Constitutional Law

The Supreme Court of India has delivered a comprehensive exposition of the doctrine of ratification in administrative law, holding that once a competent authority ratifies an act initially performed without authority, the ratification relates back to the date of the original act, validating it as though prior authority had existed from the outset. In Delhi Technological University v. B.S. Rawat (2026 INSC 797), decided on August 4, 2026, a Bench of Justice Pamidighantam Sri N

The Supreme Court of India, on August 4, 2026, passed a significant order directing States and Union Territories to consider granting reservation to "out-boarded" military cadets who sustained 40% or more disability during training. The order was passed in the suo motu writ petition titled "In Re: Cadets Disabled in Military Training Struggle," and it affirms the entitlement of such cadets to reservation benefits under Section 34 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act

Introduction: What Is a Curative Petition? In the Indian legal system, a curative petition is the final judicial remedy available to a litigant. When all avenues of appeal and review have been exhausted, this extraordinary remedy serves as the last resort to seek justice from the Supreme Court of India, designed to prevent abuse of process and cure gross miscarriage of justice in exceptional circumstances. Unlike a regular appeal or a revision petition, a curative petition is

The Supreme Court of India, on August 5, 2026, clarified that its July 24 interim order restricting the unauthorized sharing of livestreamed court proceedings on social media does not prevent news organisations from reporting judicial proceedings. The clarification came in the suo motu case In re: Live Streaming of Court Proceedings, where the Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice V Mohana addressed the confusion that had ari

The Supreme Court of India, during the hearing of Sunil Prabhu v Eknath Shinde, SLP(C) No. 1644-1662/2024 and connected petitions on August 5, 2026, made significant oral observations on defection disputes. A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice V Mohana indicated that under existing law, a political party retains subsisting control over its legislature party, and any decision of the political party, validly demonstrated, must prevai

In a landmark ruling delivered on August 5, 2026, the Supreme Court of India held that state governments cannot oppose the proposal to raise the retirement age of judicial officers from 60 to 62 years solely on the grounds of increased financial burden. The decision, rendered in the long-pending All India Judges Association case, carries significant implications for the district judiciary across India. The case addresses a question unresolved for years: whether the retirement

The Supreme Court of India, on August 4, 2026, raised serious questions about the continued validity of the two-child norm imposed on candidates seeking election to panchayats in Maharashtra. A bench comprising Justice PS Narasimha and Justice Alok Aradhe reserved judgment on whether the landmark ruling in Javed v State of Haryana (2003), which upheld the constitutionality of the two-child bar, needs to be reconsidered by the present bench or referred to a larger bench. The c

The Supreme Court of India, on July 30, 2026, directed all State Governments and Union Territories to constitute Boards of Visitors (BoVs) for prison oversight in every district, in compliance with Clause 29.01 of the Model Prison Manual, 2016. A bench comprising Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice K. Vinod Chandran passed the order while hearing a suo motu case concerning caste-based discrimination in Indian prisons, which arose from the landmark judgment in Sukanya Shantha v

The Supreme Court of India on July 24, 2026, issued an interim order prohibiting the unauthorized extraction, editing, posting, re-posting, uploading, and monetization of audio-video recordings of judicial proceedings on social media and digital platforms. A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice V. Mohana passed the order while hearing a petition highlighting the widespread misuse of livestreamed court hearings on

In a strong rebuke to state governments across India for their persistent failure to implement the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016, the Supreme Court on July 29, 2026, directed eleven states and union territories to appoint State Commissioners for Persons with Disabilities within four weeks. A bench comprising Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice K.V. Viswanathan passed the directions while hearing a public interest litigation filed by disability rights act

Indian citizens who have voluntarily acquired citizenship of another country automatically lose their Indian citizenship under Section 9 of the Citizenship Act, 1955. However, the Act provides a pathway for such former citizens to regain Indian citizenship through registration under Section 5(1)(f). This provision is particularly relevant for members of the Indian diaspora who wish to return permanently and reacquire full citizenship rights. This guide explains the complete p

The Rajya Sabha on July 29, 2026, passed the Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026, extending statutory criminal protection to India’s national song, "Vande Mataram," for the first time since Independence. The Bill, introduced in the Upper House on July 24 during the Monsoon Session of Parliament, amends the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971 to include the national song alongside the national anthem, the national flag, and the Consti

A writ petition has been filed before the Supreme Court of India seeking a nationwide ban on the use of pellet guns and pump-action guns for crowd control by law enforcement agencies. The petition has been filed by Yashovardhan Azad, a retired Intelligence Bureau Special Director and 1976-batch IPS officer, along with two individuals who claim to have been injured by pellet fire during the July 20, 2026 Sansad Chalo march in Delhi. The petitioners, represented by advocate Vri

The Central Government has mounted a direct challenge to the doctrine of "constitutional morality" before a nine-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Union of India, argued that constitutional morality is not a concrete doctrine but a vague sentiment capable of elastic interpretation, and that landmark judgments relying on it, including the decriminalisation of adultery in Joseph S

The Supreme Court of India, on July 28, 2026, took up a batch of Public Interest Litigations alleging severe police excesses during the nationwide protests over the alleged NEET-UG 2026 paper leak. A bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, along with Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V. Mohana, ordered the immediate release of all detained minors, stayed coercive action against students, and directed all states to preserve electronic evidence relating to the prot