New CJI rulings on personal liberty places of worship key events in Supreme Court

New Delhi, Dec 26 (PTI) Landmark decisions such as abolishing the electoral bonds scheme for political funding, establishing guidelines for "bulldozer" justice and prohibiting all courts from hearing disputes over religious sites kept the Supreme Court busy in 2024.    
    The year also marked a shift in leadership for India's highest court.
    India's new chief justice Justice Sanjiv Khanna took over the reins on November 11 following the superannuation of Justice D Y Chandrachud.
    Touted as a stickler for effective execution, he introduced significant reforms to how cases are listed in the Supreme Court to reduce the backlog of new cases. He abolished the long-standing practice of oral mentioning matters for urgent listing.
    The year also witnessed a rise in legal disputes over places of worship in the country, many of which reached the Supreme Court. Notable cases include Gyanvapi, Mathura, Bhojshala and Sambhal, highlighting a community’s claims to rights of worship.
    The apex court, which on January 16 stayed the Allahabad High Court order allowing survey at Shahi Idgah mosque at Mathura in the Krishna Janambhoomi temple dispute, passed a significant order on December 12 prohibiting all the courts in the country from entertaining or passing any effective interim or final orders in such matters.
    Certain cases decided by the Supreme Court had political ramifications. In a landmark decision on February 15 in the electoral bonds case, a five-judge bench scrapped the scheme of anonymous political funding that paved the way for political accountability.
    In another crucial directive, the court, in January and February, passed two separate orders refusing to stay a law on the appointment of the chief election commissioner and election commissioners by a panel that didn’t include the CJI.
    When petitions sought the recall of the erstwhile paper ballot voting during elections, the top court castigated the demand.
     “What happens is, when you win the election, EVMs are not tampered with. When you lose the election, EVMs are tampered (with),” remarked the top court which had dismissed the main plea on April 26 and the review petition on July 30.
    When punitive action by several state administrations resulted in the demolition of accused’s homes, the top court stepped in and established pan-India guidelines on November 13.
    Property should not be demolished without a show cause notice and a 15-day response period, according to the guidelines.
    Malpractice claims rocked the NEET-UG 2024, which was taken by over 23 lakh medical aspirants seeking admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH, and other relevant courses.
    The Supreme Court, however, refused to cancel the controversial test on July 23, saying there was no proof of a "systemic breach" of its sanctity.
    Matters involving large corporations reached court too. While the Adani Group scored a big win on January 3 when the apex court refused to transfer the investigation into charges of stock price manipulation by the Indian corporate giant to a special investigation team or the CBI, Vedanta Limited suffered a setback.
    The top court denied Vedanta's request for reopening its copper smelting plant in Tamil Nadu's Thoothukudi, which had been halted since May 2018 due to pollution concerns.
    On November 7, the top court ordered the liquidation of the once-high-flying Jet Airways, which has remained grounded since April 2019. The court issued directions for the forfeiture of Rs 200 crore infused by the successful bidder, and permitted the lenders led by SBI to encash Rs 150 crore performance bank guarantee.
    The Supreme Court ruled that states have the legislative authority to impose taxes on mineral rights and that royalties paid on minerals are not considered taxes, which will increase the state’s revenue stream.
    Another ruling saw states being allowed the authority to regulate the manufacturing, distribution and production of industrial alcohol.
    There were also instances where the Supreme Court took a tough stand especially when accused persons, lodged in jail for prolonged periods, were denied bail.
    The apex court, during the year, granted bail to political heavyweights like former Delhi chief minister and AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal, his colleague Manish Sisodia, BRS leader K Kavitha, and DMK leader V Senthil Balaji and emphasised "bail is the rule and jail is the exception”.
    Throughout the year, a number of constitutional bench rulings were rendered on important cases. These included quota-based sub-classifications within Scheduled Castes, Aligarh Muslim University's minority status, the requirements for LMV driving licenses, government employment appointments, and PSUs’ selection of arbitrators in commercial disputes.
    In order to “assure the feelings of crores of people”, the Supreme Court established a five-member impartial special investigations team to look into the claims that animal fat was used in preparing Tirupati laddus.
    On August 18, India’s highest courts took note of the national outcry over the rape and death of a trainee doctor at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on Agust 9. It censured the West Bengal police’s "shoddy" initial investigation and kept a watch on the CBI’s probe.
    To develop a policy to guarantee the safety and security of physicians and other healthcare professionals, a 10-member National Task Force was constituted.
    The top court ordered a tree census in a bid to increase green spaces in Delhi, which struggles with pollution every year. This year, the battle against pollution persisted as the highest court issued several orders to stop the threat.
    The Supreme Court has urged the states in the national capital region to think about emulating Delhi’s decision to outlaw firecrackers all year long.
    Prompted by the furore over the unceremonious statements made by sitting high court judges, the top court took stock of the situation.
    While Allahabad High Court’s Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav appeared before the Supreme Court collegium over his contentious remarks made at a public function, Karnataka High Court judge Justice V Srishananda came under fire for allegedly making misogynistic remarks.
    It warned judges not to say anything that may be interpreted as "misogynistic" or aimed at a specific "gender or community". It said no area of Indian territory should be referred to as Pakistan.
    Justice Yadav presented his version of the statements before the Supreme Court collegium, presided by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna.
    The Supreme Court’s decision to keep the DND flyway tool-free on the final working day of the year was a huge relief to the thousands of commuters who travel between Delhi and Noida.
     The hands of the top court will be full in 2025. It will deal with important matters like marital rape, petitions and cross-pleas on the validity of a law on religious places, hijab ban and pleas on challenging the constitutional validity of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019.
    The new year will see three CJIs. Justice Khanna will demit office on May 13 and Justice B R Gavai, the senior most judge, will take over a day after and remain on the post till November 23. Justice Surya Kant would become the CJI on November 24 and remain at the helm till February 9, 2027. PTI ABA PKS SJK AMK
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(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)