Supreme Court Sets Aside NGT Order Holding 'Art Of Living' Liable For Yamuna Riverplain Damage; Directs Rs 5 Crore Refund

The Supreme Court today(August 22) set aside an order of the National Green Tribunal, which directed Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's Art of Living International Centre to pay Rs. 5 crore for the damage caused to the river Yamuna floodplains due to its World Culture Festival organised by Vyakti Vikas Kendra in March 2016.A bench comprising Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice NK Singh, allowed the appeal filed by Vyakti Vikas Kendra, an entity running the Art of Living International Centre, against...

Supreme Court Suggests Professional Bondspersons, Dedicated District Staff For Surety Verification

The Supreme Court recently suggested several measures to reform the system of surety verification, including introducing professional bail bondspersons, creating dedicated personnel in district courts for verification of sureties and developing a nationwide Surety Information Management System (SIMS).A bench of Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Augustine George Masih made the suggestions while considering the problem of fake sureties in cases involving foreign nationals accused of offences...

'Child Witness Testimony Not Convincing' : Supreme Court Sets Aside Murder Conviction

The Supreme Court on Thursday (August 20) overturned the murder conviction of a man accused of killing his wife and child, after finding that the child witness testimony relied upon by the trial court was suspect to tutoring and unsupported by any corroborating material.A bench of Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Augustine George Masih set aside the Madhya Pradesh High Court's judgment which had interfered with the trial court's decision to acquit the Appellant. The prosecution's case was that...

Investigating Officer Failed To Appear Before Trial Court Over 20 Times, Undertrials Spent 6 Yrs In Jail: Delhi High Court Laments

The Delhi High Court has directed the Commissioner of Delhi Police to sensitise the Investigating Officers (IOs) to ensure their timely cooperation in the expeditious conclusion of pending cases, particularly those involving accused persons who have remained in custody for a considerable long period. [2026 LiveLaw (Del) 781]Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav passed the order while granting bail to two accused who had remained incarcerated for about six years in a 2020 murder case. The Court took...

Manan Kumar Mishra's Resignation Sought At BCI General Council Meeting

A demand for the resignation of Bar Council of India (BCI) Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra was formally raised during a General Council meeting held at the BCI office today.BCI member Manoj Kumar Narendran, from Kerala, called for Mishra's resignation during the meeting, making the demand directly before the General Council. His demand received support from another BCI member from Uttar Pradesh, Advocate Srinath Tripathi, who backed the call for the Chairman to step down.Senior Advocate Sadasiva...

BNSS Remedies Must Be Exhausted Before Moving High Court For FIR Registration: Gauhati High Court Reiterates

The Gauhati High Court has held that a writ petition seeking registration of an FIR cannot be entertained where the petitioner has directly invoked the Court's writ jurisdiction without first availing the statutory remedy under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023.Justice Manish Choudhury observed, “Without availing such statutory remedy provided under the BNSS, the petitioner has directly invoked the writ jurisdiction of this Court seeking for initiation of criminal proceedings with...

Termination Of Bank Employee Under Regulation Retrospectively Declared Unconstitutional Cannot Stand: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court has held that the termination of a bank employee under a regulation enacted after the Constitution of India but declared as unconstitutional, has retrospective effect and thus such termination cannot stand and would be illegal. In doing so the court reiterated that the situation is different in case of a law enacted prior to the Constitution which is only eclipsed by its conflict with Part III and may be revived if the fundamental right it offended is amended or...

'Passing The Buck': Delhi High Court Pulls Up Pollution Control Bodies Over 4-Year-Old Hazardous Waste Container

The Delhi High Court has pulled up the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) for “passing the buck” over the disposal of hazardous goods lying in a container at the Inland Container Depot (ICD), Tughlakabad, for nearly four years. [2026 LiveLaw (Del) 780]A Division Bench comprising Justice Anil Kshetarpal and Justice Shail Jain observed...

POCSO Misuse | Allahabad High Court Flags Use Of Forged School Certificates To Show Victims As Minors, Seeks UP Govt Guidelines

The Allahabad High Court recently flagged what it described as the "clear misuse of the POCSO Act" by the parents of the victims who submit forged school certificates to show the victims as below 18 years of age.The Court noted that this practice results in the false implication of several young boys who find it difficult to obtain bail and are easily convicted in view of the presumption...

Children Who Lose Parent In Motor Accident Entitled To Parental Consortium: Gauhati High Court Enhances Compensation To ₹8 Lakh

The Gauhati High Court enhanced accident compensation to the kin of a deceased man to over Rs. 8 Lakh granting compensation for deceased's future prospects who was 44 years old at the time of his death as well as parental consortium to his two sons which had not been granted by the motor accident tribunal. Justice Kaushik Goswami observed, “ In the present case, admittedly, no amount...

Crowd, Database And Citizen: Protest And Preventive State

What the Jantar Mantar protests reveal about citizenship, protest and the preventive StateIn a participative democracy, can the State treat protesters differently based on their criminal records, when nothing has been alleged about what they did at the protest itself? The events at Jantar Mantar in July 2026 force the question.Delhi Police registered 13 FIRs in connection with NEET protests and the events that followed. While the protest was on, facial recognition vans identified 2,873...

Delhi High Court Asks DSLSA Committee To Consider Giving Preference To 3rd-Year Law Students In Para Legal Volunteers Selection

The Delhi High Court has asked the District Legal Services Authority (DALSA) Committee responsible for selecting Para-Legal Volunteers (PLVs) to consider giving preference to third-year law students, noting that they would be passing out soon. [2026 LiveLaw (Del) 779]Justice Jasmeet Singh requested the Committee to conclude the selection procedure for PLVs as per the extant rules and...