Justice Surya Kant News

The Supreme Court on 14 March notified a nine-judge Constitution Bench to revisit a longstanding question in Indian labour law: What legally counts as an “industry?”The interpretation of this single word matters because it determines which organizations fall under labour laws and which workers can access labour dispute mechanisms in India.A nine-judge bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant will begin hearing the matter on 17 March and conclude arguments on 18 March. The bench includes Justices B.V.

India’s justice system is groaning under a crushing backlog. Nearly 48 million cases are pending in lower courts, while the Supreme Court alone has close to 90,000 unresolved matters. This does not include matters before tribunals and administrative bodies.

Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL), calls for the creation of an independent committee, comprising the Prime Minister, Leader of Opposition, and Chief Justice of India, to appoint the CAG. The petitioner argued that the current selection process undermines the independence of the CAG. Advocate Prashant Bhushan claimed that the CAG's independence has diminished in recent years, pointing to a decline in reports and audits, especially in states ruled by the BJP.

Supreme Court on Friday expressed concern over the life and safety of farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who is on an indefinite hunger strike, and directed the Punjab government to take all measures to ensure that he was given medical aid. A vacation bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia issued a notice to the Punjab government on a contempt petition against its chief secretary for non-compliance with a top court order regarding medical aid to Dallewal.

Supreme Court on Wednesday sought response from Reliance Infrastructure-owned Delhi Airport Metro Express Pvt Ltd (DAMEPL), Axis Bank and their managing directors as to why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against them for failing to comply with an order to return more than ₹4,500 crore, including interest, to Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC). DMRC had filed a contempt-of-court petition against DAMEPL and Axis Bank, accusing them of «wilfully disobeying» the court's order to refund the amount that the corporation had deposited in an escrow account against an arbitration award. The apex court had in April set aside the 2017 arbitration award. A bench led by Justice Surya Kant, however, exempted the top brass of DAMEPL and Axis Bank from personal appearance before it.

political parties to follow the procedure for protection of women at workplace under the 2013 POSH Act. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Manmohan asked the petitioner to approach the Election Commission of India (ECI) with a representation for the application of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (POSH Act). Senior advocate Shobha Gupta, representing PIL petitioner Yogamaya MG, said there were six national parties in the country that did not have a grievance redressal mechanism against sexual harassment in line with the directions of the apex court and the 2013 law. The PIL arrayed 10 political parties including six national level parties — BJP, Congress, BSP, CPI(M), National People's Party and AAP.

Supreme Court on Monday junked a petition seeking an inquiry into the death of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. A bench comprising Justice Surya Kant and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan dismissed the public interest litigation, saying the top court is not a remedy for everything. «It's not the court's job to run the government,» the bench said. The apex court had earlier come down heavily on the petitioner, saying the plea contains «reckless and irresponsible allegations» against leaders who are no longer alive.

Supreme Court on Thursday deferred to November 27 the hearing on the question whether its 2022 verdict upholding the Enforcement Directorate's powers to arrest and attach property under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act required any reconsideration. A three-judge bench headed by Justice Surya Kant was informed by a lawyer that senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the petitioners, was not available today. «This is what happens. When we list, somebody is not available,» the bench said. The request of adjournment was not opposed by the ED's counsel.

Supreme Court on Friday granted bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the ongoing excise policy case. A two-judge bench, consisting of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, delivered its verdict after hearing Kejriwal's plea seeking bail and challenging his arrest by the CBI in the excise policy 'scam'. Read more: 'Caged parrot': SC slams CBI over Arvind Kerjiwal's 'unjustified' arrest in Delhi excise case

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal in the alleged excise policy scam. The decision came while the SC bench was announcing verdict on Kejriwal's plea seeking bail and challenging arrest by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The two-judge bench, comprising Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan, had reserved the order on September 5, after the hearing was concluded. The AAP chief was arrested by the CBI on June 26. The bench, however, applied a few conditions before releasing the Aam Aadmi Party supremo. While reading out the judgment, Justice Surya Kant said, «We direct Arvind Kejriwal to be released on bail subject to bail bonds of Rs 10 lakhs.»

Indiabulls Housing Finance has sought a review of the Supreme Court's February order that allegedly gave wide powers to the Enforcement Directorate to even investigate cases where there exists no scheduled offence under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). A bench led by Justice Surya Kant asked the company to share a copy of its review petition with the Attorney General. Indiabulls in its review petition stated that the apex court on February 12 while disposing of the criminal appeals had «mistakenly enlarged the scope of the powers of the ED beyond the permissible mandate of the PMLA law, and that it is also in conflict with the well settled law in the Vijay Madanlal Choudhary vs Un-ion of India case.»

NEW DELHI : The Union government informed the Supreme Court on Tuesday that it is prepared to engage with the Kerala government on the limits the Centre imposed on the state’s borrowing powers. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the Kerala government, told the court that a state delegation would fly to New Delhi on Wednesday for a dialogue with the Centre.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday sought clarity from the government on the legal status of Bitcoin in the country, days after the finance minister taxed crypto trading transactions at 30 per cent. The issue cropped up in a criminal case where the accused is facing charges of defrauding people in a crypto-currency scam. A bench led by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud granted him interim protection from arrest till the next hearing but sought more clarity on the legal status of crypto currency.