Constitutional Law

The Supreme Court of India on May 19, 2026, passed a landmark order permitting the euthanasia of rabid, incurably ill, and demonstrably dangerous stray dogs to protect public safety. A bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta, and NV Anjaria held that human life and public safety take precedence when dealing with aggressive strays that pose a direct threat to citizens. The Court simultaneously directed states to establish at least one fully functional Animal Birth

The Supreme Court of India has granted bail to former IAS officer Anil Tuteja, who was in custody since April 2024 in connection with the Rs 50 crore District Mineral Foundation scam in Korba district, Chhattisgarh. The bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi allowed the bail application, noting the prolonged period of incarceration and the stage of the trial. The State of Chhattisgarh had opposed bail, arguing that Tuteja had a history of influe

The Supreme Court of India on May 18, 2026, directed the Bar Council of India to constitute two election tribunals to adjudicate disputes arising from state bar council elections across the country. The bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi appointed former Supreme Court Judge Justice Deepak Gupta to head Tribunal I and former Supreme Court Judge Justice Hima Kohli to head Tribunal II. The BCI has been given three days to formally notify the co

The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, which sought to increase the number of Lok Sabha seats from 543 to 850 and facilitate fresh delimitation based on the 2011 Census, was defeated in the Lok Sabha on April 17, 2026. The Bill received 298 votes in favour and 230 against, falling short of the two-thirds majority required for a constitutional amendment. The required threshold, based on 528 members voting, was 352 votes. This was the first constitutional amendment brou

The National Testing Agency (NTA) cancelled the NEET-UG 2026 examination held on May 3 following allegations of a paper leak, and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has been handed the case for investigation. In the aftermath, the Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA) and the United Doctors' Front (UDF) have filed petitions in the Supreme Court under Article 32 of the Constitution seeking directions to either replace or fundamentally restructure the NTA a

The Bar Council of India (BCI) has sought detailed enrollment and practice records of former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee from the Bar Council of West Bengal, after Banerjee appeared before the Calcutta High Court wearing advocate's robes and white bands on May 14, 2026. Banerjee appeared to argue in a PIL related to alleged post-poll violence in the state following the 2026 Assembly election results. The BCI's letter, addressed to the Secretary of the State Bar

The Calcutta High Court has issued interim directions to the West Bengal State Police to ensure the safe return of all persons displaced from their homes, shops, and properties during the post-poll violence that followed the 2026 West Bengal Assembly election results. The Court directed that protection must be provided regardless of the political affiliation of the displaced persons. The directions came in response to multiple Public Interest Litigations (PILs) alleging wides

The Supreme Court of India has launched Su-Sahayak, an interactive virtual guide designed to simplify public access to the Court's e-services and frequently asked questions. The tool is part of the ongoing judicial modernisation initiative under Chief Justice Surya Kant's leadership and aims to bridge the information gap between the Court's digital services and the millions of litigants, lawyers, and members of the public who interact with the Supreme Court system. Su-Sahayak

The Kerala High Court has delivered an important ruling clarifying the documentation requirements for marriages between Indian residents and foreign nationals in India. The Court held that no No Objection Certificate (NOC) from any embassy is required for such marriages and directed registration authorities to process marriage applications immediately after the completion of the statutory notice period without demanding additional documentation. The ruling addresses a common

The Supreme Court on May 15, 2026, ordered the premature release of Rohit Chaturvedi, a convict in the 2003 Madhumita Shukla murder case, after he spent 22 years in prison. A bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan quashed the Ministry of Home Affairs' July 2025 order rejecting Chaturvedi's remission plea, holding that the denial was arbitrary and unsustainable in law. The Court laid down an important principle: in a constitutional polity governed by the rule of law,

The Supreme Court's nine-judge Constitution Bench, led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, has reserved its verdict in the long-pending Sabarimala reference after 16 days of extensive hearings. The reference, which originated from the 2018 Sabarimala temple entry judgment, examines fundamental questions about the interplay between Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution and the scope of religious freedom in India. The verdict, when delivered, is expected to have far-reaching

The Madhya Pradesh High Court on May 15, 2026, delivered a landmark verdict in the long-running Bhojshala dispute, declaring the centuries-old complex in Dhar district a Hindu temple dedicated to Goddess Saraswati (Maa Vagdevi). The division bench quashed the Archaeological Survey of India's 2003 circular that had permitted Muslims to offer Friday namaz at the site between 1 pm and 3 pm. The ruling, based on a detailed 2,200-page ASI survey report, formally recognises the Bho

The Madhya Pradesh High Court quashed an FIR registered against a government school teacher, Faizan Ansari, who shared a video of an Urdu nazm (poem) titled 'Be-haya' by poet Shoaib Kiani on his WhatsApp status. Justice B.P. Sharma, in his order in the case of Faizan Ansari v. State of Madhya Pradesh (2026 MPHC JBP 35211), held that sharing a poetic recitation without any additional commentary or intent to incite cannot be construed as promoting enmity or public mischief. The

The Supreme Court of India, in a recent judgment from May 2026, altered a conviction in a 1999 murder case, ruling that the mere physical presence of an accused person at the scene of a crime, without evidence of active participation or shared intention, is insufficient to sustain a conviction under Section 34 (now Section 3(5), BNS) of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC). This ruling reinforces an important principle of criminal law: constructive liability under Section 34 req

The Delhi High Court, in the case of Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha v. Tech Square Engineering (decided May 4, 2026), delivered a landmark ruling on trademark rights for foreign brands in India. The Court held that for the purposes of Sections 11 and 57 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999, a foreign proprietor may succeed in a rectification petition by proving that its mark had acquired actionable recognition and spill-over reputation in India within the relevant consumer segment,