Big Hearings/Judgments Listed Before SC In 2018

2017 had been a happening year in the Supreme Court. LiveLaw now looks at big hearings and crucial judgments listed before the apex court in 2018JUDGMENTS IN CONSTITUTION BENCH MATTERSDELHI GOVT Vs LT GOVERNOR POWER TUSSLE: On December 6, a five-judge constitution bench of the Supreme Court comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice AK Sikri, Justice AM Khanwilkar, Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice Ashok Bhushan had reserved its verdict on a batch of petitions on the issue whether the Lieutenant Governor or the Delhi government enjoyed supremacy in administration on day-to-day basis. The matter was heard for 15 days. Clutch of appeals filed by the AAP government challenges Delhi High Court's verdict holding the L-G as the administrative head of the national capital. Senior advocate Gopal Subramaniam, who led the charge for the Delhi government, argued that the chief minister and the council of ministers had the legislative power to make laws as well as the executive authority to enforce the enacted statutes. Others who argued for the Delhi government include senior advocates P Chidambaram, Rajeev Dhavan, Shekhar Naphade and Indira Jaising. Additional Solicitor General Maninder Singh argued for the Centre and insisted that the Lt-Governor was the administrative head.EUTHANASIA/ 'LIVING WILL' : The five-judge constitution bench had on October 11 reserved its judgment on a plea filed by NGO Common Cause and argued by noted lawyer Prashant Bhushan for allowing 'living will' — a concept where a person decides in advance whether he/she wants to be kept on life support in case of a terminal illness. The NGO sought that a person suffering from terminal illness should be allowed to execute his/her 'living will' indicating that he/she should not be kept on life support system in case there is no hope for cure. The SC was of the opinion that there should be guidelines for drafting 'living wills' and authenticating them. The bench said advance directive by a person in the form of 'living will' may be approved by a magistrate. The NGO argued that the right to die peacefully was part of right to life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.Bhushan had said since a patient under coma can't express his/her wish, law should allow him/her to put it down in writing in advance that he/she should not be tortured. In the absence of a law authorizing doctors to do so, they keep incurable patients on life support, he said. In 2011, the SC had ruled in favour of passive euthanasia. The SC had said life support system can be withdrawn on the recommendation of a panel of doctors, consent of family members and permission of high court.CONSTITUTIONAL VALIDITY OF ADHAAR: Hearing to commence of January 18. On December 15, as an interim order, the constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justice AK Sikri, Justice AM Khanwilkar, Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice Ashok Bhushan, passed a judicial order extending dates for all linkings including Aadhaar-mobile number to March 31, 2018. Earlier the deadline for linking mobile number to Aadhaar was February 6. The government had referred to a notification issued by the Ministry of Finance, which had amended the proviso to Rule 9 (17) (a) of the Prevention of Money Laundering (Maintenance of Records) Rules of 2005 to remove the December 31 deadline. The notification also had substituted Rule 9 (17) (c), which said bank accounts would cease to operate if they were not linked with Aadhaar by December 31. The bench said since the deadline has been extended to March, the final hearing on the very validity of Aadhaar scheme, challenged in 24 separate petitions, can be scheduled for January. Subsequently, the court fixed the date as January 17, 2018.PARSI WOMAN'S RIGHT AFTER MARRIAGEThe constitution bench of the Supreme Court will decide the religious identity of a Parsi woman after her marriage under the Special Marriage Act.OTHER IMPORTANT MATTERSRAMJANMBHOOMI-BABRI MASJID CASE:On December 5, amidst a high-voltage hearing, the Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra rejected a request by some pro-Masjid individuals, Sunni Wakf Board and Babri Masjid Action Committee to defer the hearing to post-July 2019 and fixed the hearing for February 8, 2018. To the surprise of all, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for some individuals, said the case had a huge political ramification and the hearing was being expedited on the plea by a person who is not even a party in the case (referred to BJP leader Subramanium Swamy without naming) just to fulfill a promise-something mentioned in the party manifesto. The Advocates-on-Record have been asked to "sit together", work in harmony and see to it that the documents are filed within a timeframe. Directing that the matter be listed on 8.2.2018, the bench said: "We are sure that learned counsel for the parties will come prepared to argue the matter and shall not seek any adjournment. However, the Advocates-on-Record...

Big Hearings/Judgments Listed Before SC In 2018

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