took oath in the Supreme Court of India, Dhananjay Y. Chandrachud bid farewell to the institution on Friday. 🗓 Amid swirling questions about his legacy as Chief, his final week in Court saw several chapters neatly fold over themselves. More in our latest newsletter: https://bit.ly/4hKdmfR 📝 Last Friday, the _Supreme Court Observer_ conducted a workshop for the LL.M cohort in the Access to Justice programme at TISS, Mumbai. The workshop was designed to help students understand the Supreme Court as an institution and its work through judgements. More here: https://bit.ly/3Ck44XE

🪴 Good Morning! ✨ Today marks a new beginning at the Supreme Court as Justice Sanjiv Khanna takes over as the 51st Chief Justice of India. Who is he and what has his service at the Supreme Court stood out for? https://bit.ly/3UCejgq 🗂️ Justice Khanna will inherit a Court with a staggering 82,000+ pending cases. He will also have some of the most charged cases pending before him, including the Sabarimala Review petitions and the marital rape case. 📃 As we bid farewell to the outgoing Chief, CJI Chandrachud, here’s a list of our top 10 (+5 bonus) cases that stood out in his 8-year career at the top court. https://bit.ly/3CjO5sM

🌆 Good Evening! 👨🏻‍⚖ Today was CJI D.Y. Chandrachud's last working day at the Supreme Court. During his farewell, he fondly stated that his time at the bench was what kept him going. More here: https://bit.ly/48E5xnX 🔟 As the curtain drops on his 8.5-year tenure at the top court, we've compiled a subjective list of his Top 10 judgements. Read here: https://bit.ly/3CjO5sM 📜 Notably, since he took over as Chief two years ago, Constitution Benches he formed and led have delivered 16 judgements. Read more here: https://bit.ly/3YDTkLs 🗣 During his tenure, he has also delivered significant dissenting opinions. We list seven of them here: https://bit.ly/3O0FdLd 🌐 Stay tuned to SCObserver for more assessments of his tenure!