Rights Issues

Rejects SIT probe into activists’ arrest The Supreme Court, in a majority opinion on Friday, held that the pan-India crackdown and arrests of five activists in the Bhima-Koregaon violence case on August 28 was not an attempt to silence dissent. Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra and Justice A.M. Khanwilkar …

The Kerala government, which has been changing its stand on the contentious issue of women of the menstrual age group entering the Sabarimala temple, had on July 18 told the Supreme Court that it now favoured their entry. The apex court had on October 13 last year referred the issue …

Marriage does not mean ceding autonomy, say Justice Chandrachud Justice Rohinton Nariman, in his separate opinion but concurring judgment holding that adultery is not a crime, said Section 497 made a husband the “licensor” of his wife’s sexual choices. Justice Nariman listed out countries which had repealed adultery as a …

The statement that “praying in a mosque is not an essential part of Islam andnamaz by Muslims can be offered even in the open” by a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court in a 1994 judgment played a role in the Allahabad High Court decision to partition the disputed Ram …

Essentiality of offering prayers in a mosque not in question: Justice Bhushan Speaking for the majority judgement of himself and the Chief Justice on the issue of referring the question “if a “mosque as a place of prayer is an essential part of Islam”, in the Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid appeals, to …

How couples deal with itis a private matter, says CJISection 497 treats a woman as her husband’s commodity A five-judge Constitution Bench, led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, in four separate but concurring opinions on Thursday held that adultery is not a crime and struck it off the …

It is the only digitally-available document for opening accounts online The Supreme Court ruling on Wednesday that Aadhaar is not mandatory for opening bank accounts could affect online opening of accounts. The State Bank of India, Axis Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank are among the banks that allow opening of …

It said it was not trivialising the problem of exclusion faced by the elderly, the very young, the disabled and several others during the authentication process. Authentication was found to be only having a .232% failure, Justice Sikri pointed out. It was accurate 99.76% times, Justice Sikri said. He reasoned …

Infosys chairman Nandan Nilekani, who was the first Chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India, has said that the landmark judgment was in favour of the unique identification programme. “More than just opining on the constitutionality of the Act, the Supreme Court has unequivocally validated the founding principles for …

The Supreme Court is scheduled to pronounce a judgment on Thursday on whether to refer the question if a “mosque as a place of prayer is an essential part of Islam” in the Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid appeals to a Constitution Bench. A three-judge Bench of Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra …

Says it fulfils government’s aimto provide dignity to marginalisedIt’s a unique ID that cannot beduplicated unlike PAN, ration cardMajority opinion upholds it as a reasonable restriction on privacyUpholds the passage of the Aadhaar Act as a Money Bill The Supreme Court, in a majority opinion on Wednesday, upheld Aadhaar as …

The five-judge Bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, and Justices A.K. Sikri, A.M. Khanwilkar, D.Y. Chandrachud and Ashok Bhushan had reserved its judgment in May, a culmination of over seven years of various challenges against Aadhaar. It will give three opinions by Justices Sikri, Chandrachud and Bhushan. In fact, the …

Poll panel tells SC that it can’t be allowed as free speech Repeated publication of propaganda lauding the achievements of a candidate in an election is nothing but “paid news”, the Election Commission of India has told the Supreme Court. Politicians cannot say that it is part of their fundamental …

Per capita alcohol consumption in India has more than doubled from 2005 to 2016, according to a report by the World Health Organisation (WHO). The consumption of alcohol has increased from 2.4 litres in 2005 to 5.7 litres in 2016 with 4.2 litres being consumed by men and 1.5 litre …

In their fight to get Abu Zubaydah released from the U.S. military detention facility, lawyers are trying to collate details of his stay in Karnataka More than 27 years after he abandoned his undergraduate studies in Mysuru to wage jihad against the Soviet-backed regime in Afghanistan, Zainalabdeen Mohammad Hussein Abu …

Justice Ranjan Gogoi on the Special Bench hearing the Assam National Register of Citizens (NRC) case observed on Wednesday that by allowing the claimants to file extra papers, the apex court was actually giving them a ‘second chance’ to prove their Indian legacy. “Usually, the process of claims and objections …

In Morigaon town, most citizenship certificates were forged or tampered with A Foreigners’ Tribunal in central Assam’s Morigaon district observed last month that the process of identifying foreigners and doubtful voters had become “an industry” for “minting money.” The “unfair practices” involved, it noted, turned Indians into foreigners and foreigners …

Opposition parties, women activists question govt. move With the government taking the ordinance route to make ‘instant triple talaq’ a penal offence, Opposition parties and women activists on Wednesday wondered why no similar provisions are made for Hindu men deserting their wives. Some said the ordinance ignored problems it could …

Exercise will continue for 60 days: SC The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered the opening of the process for receiving claims and objections from 40 lakh persons left out of the draft National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam from September 25. A Special Bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi and …

The new law has safeguards, including bail to the accused before the start of trial The Union Cabinet on Wednesday cleared an ordinance that makes talaq-e-biddat , or instant triple talaq, a criminal offence that will attract a maximum jail term of three years. President Ram Nath Kovind later in …