Former Chief Justice of India (CJI) BR Gavai on Saturday said that judicial review must not turn into judicial overreach, while stressing that all organs of the State must function within the constitutional limits assigned to them. Speaking at the 19th Sujata Jayawardena Memorial Oration organised by the University of Colombo, Justice Gavai underlined the…
The Supreme Court has directed the Union government and State authorities to establish exclusive National Investigation Agency (NIA) courts for expeditious disposal of pending trials under special statutes such as the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and other anti-terror legislations. The Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi passed the…
The Supreme Court has strongly criticised the alleged neglect, encroachment and damage to several historical and heritage structures in Delhi, while questioning how ancient monuments could be leased or handed over to private entities such as the Delhi Golf Club and the Panchsheel Public School. The Bench of Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Justice N Kotiswar…
By Inderjit Badhwar There are election victories, and then there are political realignments that alter the emotional map of a nation. What has happened in West Bengal belongs firmly in the latter category. For decades, Bengal resisted the ideological tide that carried the Bharatiya Janata Party across large parts of India. The state remained politically…
By Sujit Bhar Democracy is fragile, always has been. At a stretch, sometimes, it looks less like democracy as we know it; it simply resembles the outcome of an elaborate, sinister blueprint, every bit of the system thrown in, before being dressed up as the people’s choice. It’s still democracy, by definition. Just the other…
The Bombay High Court has pulled up the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) over the hardships caused to citizens due to biometric mismatches, technical irregularities or administrative errors in Aadhaar records. The Division Bench of Justice Ravindra V Ghuge and Justice Hiten S Venegavkar observed that while protection of the integrity and security of…
The Supreme Court has refused to grant bail to a Delhi University (DU) student accused of inciting violence during an industrial workers’ protest in Noida last month, observing that the petitioner should first approach the jurisdictional High Court for relief. The Bench of Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan declined to entertain the writ…
The Supreme Court has taken cognisance of the controversy arising from proceedings before the Andhra Pradesh High Court in which a young advocate was directed to be taken into judicial custody for 24 hours. The matter was registered as a writ petition after the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) passed a resolution and submitted a…
The Calcutta High Court has held that public interest litigations challenging alleged violations of the Forest Rights Act in connection with the Great Nicobar infrastructure project are maintainable, rejecting the Union Government’s preliminary objection regarding the petitioner’s locus standi. The Division Bench of Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice Partha Sarathi Sen observed that public interest…
A writ petition has been filed before the Supreme Court seeking directions to the Governor of Tamil Nadu to invite actor-turned-politician C Joseph Vijay, chief of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), to form the government in the State and administer the oath of office to him as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, following the recently concluded…