Can A Sessions Court Hold A Joint Trial Despite Separate Committal Orders? Supreme Court Explains

The Supreme Court has clarified that committal orders do not determine whether a trial would be conducted jointly or separately, holding that the decision rests exclusively with the trial court. “…the committal order/s is/are not determinative of whether the trial is single/separate/joint; which is at the exclusive discretion of the Court.”, observed a bench of Justice Sanjay Kumar...

Supreme Court Collegium Recommends Appointment Of Chief Justices In Four High Courts

The Supreme Court Collegium has recommended the appointment of Chief Justices for four High Courts.The Collegium has also recommended the transfer of Delhi High Court judge Justice V. Kameswar Rao as the Chief Justice of the Patna High Court.Justice Ravindra Vithalrao Ghuge, who is presently serving as the Acting Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court, has been recommended as the Chief...

Retrospective Tax Liability Valid, But Not Retrospective Penalty : Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has held that while a tax liability can validly be imposed retrospectively through legislative amendment, penalty cannot be imposed retrospectively on a dealer who had complied with the law as it stood when the transaction took place.A Bench of Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice Prasanna B. Varale made the distinction while upholding the constitutional validity of a...

Combating Gender Stereotypes In Sexual Offences : How Supreme Court's 2026 Guidelines Differ From 2023 Handbook

Pursuant to the Supreme Court's directions, an Expert Committee constituted by the National Judicial Academy (NJA) recently released certain guidelines for adoption of gender-sensitive, survivor-centric and compassionate court practices by judges.The guidelines were prepared by a committee headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice Aniruddha Bose, after a bench led by Chief Justice of...

S.101(2) JJ Act | Not Mandatory For Court Hearing Appeal Against JJB Order To Take Child Psychologist Assistance : Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has recently clarified that the mandate to seek the assistance of a child psychologist expert while undertaking a preliminary assessment of a child in conflict with law would not apply mutatis mutandis to Section 101(2) of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. As per the proviso to Section 15(1), while deciding whether the child in conflict with...

LiveLaw Supreme Court Weekly Digest: July 16 - 23, 2026

Administrative Law & Public Services – Interview/Viva-Voce Benchmarks – Administrative Necessity - Prescription of Minimum 25% Qualifying Marks in Viva-Voce – The introduction of a minimum qualifying benchmark for the interview stage is neither arbitrary nor whimsical; it is rooted in profound administrative necessity to preserve the integrity, calibre, and quality of...

Different Problems Require Different Solutions, Legal Aid Must Be Rooted In Local Realities: CJI Surya Kant

Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Saturday said that legal aid cannot follow a "one-size-fits-all" approach, stressing that solutions must be rooted in local realities and developed after understanding the specific needs of different communities.The CJI was addressing the West Zone Regional Conference on "Strengthening Access to Justice through Legal Aid: United Voice, Stronger...

Union's Court In Renamed States: Why High Court Of Kerala May Outlast State's Name

It is now a done deal after the Union Cabinet accepted the name changes for the state of Kerala to “Keralam”, what it is called in Malayalam. There has been a decades old campaign for the same to change the name “Kerala”, a name inscribed in the First Schedule of the Constitution of India since 1956. The Union Cabinet has cleared the proposal for name change in February 2026, the President referred the draft Bill to the state legislature under Article 3, and in July the Kerala Assembly had...

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LiveLaw publishes original, timely legal article that offers clear value to practitioners, academics, students and litigants. Owing to the volume of submissions, articles are assessed against the following editorial standards.I. Submission Categoriesa) General ArticlesLegal developments, legislation, policy and other areas of law.b) Law Firm ArticlesContributions by law firm partners, associates, general counsel and other legal professionals.c) Law School ArticlesContributions by law...

Supreme Court Directs Rajasthan To Constitute Inter-Departmental Group & River Authority To Tackle EnvironmentalIssues

In the suo motu case taken up to address industrial pollution in Rajasthan's rivers, the Supreme Court recently directed constitution of an Integrated Coordination Group, which shall work in consultation with the High Level Ecosystem Oversight Committee and present a comprehensive action plan for tackling ecological concerns.A bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta passed...

#TheLawChallenge : A Weekly Quiz For The Legally Curious By LiveLaw & QShala, Attractive Prizes For Winners

Welcome to the LiveLaw and QShala Law Trivia Quiz! We are excited to bring you this collaborative initiative — a law trivia-based quiz that will be held every Saturday. The quiz is entirely online, and you can participate by answering questions through the Google Form linked on this page.Ready for the Law Challenge is India's first comprehensive law quiz book for curious minds, published...

Courts Should Adopt Liberal Approach In Condoning Delay In Appeals Filed By Convicts: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has held that constitutional courts should adopt a liberal and proactive approach while considering applications for condonation of delay in appeals filed by convicts, observing that procedural delays should not stand in the way of a prisoner's right to challenge a conviction affecting his liberty.A Bench of Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice K. Vinod Chandran made...