The Supreme Court has found time to deal with three cases about the stray dog menace since last year, the latest of them taken up suo motu, at a time when its backlog of cases has crossed 80,000. While the apex court took cognisance of reported dog attacks on children in the latest case — in pursuance of its extraordinary powers and commitment to protect citizens’ rights — the intervention has swivelled the spotlight on the huge pendencies. Information with the National Judicial Data Grid shows that around three of every five cases in the top court have been pending for longer than a year, and the backlog is rising.
Some of the pending cases that have made headlines:
‘Foreigner’ woes
Rajubala Das v Union of India and Others (2020): On July 26, 2024, the top court expressed anguish at the poor state of amenities like drinking water, sanitation and medical care at the detention centre in Matia, Assam, where people declared “foreigners” by the foreigners tribunals are lodged. The matter is yet to be resolved.
ED powers
Review of SC judgment on Vijay Madanlal Choudhary v Union of India (2022): On September 26, 2023, a special bench of Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Bela M. Trivedi was constituted to review a judgment passed by another three-judge bench in July 2022. The 2022 judgment upheld the Enforcement Directorate’s powers to arrest alleged money launderers and seize or attach their properties despite a lack of sufficient safeguards against arbitrariness. This drew flak at a time when the Narendra Modi government has been accused of misusing the agency against critics and political opponents. Justices Kaul, Khanna and Trivedi have retired, and the matter has occasionally been listed and adjourned without reaching any stage of detailed hearing.
DA deadlock
Appeal against Calcutta HC judgment in West Bengal and Others v Confederation of State Government Employees and Others (2022): In 2022, the Bengal government challenged a Calcutta High Court order on the payment of dearness allowance, and the state employees’ contempt plea in the high court against the state’s delay in payment. In May this year, the apex court passed an interim order directing the Bengal government to pay 25 per cent of the DA subject to the final outcome of the case, bringing temporary relief to the employees who had endured 18 adjournments. The final verdict is yet to come.
Gyanvapi tangle
Anjuman Intezamia Masajid Varanasi v Rakhi Singh and Others (2022): On May 20, 2022, the top court transferred to itself the Gyanvapi mosque-Shivling case from a Varanasi court. Since then, it has dealt only periodically with the matter on the various interim applications moved by the two sides.
Mosque-temple rows
Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay v Union of India and Others (2022): The petitioner has challenged as unconstitutional the 1991 Places of Worship Act, which prohibits the conversion of one religion’s place of worship to that of another (except for the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri site in Ayodhya). The matter is key to resolving the spate of mosque-temple cases lodged in various courts of the country.
Bengal varsities
Appeal against Calcutta HC judgment in West Bengal v Sanat Kumar Ghosh and Others (2023): On July 8 last year, the top court constituted a “search-cum-selection committee”, headed by former Chief Justice U.U. Lalit, for all state universities in Bengal to break the logjam between the chief minister and the governor over the appointment of vice-chancellors. The matter has been taken up several times, but a lack of agreement between the state government and the governor has prevented finality.
Detained Rohingyas
Priyali Sur v Union of India (2023): On October 10, 2023, the top court sought the Centre’s response on a PIL seeking the release of thousands of Rohingya refugees who, the petitioner alleged, had been put arbitrarily in detention centres, jails and juveline homes across India. The bench of Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice P.K. Mishra issued a notice to the government but there have been no substantive hearings.
Quota question
Appeal against Patna HC judgment in Gaurav Kumar v State of Bihar (2024): On July 29, 2024, the Supreme Court declined to grant an interim stay “at the present stage” on a high court order quashing the total 65 per cent reservation provided to SCs, STs and OBCs in the state in education and jobs, but admitted the Nitish Kumar government’s appeal against the judgment. The matter is yet to come up for any decisive hearing.
J&K statehood
Zahoor Ahmed Bhat and Khurshid Ahmad Malik v Union of India (2024): This month, the top court issued a notice to the Centre on a plea for the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, while observing that the massacre of 26 tourists in Pahalgam could not be ignored and ground realities must be taken into account.
Krishna ‘birthplace’
Committee of Management, Trust Shahi Masjid Idgah v Bhagwan Shrikrishna Virajman and Others (2024): On January 16 last year, the top court stayed an Allahabad High Court order on the appointment of a court commissioner on a batch of suits moved by Hindu groups relating to the Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah Masjid controversy in Mathura.