With the elevation of Madras HC chief justice (CJ) RK Agrawal and Delhi HC CJ N Venkata Ramana to the SC, the apex court currently sits at full strength – 31 judges. However, this year India too will for the first time see three chief justices within 12 months, and 10 SC judges will retire between 9...

The Supreme Court has adjourned its hearing in the public interest litigation (PIL) against Swatanter Kumar until 26 March, as two more interveners attempted to join the PIL.

Legally India has obtained a copy of the public interest litigation filed by anonymous lawyer X, a former intern of ex-Supreme Court judge Swatanter Kumar, whose case will again get heard by the Supreme Court tomorrow (14 February).

The Supreme Court has opened up its panel of lawyers eligible to be selected as amicus curiae (Latin for “friend of the court”), to assist the judges from time to time in matters.

Madras high court chief justice RK Agrawal was elevated to the Supreme Court yesterday, reported the PTI . His judicial career began in February 1999 at the Allahabad high court 14 years after which he was appointed acting chief justice of the Madras high court. He became chief justice of Madras HC ...

For all intents and purposes, a lot of credit should go to Karanjawala & Co, for they have proven what difference a lawyer can make (or a team of six or more, judging by the number cc’d to my recent email correspondence with the firm).

An SC bench came down heavily on an advocate-on-record who did not turn up for a hearing and instead sent a nameless lawyer holding himself out as “proxy counsel”.

Every HC bench strength to grow by 25% : The central government has decided to increase the judges’ strength of each high court in India by 25 per cent and has invited proposals from all chief justices on additional facilities concerning courtroom, quarters and support staff for the enhanced number ...

The Supreme Court Gender Sensitisation and Internal Complaints Committee (GSICC) has received two complaints of sexual harassment since it was set up on 26 November 2013, reported the PTI , citing the GSICC Annual Report (PDF): In the First Meeting of the GSICC held on 9/12/2013, an Internal Sub-Com...

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) P Sathasivam ordered the Birbhum district judge to submit a detailed report about action taken by police in the West Bengal village ‘kangaroo court’-ordered gang rape case. The Supreme Court has appointed additional solicitor general Sidharth Luthra to ...

The Supreme Court has ordered prosecution of Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalitha for not filing income tax (IT) returns between 1991 and 1994 for the company which she co-owned at the time. Jayalalitha and the company’s other co-owner had appealed to the apex court for discharge from the crimina...

The Supreme Court today asked all high court chief justices to nominate a retired district judge each, to serve for two years on State Committees overseeing the implementation of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Rules 2000. The serving judges will be paid Rs 20,000 per month for their work on th...

Supreme Court justices HL Dattu and Sidhansu Jyoti Mukhopadhaya have rejected a number of review petitions of its late 2013 judgment that effectively re-criminalised homosexual intercourse. The bench said in its order: “We have gone through the Review Petitions and the connected papers. We see no re...

The Supreme Court has postponed its national Lok Adalat to Saturday 12 April 2014 from 29 March, requesting all advocates to submit their consent and parties details by 14 March [SC notice]

The Supreme Court and the West Bengal Commission for Women today took suo motu cognisance of Monday’s alleged gang-rape of a 20-year-old tribal woman in the state’s Birbhum district, reported Zee News and IANS respectively. However the state human rights commission failed to act because it is missin...

Chief Justice of India (CJI) P Sathasivam and Justices Ranjan Gogoi and Shiva Kirti Singh argued that the right to seek mercy is a constitutional right not at the “discretion or whims of the executive”.

The Delhi high court yesterday restrained anyone from publishing or broadcasting the detailed sexual harassment allegations against Swatanter Kumar, without stating prominently that they are “mere allegations”, as a battery of counsel appeared for the former Supreme Court judge in the court yesterday.

Another graduate of NUJS Kolkata has alleged that she was sexually harassed by a then-sitting Supreme Court judge in 2011, reported the Indian Express today. The story follows in the wake of West Bengal Human Rights Commission (WBHRC) chairman AK Ganguly’s resignation after claims that he had harass...

SC introduces online visitor sign-in : The Supreme Court has introduced an online system to sign in clients and other guests to the apex court via the so-called Supreme Court Visitor Management System (SCVMS). After signing in with details including the name of the court, case and advocate, visitors...

Former Justice Asok Kumar Ganguly said in his resignation letter from the West Bengal Human Rights Commission that he bore his “detractors” no ill will but continued denying all allegations. He wrote, according to IBN : Dear Excellency, I would like to affirmatively say that allegations which are ap...