Tag: Supreme Court

17May By source belowNo Comments

Gaming

BJP MP Jyotirmay Mahato writes to Calcutta HC, requests it to take suo motu cognisance of ‘police brutality’ amid teachers’ protest

BJP MP Jyotirmay Singh Mahato wrote to the Calcutta High Court Chief Justice on Saturday requesting the court to take suo motu cognisance of the alleged police brutality during the teachers’ protest in front of Bikas Bhavan in Kolkata on Thursday. Mahato’s letter highlighted “excessive use of force by the police, resulting in severe injuries to numerous teachers, as well as police inaction during attacks on the protesters by certain Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders” amid the protest. Teachers who lost their jobs following a Supreme Court order over allegations of irregularities in recruitment clashed with police during their protest and broke open the main gate of Bikash Bhavan, the West Bengal Education Department headquarters in Salt Lake. Story continues below this ad O...

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16May By source belowNo Comments

Opinion

Farewell, Justice Khanna

Former Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna during the swearing-in of his successor Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai as the 52nd Chief Justice of India at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on May 14, 2025. | Photo Credit: PTI Days before Justice Sanjiv Khanna was to be sworn in as the 51st Chief Justice of India (CJI), reporters as usual began scrambling for an exclusive interview with him. Calls and texts to his staff were met with silence or a non-committal “will let you know”.It was strange — the man who was then serving as the top judge made news almost everyday. Justice D.Y. Chandrachud was articulate, suave, and charismatic. A reporter who attended a blood donation camp recounted how he spoke for 10 mi...

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15May By source belowNo Comments

Gaming

Protesting sacked Bengal teachers clash with police, break open Education Dept headquarters gate

The teachers who lost their jobs following a Supreme Court order over allegations of irregularities in their recruitment clashed with police during a protest on Thursday and broke open the main gate of Bikash Bhavan, the West Bengal Education Department headquarters in Salt Lake, Kolkata.More than 1,000 sacked teachers — identified as “not specifically tainted” and allowed to return to schools until December — have been staging a sit-in outside Bikash Bhavan since Wednesday afternoon as part of the “Bikash Bhawan Abhijan” against the School Education Department and the School Service Commission (SSC) for filing a review petition in the Supreme Court allegedly without consulting them. A large contingent of police, along with Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel, were deployed at the protest s...

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15May By source belowNo Comments

Gaming

Maratha quota: SC tells HC Chief Justice to form new bench to hear pleas swiftly

The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court to constitute a new bench to hear pleas challenging the constitutional validity of the law providing Maratha reservation in an expeditious manner. The pleas were not heard after the then Bombay HC Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya’s transfer as the CJ of Delhi HC in January this year. Justice Upadhyaya was a part of a full or three-judge bench, which since April, last year, had been hearing the pleas against the Socially and Educationally Backward Class (SEBC) Act, 2024 that provided 10 per cent reservation in education and government jobs to Maratha community. The petitioners’ arguments had concluded on October 14, 2024. Story continues below this ad The 2024 law, which provided 10 per c...

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14May By source belowNo Comments

Gaming

Volume-based discounts not against antitrust law, heavy-handed enforcement won’t help India amid rising protectionism: Supreme Court

“Competition law is not designed to humble the successful” and “heavy-handed enforcement” of regulatory policies “divorced from market effects” will not help India’s bid to emerge as a manufacturing hub for the world, the Supreme Court has cautioned.A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Justice P B Varale said this in its judgment on Tuesday while affirming an April 2, 2014, order of the Competition Appellate Tribunal (COMPAT) which set aside a Competition Commission of India (CCI) finding that volume-based discounts offered by borosilicate glass tubing maker Schott India amounted to discriminatory pricing and abuse of the company’s dominant position in the market. Justice Vikram Nath, writing for the bench, said, “Competition law is not designed to humble the successful or to clip the wings...

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8May By source belowNo Comments

Politics

Relief for CPI(M) MLA A Raja as SC overturns Kerala HC’s disqualification order

Thiruvananthapuram: The Supreme Court has set aside the Kerala High Court order annulling the election of CPI (M) MLA A.Raja from Idukki’s Devikulam constituency in the 2021 state polls. Pronouncing its verdict on a petition filed by Congress functionary D Kumar, the Kerala High Court in March 2023 had said that Raja violated the Representation of the People Act, 1951, and was ineligible to contest from the Scheduled Cate (SC) reserved seat as he was a Christian convert. Allowing an appeal by Raja, a bench of Justices Abhay S. Oka, Ahsanuddin Amanullah, and Augustine George Masih said Raja is entitled to hold the MLA post. “The appeal is allowed. High Court order set aside. Election plea set aside. Petitioners are entitled to hold the legislative post from the beginning,” the SC bench sa...

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5May By source belowNo Comments

Gaming

In Delhi High Court, ED says it’s not keen on cancellation of Arvind Kejriwal’s bail but trial court order is perverse

The Enforcement Directorate said in the Delhi High Court on Monday that it was not at the current stage insisting on the cancellation of bail the trial court in the excise policy case had granted to former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, even though the order was “perverse, erroneous and thus needs to be set aside”. Additional Solicitor-General S V Raju informed Justice Ravinder Dudeja of the ED’s stance while seeking an adjournment for the ninth time in the case. In a plea moved last year, the ED sought the bail granted to the AAP chief by the trial court on June 20, 2024. The high court stayed the bail order five days later. The Supreme Court subsequently granted Kejriwal interim bail on July 12, 2024. Story continues below this ad The Delhi government’s 2021 excise poli...

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27Apr By source belowNo Comments

Gaming

Bengal school jobs cases: SC scraps recruitment For Group C, D school staff, Mamata promises stipend & review plea

In a relief to Group C and D non-teaching staff, whose appointments were cancelled by the Supreme Court and did not get reprieve like the teachers, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday announced financial assistance for them. She also said her government would file a review petition for Group C and D non-teaching staff, along with one for the affected teachers. She said that in case the Supreme Court rejected the review plea, her government would explore alternative measures to support them. Story continues below this ad Around 25,753 teaching and non-teaching staff of state-aided schools lost their jobs after the Supreme Court, on April 3, scrapped the entire 2016 recruitment panel due to large-scale irregularities. Though the apex court later allowed th...

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24Apr By source belowNo Comments

Opinion

Trans sceptic arguments are incoherent

Marion Calder, centre, and Susan Smith, left, from For Women Scotland, celebrate outside the U.K. Supreme Court in London on April 16, 2025 after the court ruled that a woman is someone born biologically female, excluding transgender people from the legal definition in a long-running dispute between the feminist group and the Scottish government. | Photo Credit: AP The U.K. Supreme Court has ruled that the Equality Act, 2010, will not treat trans women as women. In doing so, it drastically curtails the rights and protections that trans women can avail under the law. Effectively, the ruling undermines the U.K.’s Gender Recognition Act, 2004.In January, U.S. President Donald Trump passed an executive order declar...

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23Apr By source belowNo Comments

Gaming

SSC Chairman leaves office after 40 hours of lock-down by protesting teachers

After being locked inside the Acharya Sadan West Bengal School Commission office for nearly 40 hours on Wednesday, the SSC Chairman Siddharta Majumdar was allowed to leave the building at around 9 pm. However, teachers say their protest will continue. On April 3, the Supreme Court invalidated the appointment of 25,753 teachers and staffers at state-run and aided schools, calling the entire selection process “vitiated and tainted”. The Chairman was taken to his residence with a police escort and he refused to say anything to the media. Story continues below this ad The protesting teachers said, “We will discuss the list with the Education Minister. However, today, there is a hearing of our case in Calcutta High Court. The Chairman is supposed to be present there in person. ...

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23Apr By source belowNo Comments

Gaming

‘May share crucial information’: NIA opposes Tahawwur Rana’s plea before court to speak to kin

The National Investigation Agency on Wednesday said jailed Mumbai terror attacks accused Tahawwur Hussain Rana might share crucial information if allowed to talk to his family members. The NIA, appearing before a special NIA court, made the submission to oppose Rana’s plea for talking to family members, pointing out their concern over his well being. The anti-terror agency also said the matter was at a crucial stage. The judge, who heard the matter in his chamber, heard the argument and reserved the order the order for April 24. Story continues below this ad Rana moved an application through his lawyer, claiming that it was his fundamental right to talk to his family. The 64-year-old Pakistani-origin Canadian businessman was on April 10 sent to 18 day custody by a court. T...

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22Apr By source belowNo Comments

Politics

Despite Nadda’s directive, BJP leaders rally behind Nishikant Dubey, question SC’s ‘overreach’

New Delhi: A day after BJP president J.P. Nadda rejected party MP Nishikant Dubey’s criticism of the Supreme Court, more BJP leaders launched fresh attacks on the judiciary—accusing it of silence on issues like West Bengal violence, cash recoveries from a judge’s residence, and judicial ‘overreach’—despite Nadda’s call to refrain from targeting the apex court. Several BJP leaders have rallied behind Dubey, also attacking the Congress for its past confrontations with the judiciary and arguing that the party has no moral right to be part of the current debate. Bengal BJP General Secretary Agnimitra Paul said, “Nishikant Dubey has said the right thing. How can the CJI overrule the President of India? The President appoints CJI, policymakers make rules. If the country is run by the CJI and the...

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22Apr By source belowNo Comments

Gaming

After nightlong ‘gherao’ of SSC Kolkata office, Bengal ‘eligible’ teachers to hold rally today

Hundreds of teachers Monday protested in front of the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) office in Kolkata, and said they would not stop until the state government issues the list of eligible and ineligible teachers, as they called a mega rally Tuesday. Shouting the slogan “we want justice” in front of Acharya Sadan, the teachers also called upon all sections of society to show solidarity with their movement. While a section of junior doctors, who were involved in the protest after RG Kar rape and murder case, went to SSC office to show solidarity with the teachers, Abhaya Mancha said it would support them. At midnight, a huge contingent of the Rapid Action Force (RAF) was deployed in front of the SSC office. However, protesting teachers said they are afraid of the police or fac...

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22Apr By source belowNo Comments

Opinion

A reminder to the President and Governors

The Supreme Court of India. | Photo Credit: Shashi Shekhar Kashyap The Supreme Court’s judgment in State of Tamil Nadu v. Governor of Tamil Nadu (2025) lays down the correct constitutional position and is unassailable. However, some people have questioned the judgment. My answer to them is that the Constitution has created a parliamentary democracy.A parliamentary system As Dr. B.R. Ambedkar pointed out on November 4, 1948, “The Draft Constitution in recommending the Parliamentary system of Executive has preferred more responsibility to more stability.” He amplified this position stating, “The American form of Government is called the Presidential system of Government. What the Draft Constitution proposes ...

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20Apr By source belowNo Comments

Politics

‘Muslim commissioner’: Hours after rap from Nadda, Nishikant targets ex-CEC for criticism of waqf law

New Delhi: Within hours of getting a rap from BJP president J.P. Nadda, who declared that the party rejects his statements on the Supreme Court and Chief Justice of India, party MP Nishikant Dubey launched a scathing attack on former chief election commissioner (CEC) S.Y. Quraishi, branding him a “Muslim commissioner, not an election commissioner” over his criticism of the Waqf (Amendment) Act. A four-time Lok Sabha MP, Dubey was responding to an X post by Quraishi in which he said the new law was “undoubtedly a blatantly sinister/evil plan of the government to grab Muslim lands”.  “You were not an election commissioner, you were a Muslim commissioner. The maximum number of Bangladeshi infiltrators were made voters in Jharkhand’s Santhalpargana during your tenure,” the BJP leader alleged. ...

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19Apr By source belowNo Comments

Opinion

A welcome move: On Wikipedia and Supreme Court order

The Supreme Court, in quashing the Delhi High Court’s orders against Wikimedia to take down a Wikipedia page on the basis of a defamation case filed by the news agency, Asian News International (ANI), has set right an error by the High Court. A High Court judgment, passed on April 2, 2025, allowed the taking down of the Wikipedia page by saying that the statements were defamatory and were not a verbatim reproduction of the text in the references that it quoted; that the references were themselves “editorials” or “opinionated articles” and that being an encyclopaedia, Wikipedia carried a “higher responsibility”. The reasoning is problematic as the references are based on long form reporting and quotes from independent investigators, and are not “opinions” or “editorials” as the High Court m...

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18Apr By source belowNo Comments

Politics

Those in constitutional posts shouldn’t act as party spokespersons—Sibal on Dhankhar’s barb at judges

New Delhi: It is the judiciary’s obligation to intervene when the executive fails to perform its duties, Rajya Sabha MP and senior advocate Kapil Sibal said Friday, criticising Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar for suggesting that courts were acting as a “super Parliament”. He added that those on constitutional posts, like the Lok Sabha Speaker and Rajya Sabha chairman, should not act as spokespersons of political parties. “I have never seen any chairman of the house make political statements of this nature. Not even chairman from the BJP in the past… Speakers and chairpersons should not get enmeshed in the politics of the day,” Sibal told a press conference at his office here. On Thursday, the Supreme Court’s judgment setting a timeline for the President to take decisions on Bills sent by G...

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16Apr By source belowNo Comments

Gaming

Hand over two south Mumbai flats to owners in four months: SC to Mumbai Police

THE SUPREME Court last week directed the Mumbai Police to vacate two flats in south Mumbai within four months and hand them over to the owners — a Shroff family, which had in the 1940’s given the flats to the Mumbai Police on rent.Currently, the Mumbai Police are using the two flats measuring 600 sqft each, located at Amar Bhavan building at Opera House in south Mumbai, to house their staff. The police were earlier paying a monthly rent of Rs 700 for each flat. While passing the order on Tuesday, a bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan said, “We set aside the impugned order passed by Bombay High Court and allow the original writ petition preferred by the applicants. We grant four months time to the respondents from today to hand over vacant and peaceful possession of both flats t...

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15Apr By source belowNo Comments

Gaming

Supreme Court decision not to recruit those with criminal antecedents not ‘inappropriate or arbitrary’: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court recently held that the Supreme Court’s decision on the administrative side not to recruit those with criminal antecedents cannot be termed as “inappropriate or arbitrary”. Upholding an order on the administrative side of the Supreme Court, rejecting the candidature of a junior court attendant (JCA) applicant, owing to a pending criminal case at the time of the recruitment, the Delhi High Court, in an order on April 9, held that “no fault can be found” with the Supreme Court’s decision “to exclude those with criminal antecedents”. The applicant, Prayas Tyagi, moved the Delhi High Court in 2023, challenging an order dated October 21, 2022, whereby his candidature for the post of JCA in the Supreme Court was cancelled because of a criminal case pending against him. Tyagi ...

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13Apr By source belowNo Comments

Politics

Tamil Nadu Governor asks college students to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’, stokes new row

Castigated by the Supreme Court for withholding key Bills, Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi has stirred yet another controversy—this time by allegedly urging students to chant “Jai Shri Ram” at a college event, fuelling a volatile national discourse already simmering with rows over the Waqf Act, language politics and the new education policy.Attending a prize distribution ceremony at a government-aided college in Madurai on April 12, Ravi reportedly urged students to chant “Jai Shri Ram” thrice during his address. The students complied. The episode triggered outrage from political leaders and academic circles, with a leading academic body calling for his removal over accusations of religious partisanship and a blatant disregard for constitutional norms. Story continues below this ad ...

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11Apr By source belowNo Comments

Opinion

Are existing mechanisms effective in combating judicial corruption?

Last month, unaccounted cash was reportedly recovered from the official residence of former Delhi High Court judge, Justice Yashwant Varma. In response, Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna initiated an in-house inquiry into the matter. Justice Varma has since been repatriated to his parent High Court in Allahabad and will not be assigned any judicial work until the Supreme Court-mandated inquiry is completed. Are existing mechanisms effective in combating judicial corruption? Sanjay Hegde and Alok Prasanna Kumar discuss the question in a conversation moderated by Aaratrika Bhaumik. Edited excerpts: Is impeachment an effective mechanism for judicial accountability, given its reliance on political consensus?Sanjay Hegde: Far from being a mechanism for accountability, the process of...

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8Apr By source belowNo Comments

Gaming

Bengal school jobs scam: Sacking 17,206 teachers to hit schools hard, Board asks SC to let ‘untainted’ ones to stay

Stating that the teacher’s strength in West Bengal government schools is already “strained’, the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE) on Monday moved a petition in the Supreme Court seeking modification of its April 3 order annulling appointments of over 25,000 school staff. In its plea, the state Board urged the top court to allow teachers “not found to be tainted” to continue their services until the end of the academic year or until the process of fresh appointments is concluded, whichever is earlier. While upholding a Calcutta High Court order on an alleged school jobs scam case being probed by the CBI, the Supreme Court termed the 2016 School Service Commission (SSC) recruitment process as “vitiated and tainted by fraud”. Story continues below this ad The ...

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7Apr By source belowNo Comments

Politics

‘This is absolute breakdown of rule of law’: Supreme Court slams UP Police for converting civil cases into criminal offences

The Supreme Court Monday pulled up the Uttar Pradesh Police for filing criminal charges in what it said was primarily a civil dispute for allegedly not returning Rs 25 lakh borrowed from a person. The apex court was hearing an appeal challenging the Allahabad High Court decision dismissing the plea to quash FIR against petitioners Debu Singh and Deepak Singh facing charges of criminal breach of trust, criminal intimidation, and criminal conspiracy. “This is wrong what is happening in UP. Every day in and day out, civil matters are being converted into criminal… This is an absolute breakdown of the rule of law,” Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna presiding over a three-judge bench said. Story continues below this ad The bench, also comprising Justices Sanjay Kumar and K V...

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5Apr By source belowNo Comments

Gaming

‘Teacher strength to be reviewed and para teachers used’: Bengal higher secondary board after SC verdict ousts over 25,000 government teachers

The recent Supreme Court verdict cancelling the appointment of over 25,000 Bengal government school teachers has not only put the future of the sacked teachers and their families in jeopardy but also left the schools grappling to complete the curriculum amid a staff crunch. Speaking about the reduced strength, Chiranjib Bhattacharjee, President, West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education (WBCHSE), told The Indian Express, “We will review each case and then make an appropriate decision. We are trying our best to ensure that higher secondary education does not get affected. We will hire part-time teachers and para teachers if required.” Animesh Halder, District Secretary, South 24 Parganas, Secondary Teachers & Employees’ Association (STEA), said, “It is a very sad day for us, but...

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5Apr By source belowNo Comments

Politics

AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan moves Supreme Court challenging Waqf Bill, claims it ‘curtails religious autonomy’

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Delhi MLA Amanatullah Khan has approached the Supreme Court challenging the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, calling it “arbitrary” and “unconstitutional”. Khan, who moved a writ petition under Article 32 (remedies for enforcement of fundamental rights) of the Constitution, claimed that the Bill curtails the religious and cultural autonomy of Muslims and enables arbitrary executive interference, along with undermining minority rights. “The Bill violates fundamental rights enshrined under Articles 14, 15, 21, 25, 26, 29, 30, and 300-A of the Constitution. It curtails the religious and cultural autonomy of Muslims, enables arbitrary executive interference, and undermines minority rights to manage their religious and charitable institutions. Story continues below this ad ...

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4Apr By source belowNo Comments

Gaming

Supreme Court order unexpected , the fight should go on: Soma Das who retained her job

Soma Das, the cancer survivor and the sole exception to the Calcutta High Court’s order nullifying the appointments of nearly 26,000 teachers and non-teaching staff, expressed her disappointment and empathy following the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the High Court’s verdict. While she considers herself “fortunate” to retain her position as a teacher of Bangla, Das feels that it’s injustice for thousands who are now facing sacking. “This is something that nobody was expecting,” a disheartened Soma Das told The Indian Express over the phone on Thursday after the Supreme Court’s order. “I don’t have words to express my sympathy for them. Our fight was for a corruption-free education system. Those who were deserving candidates have been fighting to get their jobs but have been deprived b...

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