Supreme Court Observer

🦋 Good morning! 📖 In the recent hearings in Property Owners v State of Maharashtra, a nine-judge bench spent a lot of time discussing aspects about one provision of the Constitution - Article 31C 🪢 Is Article 31C active, dormant or dead? Neha Vinod uses it as an entry point to look at the Court’s tangled history with the doctrine of revival: https://bit.ly/4bU1ZOH 📊 In April 2024, a nine-judge bench heard arguments on whether the Union or state governments had the power to regulate industrial alcohol. The argument matrix breaks down six days of contentions on key issues: https://bit.ly/44YmTKd

🪴 Good Morning! 🧔🏻‍♂️ Opposition Chief Ministers Arvind Kejriwal and Hemant Soren were both arrested by the ED in PMLA cases in the months before the 2024 Lok Sabha election. Why did only one of them get interim bail from the Suprme Court to campaign? SC Observer’s latest newsletter explores: https://bit.ly/4aG7LlY Subscribe to SCO’s weekly newsletters for an interesting weekly read straight in your inbox! https://bit.ly/3WXAakd Recent hearings in a 9-judge Constitution Bench case brought a crucial constitutional question to the fore—is an original provision revived when an amendment is struck down? Read “The effect of striking down a substitution: The Article 31C story” now! https://bit.ly/3KhKQms Here’s a video explainer on the other big 9-Judge Constitution Bench case this year: https://bit.ly/3yqjKqk. The Court was hearing arguments on whether state or Union Government has the power to regulate industrial alcohol. At stake is revenue for states, public health and India’s federal structure.

Correction: The above message says former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren withdrew petition yesterday. Soren withdrew his petition on Wednesday (22 May 2024). The error is regretted.

🌳Good morning! 📁 April, the last full working month before the Court vacation, recorded the largest increase in pendency numbers in 2024. Some factors for this were fewer working days and two nine-judge Constitution Benches: https://bit.ly/3Vdxair 📈 In the same month, the number of cases instituted in the Supreme Court surpassed the number of cases it disposed of. However, disposal numbers were still healthy, despite the Court being occupied by the Constitution Bench hearings. https://bit.ly/3yvPNoV 🔙 Yesterday, former Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren withdrew his challenge to his arrest by the ED after a vacation bench expressed the inclination to dismiss the plea on grounds of withholding crucial information. Read the full report here: https://bit.ly/4dUS1OP

🎐 Good morning, 📃 Yesterday, former Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren withdrew his petition challenging arrest under PMLA by the Enforcement Directorate. This was after a Vacation Bench expressed inclination to dismiss the plea on grounds that the petitioner had come with "unclean hands." 🗝️ Soren's legal team was pulled up by the Court for withholding key information about a Special Court taking cognisance of the offence. Read more here: https://bit.ly/4dUS1OP 🏛️ Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, Soren's counsel, was relying on the recent ruling granting interim bail to Arvind Kejriwal to campaign in the ongoing election. Advocate Soutik Banerjee analysed the Delhi CM's bail order here: https://bit.ly/4bQknrE

🌼 Good morning! 🏛️ Yesterday, a 5-judge Bench led by CJI D.Y. Chandrachud dismissed a review petition against the Court's December 2023 judgement upholding the abrogation of Article 370. The matter was heard in chamber. Read the judgement summary here: https://bit.ly/4bMgK63 📚 Did the Court's simplistic reading of constitutional history, and its skewed historical narrative on Article 370 provide an alternative track to abrogate Article 370? Srinagar based lawyer Zaid Deva argued here: https://bit.ly/4bMgK63 ❕Yesterday in a Vacation Bench hearing about the arrest of former Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren, petitioners argued that the case against him was "fabricated". Read more: https://bit.ly/3K9n103

🏵️ Good Morning! 🗳️ Landmark decisions, frivolous petitions, review requests—the top court saw it all before going into its summer vacation. When the Court comes back in July, a new government will be settling in. But the election-related cases will not have dried out. More on the Court and elections: https://bit.ly/44OAzHO 👨🏻‍⚖️ Justice A.S. Bopanna retired on 19 May after a 5-year tenure at the top court. https://bit.ly/3QSVbc0 📜 As a Supreme Court judge, Justice Bopanna authored 91 judgements. Here’s his tenure in numbers: https://bit.ly/3ypxOQV ✍🏻 We've also compiled a list of Justice Bopanna's notable judgements here: https://bit.ly/4521Re1

🍃 Good morning! 💬 Today, the top court is expected to hear final arguments on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's plea challenging his arrest by the ED. Yesterday, the ED argued that it had enough 'material evidence' to arrest Kejriwal in the Delhi Excise Policy case: https://bit.ly/3UM2l2Z 👨‍⚖️ Today is Justice A.S. Bopanna last working day at the Supreme Court. During his 5-year tenure, he authored 91 judgements and was a part of 518 benches. Here are some of his Notable judgements: https://bit.ly/4521Re1 📊 We also analysed his Tenure in numbers here: https://bit.ly/3WK0CO7 🗳️ Yesterday, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal was elected as the President of the Supreme Court Bar Association. Here's a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the election: https://bit.ly/3QMewvo

🌻 Good Morning! 🏛️ Today, the Supreme Court Bar Association will vote to elect its new governing members. We've reported on the key contenders for President and the issues at play: https://bit.ly/3QMewvo 🪪 Yesterday, the Union issued the first set of citizenship certificates under the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019. This comes just weeks after the notification of the CAA Rules of 2024. In March, the top court had refused to stay the Rules: https://bit.ly/3TIwuks 🗳️ The Court recently rejected a plea seeking 100% vote verification through VVPATs. While a review petition against the judgement remains pending before the top court, we've curated a list of cases where the Court dealt with similar issues of transparency with EVMs: https://bit.ly/3V2BDnW

🌿 Good morning! 🏛️ Tomorrow, the Supreme Court Bar Association will vote into power its new leaders. With Kapil Sibal's last minute nomination after 22 years, it appears the cat has been thrown among the pigeons. But the politics of the day is complex and victory on any side is far from guaranteed. Read our exclusive coverage: https://bit.ly/3QMewvo 📰 Yesterday, the top court reserved judgement in the Patnajali Ayurved contempt case for its misleading advertisements. Here's everything you need to know about the case: https://bit.ly/4dCWB4d 💸 The Electoral Bonds judgement was perhaps the biggest decision on political funding preceding the 2024 general elections. We have curated a comprehensive timeline of the saga here: https://bit.ly/3WIcIYm

⭐️ Good morning! 🥂 In April 2024, 9 judges of the Supreme Court heard 6 days of arguments on states’ power to regulate Industrial Alcohol. Why does this matter? States argued that in the post-GST era, their taxing powers have been significantly limited, raising financial concerns. We’ve explained the whole story in our latest video: https://bit.ly/3yqjKqk 🥃 The 9-judge Bench will also decide whether the usage of the words "intoxicating liquor" only means drinking alcohol or includes industrial alcohol. This will further clarify whether the Union or state governments will enjoy the power to regulate industrial alcohol or "denatured spirits". https://bit.ly/3PNWbxx ‼️ This was one of two of the biggest cases this year which saw a turf war between the Centre and state governments. Which was the other one? Find out here: https://bit.ly/4b5no7i

🍃 Good morning! ⛓️‍💥 Last week, the Supreme Court granted interim bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. The Bench directed Kejriwal to surrender to judicial custody on 2 June, two days prior to the 2024 Lok Sabha Election Results: https://bit.ly/4dF9lqU 📜 In the bail order, the Court imposed five conditions on Kejriwal, including one prohibiting him from visiting the premises of the CM's office: https://bit.ly/3WEYM1g 👨‍⚖️ In SCO’s latest commentary, Advocate Soutik Banerjee writes that there is no nexus between the bail conditions and the PMLA case in which Kejriwal has been charged: https://bit.ly/44CuDkS

🌻Good Morning! 🧑🏻‍⚖️👨🏻‍⚖️Today, the Supreme Court is expected to decide if Delhi's Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal can be granted interim bail before the elections in the NCR on 25 May. Here's what happened in Court during the last hearing: https://bit.ly/3y9LTC5 📳 For live updates from the hearing, stay tuned to our X page: https://bit.ly/3Uydzbe 🏛️ On 7 May, the top court rebuked Patanjali Ayurved for the continued display of its misleading advertisements on various online platforms. Here's everything you need to know about the case: https://bit.ly/4bsWBC0 📜 The top court recently rejected a plea seeking 100% vote verification through VVPATs. Read our judgement summary here: https://bit.ly/3QFJsgR

🌼 Good morning! 🇮🇳 With the 2024 general election underway, the Supreme Court’s VVPAT judgement from last month remains crucial for the sanctity of the election process. 🗳️ On 26 April, the Court rejected a plea for 100% voter verification through VVPATs and discouraged blind distrust towards EVMs. What were their reasons for placing strong trust on the Election Commission’s processes? SCO explains: https://bit.ly/3QBCk5e 🏛️ The bench made all the right noises during the VVPAT hearings but did the judgement disappoint? Read SCO’s Editor-in-Chief’s take on the judgement and its implications here: https://bit.ly/4b6jM5t

🍃 Good morning! 🏛️ Yesterday, a Division Bench observed that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal should not perform his duties if he is granted interim bail. 🗳️ In the hearing, Senior Advocate A.M. Singhvi stated that interim bail was essential to ensure that Kejriwal's party had a level playing field in the upcoming elections. https://bit.ly/3y9LTC5 📄 The Enforcement Directorate arrested Kejriwal for his alleged involvement in the Delhi Liquor Policy case. So far, Singhvi has argued that the arrest itself was flawed as the ED had no substantial material. https://bit.ly/3Wt4B1y 📝 Since the Court's summer break begins on 20 May, a conclusion to the Kejriwal interim bail saga is expected soon. Stay updated with SCObserver.in to watch how it unfolds.

🌿 Good morning! 🗣️ Today the Supreme Court will hear Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s challenge against his arrest by the ED. Kejriwal was arrested on 22 March 2024 for his alleged involvement in the Delhi Liquor Policy scam, making him the first sitting Chief Minister to be arrested. 🗳️ In the previous hearing on 4 May, the Supreme Court had considered granting interim bail for Arvind Kejriwal, in light of the polling day in Delhi on 25 May. https://bit.ly/3Wt4B1y 📝 So far, Kejriwal’s counsel has argued that his arrest did not meet the criteria laid down by the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and that the co-accused in the case were pressured into implicating Kejriwal. 🖥️ Our reports: https://bit.ly/3QAJu9J and https://bit.ly/4duiZMX

🌅 Good Morning! 🌴Currently, an Original Suit filed by the Kerala government remains pending before the top court. The suit challenges the Union's imposition of a ceiling on the state's borrowing power. It's the first time Article 293 will be tested in court. https://bit.ly/3QwvJJp 🏛️ This week, the Supreme Court will continue hearing Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal's plea challenging his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in March 2024. Last week, the Court considered interim bail for Kejriwal due to the upcoming elections on 25 May. https://bit.ly/3UtvNur ✍️Thank you for following our daily updates. What stories from the Supreme Court would you like to hear? Write to us at admin@scobserver.in.

🌿 Good morning! 👩🏽‍⚖ For 75 years, the seniority principle and retirement at 65 have remained the guiding pillars in determining the tenure of the Chief Justice of India. 📉 If the mandatory retirement age remains unchanged, the average tenure of the CJI is set to decrease over the next few years. More here: https://bit.ly/3UoiH1E 🗳 The Electoral Bonds decision was an important moment in India's constitutional history, shaping the future of political funding. Watch our short explainer on the saga that was the Electoral Bonds case and share your thoughts with us: https://bit.ly/4bo1gVB

🌿 Good morning! 📃 Yesterday a 9-judge Bench completed hearing arguments on whether private property can be a "material resource of the community" under Article 39(b). The matter was heard for five full days. What is this case about? https://bit.ly/3JuHwUp 🗣️ In its day-to-day functioning, the Court uses many technical terms. Suo moto petitions, Constitution Bench, writ petitions, amicus curie—these are some of the terms that we explain on our Court Procedures page: https://bit.ly/44o0rtH Watch our short video explainers too: 📝 Contempt Petition: https://bit.ly/4dgmjLT 👨🏻‍⚖️ Master of the Roster: https://bit.ly/4dkKpFc

🌾Good morning! 🏢 Today, a nine-judge Constitution Bench will hear day 5 of arguments on whether private properties are included in "material resources of the community" under Article 39(b) of the Constitution. Here's everything you need to know about the case: https://bit.ly/3JuHwUp 💻 Catch the proceedings live on scobserver.in! 🚆This month, the Supreme Court delivered its judgement in the Delhi Metro Rail Case. SCO's latest commentary discusses how the decision was an unnecessary advance for curative petitions and “unsettles the law of arbitration". https://bit.ly/44pAcTC ⏳ SCO traces the evolution of the Supreme Court's curative jurisdiction here: https://bit.ly/49ZHH4Y