For the first time, NLU Delhi’s Centre on the Death Penalty has analysed death penalties across lower courts and released a report, which suggests a picture in which the judiciary ordering a convict killed seems more subject to randomness than an evolving jurisprudence or overarching policy.

On 17 August, before it broke for a long weekend of four days, a three-judge Supreme Court (SC) bench of justices Ranjan Gogoi, Prafulla Chandra Pant and AM Khanwilkar referred a challenge to its immunity from the Right to Information (RTI) Act to a five-judge constitution bench. The decision, made after a brief hearing, was a surprise as well as a disappointment.

A five-judge Constitution bench will decide whether the Supreme Court is exempted from disclosing information including file noting and correspondence on the appointment of judges to higher judiciary and other information under the Right to Information Act (RTI).

An uninterested bench of the Supreme Court of India has asked a bystander advocate to provide his stenographer to advocate ML Sharma to help him type his suggestions to the court in a dubious case the bench had not showed much interest in.

There are many cases in the Supreme Court, which are under continuous monitoring of the court, meaning that the court, rather than dispose them of after issuing certain orders, monitors them once in a while, so as to ensure compliance with its orders by the authorities concerned. The petition, filed by senior counsel Ram Jethmalani in 2009, (writ petition [civil] 176 of 2009) is one such, which has seen several ups and downs.

A year ago, then chief justice of India H.L. Dattu constituted a bench that would only hear tax cases, recognizing the need to reduce the pile of pending cases in the Supreme Court.

Adding to his list of failed litigations, Supreme Court of India has dismissed a public interest litigation filed by advocate Manohar Lal Sharma, in which Sharma had urged the Court to take judicial note of a statement made by actor Salman Khan’s father Salim Khan that the Khan family had spent Rs 25 crore on the litigation involving 2002-hit and run case.

Even as the Supreme Court is yet to upload its order referring the curative petitions filed by Naz Foundation and others to the five Judge Constitution bench, a debate has already begun over the scope and composition of the bench among observers.

The social justice bench comprising justices Madan B Lokur and UU Lalit, set up by the previous chief justice of India, justice HL Dattu on 12 December 2014 has now officially ceased, and the cases which were part-heard before that bench, have been distributed to other benches.

Every Chief Justice of India (CJI), soon after taking over, would first try to get a grip over the bench composition, which was determined according to the requirements of his predecessor.

As Chief Justice of India (CJI), Justice HL Dattu appeared to be a man in a hurry. However, despite having held the office for a near eternity compared to many other recent CJIs, what he has managed to achieve as a judge and administrator in that time is questionable.

Justice Tirath Singh Thakur was on Thursday sworn in as the 43rd Chief Justice of India.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled the Tamil Nadu government has no suo motu power to grant remission and release the convicts accused of conspiracy in the assassination case of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi. The apex court’s constitution bench headed by Chief Justice HL Dattu said that the s...

Outgoing Chief Justice of India HL Dattu on Tuesday refused to join the ongoing debate on intolerance saying that as head of the country’s judiciary, it would not be proper for him to comment on it. “There is a debate going on in parliament and other places. As the head of an institution, if I say a...

As the Chief Justice of India (CJI) HL Dattu retires on 2 December, the Government is apparently preparing red carpet for him at the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) according to several reports, as the post of the chairperson of the NHRC has been vacant since May this year, and only former CJIs are eligible for this high office.

The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a PIL seeking a CBI probe into the citizenship row of Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi. Chief Justice HL Dattu and Justice Amitava Roy dismissed the PIL filed by lawyer ML Sharma, saying PILs cannot be individual-centric. The court also questioned the petitio...

The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to hold an urgent hearing of a PIL seeking CBI probe into the allegation that Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi had declared himself a British national in the documents filed before the registrar of companies in Britain. “There is no urgency in the matter,” t...

The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice to Madhya Pradesh Governor Ram Naresh Yadav on a plea seeking his removal for his alleged involvement in forest guard recruitment scam - one of the cases in the Vyapam scam. The apex court bench of Chief Justice HL Dattu, Justice Shiva Kirti Singh and Justic...

The Supreme Court on Thursday asked its collegium to go ahead with the appointment of judges to the high courts and the apex court which have been put on hold ever since the government notification setting up the NJAC was challenged. The constitution bench headed by Justice JS Khehar said “it is nee...

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday expanded his government’s ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ motto to include ‘Sabka Nyay’, assuring free legal aid for the vulnerable sections of the society. “I believe in ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ and with that there must be ‘Sabka Nyay’,” Modi said urging that the...