Tag: judicial activism

Supreme Court Takes Charge: Major Order to Save Rajasthan’s Polluted Rivers
10Feb By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

Supreme Court Takes Charge: Major Order to Save Rajasthan’s Polluted Rivers

The Supreme Court affirmed that the right to life under Article 21 encompasses a pollution-free environment. Criticizing prolonged state inaction, the Court modified an interim stay on NGT orders to allow enforcement of remedial measures. It constituted a High-Level Oversight Committee to ensure time-bound implementation, underscoring the constitutional duty to protect public health and ecology. Facts Of The Case: The case originated from severe and long-standing industrial and sewage pollution in the Jojari, Bandi, and Luni river system in Rajasthan, endangering the health and livelihoods of nearly two million people. The Supreme Court took suo moto cognizance in September 2025 based on a documentary highlighting the crisis. This matter was clubbed with several pending civil appeals aga...
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Supreme Court Approves New Definition of Aravali Range, Bans New Mining Pending Study
7Feb By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

Supreme Court Approves New Definition of Aravali Range, Bans New Mining Pending Study

The Supreme Court, while accepting a committee's operational definition of the Aravali Hills and Ranges for mining regulation, directed the preparation of a Management Plan for Sustainable Mining. This plan must identify conservation zones and permissible mining areas based on ecological carrying capacity. The Court ordered that no new mining leases be granted until this scientific study is finalized, balancing environmental protection with regulated mining activities. Facts Of The Case: The case originated from issues raised in the long-standing writ petition, T.N. Godavarman Thirumulpad v. Union of India, concerning the conservation of forests. A specific question arose before the Supreme Court in January 2024 regarding whether certain mining activities in Rajasthan fell within the leg...
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Judiciary vs Parliament: Supreme Court Repeats Warning on Tribunal Independence
7Feb By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

Judiciary vs Parliament: Supreme Court Repeats Warning on Tribunal Independence

In Madras Bar Association v. Union of India (2023), the Supreme Court struck down the Tribunal Reforms Act, 2021, declaring its provisions on age limits, tenure, and appointment committees unconstitutional. The Court held the Act was an impermissible legislative override, violating the principles of separation of powers, judicial independence, and constitutional supremacy established in its prior judgements. Facts Of The Case: The Madras Bar Association challenged the constitutional validity of the Tribunal Reforms Act, 2021, before the Supreme Court of India. The Act sought to govern the appointment, tenure, qualifications, and service conditions of members across various tribunals. Its key provisions included a minimum age of 50 for appointment, a fixed four-year tenure, a ...
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From Paper Rights to Real Rights: Supreme Court Orders Sweeping Reforms for Transgender Community
4Jan By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

From Paper Rights to Real Rights: Supreme Court Orders Sweeping Reforms for Transgender Community

This Supreme Court judgment affirms that the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, read with Articles 14, 15, and 21 of the Constitution, imposes horizontal obligations on both State and private establishments to prevent discrimination against transgender persons. The Court underscores the State’s positive duty to ensure reasonable accommodation, effective grievance redressal, and substantive equality, holding that legislative and administrative inaction constitutes discriminatory omission. Facts Of The Case: The petitioner, Jane Kaushik, a transgender woman and trained teacher, faced alleged discrimination and termination from two private schools within a year. She was first appointed by the First School in November 2022 but was forced to resign after eight days, citin...
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No Endless Cases: Supreme Court Uses Special Power to End Dowry Case After Couple Divorced
15Sep By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

No Endless Cases: Supreme Court Uses Special Power to End Dowry Case After Couple Divorced

The Supreme Court quashed criminal proceedings under Sections 498A/34 IPC and Sections 3/4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act against the father-in-law, invoking Article 142 of the Constitution. The Court held that continuing prosecution after divorce and in the absence of specific, timely allegations amounted to an abuse of the process of law. Facts Of The Case: The marriage between the complainant (Respondent No. 2) and the appellant’s son was solemnized in December 2017. By May 2019, marital discord arose, leading the wife to leave the matrimonial home and allege mental and physical cruelty. Both parties attended police-led counselling sessions, which resulted in an agreement to remarry through Hindu rites. However, the wife soon left again and, in July 2019, filed an FIR alleging that her ...
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Supreme Court Exposes Cover-Up, Mandates CBI Investigation for Custodial Violence
16Aug By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

Supreme Court Exposes Cover-Up, Mandates CBI Investigation for Custodial Violence

The Supreme Court held that the High Court erred in not mandating the registration of anCfor custodial torture, as per Lalita Kumari v. State of U.P., which mandates immediate FIR registration for cognizable offences. The Court directed a CBI investigation to ensure impartiality, citing institutional bias and conflict of interest. It quashed the counter FIR under Section 309 IPC as mala fide and awarded ₹50 lakhs compensation for the egregious violation of Article 21. The judgment reaffirmed the constitutional duty to protect citizens from state excesses and uphold human dignity. Facts Of The Case: The appellant, Khursheed Ahmad Chohan, a police constable in Jammu & Kashmir, was summoned for an inquiry related to a narcotics case on February 17, 2023. He reported to the Joint Interro...
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Supreme Court Verdict on Delhi Ridge : DDA Must Pay for Environmental Damage in Delhi Ridge Case
13Jun By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

Supreme Court Verdict on Delhi Ridge : DDA Must Pay for Environmental Damage in Delhi Ridge Case

The Supreme Court held the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) in contempt for wilfully disobeying its 1996 order prohibiting tree felling in the Delhi Ridge and for concealing this action from the court. The Court emphasized that such conduct obstructs the administration of justice and undermines the Rule of Law, necessitating remedial measures to purge the contempt. Facts Of The Case: This contempt petition before the Supreme Court of India stems from the Delhi Development Authority's (DDA) alleged wilful disobedience of the Court's 1996 order in M.C. Mehta v. Union of India, which mandated the preservation of the ecologically sensitive Delhi Ridge. The DDA sought approval for constructing approach roads to the Central Armed Police Forces Institute of Medical Sciences (CAPFIMS), entailin...
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Supreme Court Upholds Strict Environmental Laws: Prior Clearance Must for Projects, No Retrospective Approvals
26May By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

Supreme Court Upholds Strict Environmental Laws: Prior Clearance Must for Projects, No Retrospective Approvals

The Supreme Court ruled that ex post facto environmental clearances (ECs) violate environmental jurisprudence and are alien to the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, and the EIA Notification, 2006. Stressing the precautionary principle and Article 21 (right to a pollution-free environment), the Court struck down the 2017 notification and 2021 OM permitting retrospective ECs, holding them arbitrary and illegal. It reiterated that prior EC is mandatory, and no regularization of violations is permissible, aligning with its earlier judgments in Common Cause and Alembic Pharmaceuticals. The Court barred future exemptions but spared already granted ECs. Facts Of The Case: The case involved multiple writ petitions and a civil appeal challenging the legality of the 2017 notification and 2021 ...
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“Supreme Court Transfers Investigation to CBI in Shocking Custodial Torture & Death Case” : Police Brutality Exposed
22May By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

“Supreme Court Transfers Investigation to CBI in Shocking Custodial Torture & Death Case” : Police Brutality Exposed

The Supreme Court transferred the investigation of a custodial death case to the CBI, citing bias in the local police probe under "nemo judex in causa sua" (no one should judge their own cause). It emphasized witness protection for the sole eyewitness, Gangaram Pardhi, and directed expedited arrests and trial, reinforcing accountability in custodial violence cases under constitutional safeguards. The judgment underscored fair investigation as a facet of Article 21. Facts Of The Case: The case stemmed from the custodial death of Deva Pardhi, a young man arrested by Madhya Pradesh police on 13th July 2024 during his wedding rituals in connection with a theft case (FIR No. 232/2024). Witnesses, including his uncle Gangaram Pardhi, alleged brutal torture—beatings, hanging upside down, and ch...
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“Supreme Court Exposes Builder-Politician Nexus in Pune Pune Forest Land Scam”
21May By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

“Supreme Court Exposes Builder-Politician Nexus in Pune Pune Forest Land Scam”

The Supreme Court ruled that the allotment of 11.89 hectares of reserved forest land in Pune for non-forest purposes violated Section 2 of the Forest Conservation Act, 1980 and the public trust doctrine. It quashed the illegal allotment to private builders, ordered restoration of the land to the Forest Department, and mandated a nationwide audit of similarly diverted forest lands. The judgment reaffirmed the state's fiduciary duty to protect forest resources and prohibited their conversion for commercial use without Central approval. Violations were held irreparable even under the doctrine of desuetude. Facts Of The Case: The case involved 11.89 hectares of reserved forest land in Pune's Kondhwa Budruk village, originally notified under the Indian Forest Act, 1878. In 1968, the land wa...
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