The Week That Was: The Supreme Court of India

Although the second week of the year was not as action-packed as the first in the Supreme Court of India, it was not completely devoid of excitement. There were several matters of interest, even as litigants and visitors got used to the new Chief Justice of India, Justice JS Khehar, and the ensuing procedural changes that followed..Read the highlights below..Monday, January 9.Colin Gonsalves made amicus in custodial torture case.Senior Advocate and noted human rights lawyer Colin Gonsalves was made Amicus Curiae in a PIL seeking a standalone legislation for curbing instances of custodial torture and violence against prisoners..A Bench of Chief Justice JS Khehar, along with Justices DY Chandrachud and L Nageswara Rao, requested Gonsalves to assist the Court after hearing the petitioner, former law minister Ashwani Kumar on the issue..Read full story here..Jaising objects to Khanwilkar J hearing transfer petition in sexual harassment case against Swatanter Kumar J.Senior Advocate Indira Jaising objected to Justice AM Khanwilkar hearing the transfer petition in the case relating to the alleged sexual harassment of a law clerk by Justice (Retd.) Swatanter Kumar..Her objection was based on the fact that Justice Khanwilkar was a judge of the Bombay High Court, where Justice Swatanter Kumar had served as Chief Justice..Read full story here..BCI (CoP) Rules:Notice in challenge to Universities’ demand of fees from Bar Councils.Multiple state Bar Councils and the BCI have moved the Supreme Court against different universities demanding fees from the Bar Councils for verification. The Bench issued notice and posted the case for February 3..Read full story here..Tuesday, January 10.Audit 32 lakh+ NGOs, frame guidelines for regulation.The Central government has been directed to audit the accounts of more than 32 lakh NGOs in the country and submit a report to the Court regarding the same. The Bench also directed the Centre to frame guidelines with respect to accreditation of NGOs, maintenance of their accounts and auditing the same..Read the full story here..Wednesday, January 11.Compensation for victims of endosulfan poisoning.The Supreme Court has given the Kerala government three months to disburse the 500 crore compensation for over 5,000 persons who suffered from various deformities, health complications and lost family members after using Endosulfan pesticides in the state. A bench headed by Chief Justice JS Khehar also asked the state to consider setting up a centre to provide lifelong medical treatment to all the victims..These directions were given in a PIL filed by Democratic Youth Federation of India..No probe into Sahara Birla Diaries.Ex-Law Minister Shanti Bhushan and his son Prashant Bhushan’s demand for a probe into bribes allegedly paid in the so-called Birla-Sahara diaries was rejected. The court held that it would be dangerous for democracy to order a probe on the basis of loose sheets inadmissible as evidence..Read the full story here..Thursday, January 12.Taj Mansingh auction to be reconsidered.The Supreme Court has told the New Delhi Municipal Corporation to reconsider the auction of the Taj Mansingh Hotel lease..A Bench of Justices Pinaki Chandra Ghose and Rohinton Nariman directed the NDMC to reconsider its decision in light of the legal opinions given in 2014 by Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi and Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar, who had both advised against holding the auction..Read the full story here..Change of Bench ends “indulgence” for Subrata Roy.A Bench of Justices Dipak Misra, Ranjan Gogoi and AK Sikri has refused to grant any extension to the corporate honcho for the deposit of 600 crore that was mandated by the court’s previous order, ending what Justice Misra called “indulgence” granted to the Sahara head..Read the full story here..Friday, January 13.Procedural changes in the Supreme Court.CJI JS Khehar has restored the Social Justice bench; Justices MB Lokur and UU Lalit will sit at 2 pm on every Friday and hear PILs on social issues including those connected to the environment. .Read the full story here..No pre-monitoring of media reportage.The Supreme Court has clarified that the role of a court or a statutory authority will come in only after a complaint is levelled against a telecast or publication. A bench led by Chief Justice of India J S Khehar stated that pre-broadcast or pre-publication censorship is not the business of the court and that all grievances against objectionable content will be dealt with in accordance with the law of the land after its publication..The Bench also asked the government to ascertain the feasibility of setting up a statutory mechanism for redressal of complaints against contents of programmes dished out by private TV channels and radio stations.