Law & Justice This Week: Big Wins, Court Orders & Legal Milestones [October 6- October 12, 2025]
Key Judicial Developments of the Week In India
1. Sonam Wangchuk's Arrest: The Supreme Court has issued notice on a habeas corpus plea filed by Sonam Wangchuk’s wife challenging his detention under the National Security Act amid the Ladakh unrest. Wangchuk is lodged under the National Security Act (NSA) since September 26. The matter will be next heard on October 14.
Read more here
2. Toxic Syrup Deaths: Following the deaths of 14 children linked to contaminated cough syrups, a PIL in the Supreme Court sought a CBI investigation and a national-level recall policy. The plea highlighted alarming gaps in India’s drug safety framework. Consumption of contaminated cough syrup, Coldrif, manufactured by Sresan Pharma Pvt. Ltd., Tamil Nadu, caused children's death. However, the top court dismissed the plea.
3. Bihar SIR: The Supreme Court has ordered the Bihar State Legal Services Authority to deploy paralegal volunteers to assist 37 lakh allegedly excluded persons file appeals in the voter-list revision process. The ECI, in its counter-affidavit, affirmed that only Indian citizens are being enrolled in Bihar’s rolls and rejected claims of foreign infiltration. Meanwhile, the ECI also told the court that no ground-level complaints were received and that objections stem largely from Delhi-based data analysis by activists.
Read more on ECI's affidavit here and here and on court's directions here
4. Firecracker Ban: Ahead of Diwali, the Supreme Court reserved its order on pleas seeking relaxation of the firecracker ban. NCR states argued for allowing certified “green crackers,” citing livelihood and environmental balance.
5. AI Video Claiming Muslim Takeover: The apex court has sought the BJP Assam’s response on a plea against an AI-generated video that allegedly portrayed a “Muslim takeover” narrative ahead of elections. The video, posted on September 15, 2025, depicts visibly Muslim individuals taking over Assam landmarks, including tea estates, Guwahati airport, Rang Ghar, and government lands.
Read more here
6. Karur Stampede: The Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), led by actor Vijay, has moved the Supreme Court seeking an independent probe into the Karur stampede, challenging the Madras High Court’s order constituting an SIT made up of state police officers. Meanwhile, the SC has agreed to hear a BJP leader’s plea for a CBI investigation into the same tragedy, following the High Court’s rejection of such a transfer. On September 27, at least 41 people were killed and around 100 others were injured in a crowd crush during a political rally in Karur district, Tamil Nadu.
Read more on Vijay's plea here and on BJP leader's plea here
7. Jammu and Kashmir's statehood: Senior Counsel Gopal Sankaranarayanan urged the Supreme Court to enforce the Union government’s undertaking to restore full statehood to Jammu & Kashmir in a timely manner. In response, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the bench that “99.9% of J&K’s people treat the Government of India as their own,” implying broad public acceptance of central rule.
Read more on Sr Adv Sankaranarayanan's arguments here and SG Mehta's arguments here
8. Refugee Cards to Immigrants: The Supreme Court has come down sharply on the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for issuing Refugee Cards to immigrants in India, with Justice Surya Kant remarking that the agency appeared to have “opened a showroom here” to distribute such certificates.
Read more here
9. Personal law and Special Marriage Act: The Jharkhand High Court has dismissed a Muslim man's plea for restitution of conjugal rights, affirming that a marriage under the Special Marriage Act voids the right to polygamy under personal law.
Read more here
10. Missing gold at Sabarimala: The Kerala High Court has constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe discrepancies in gold assets at the Sabarimala temple after a vigilance report flagged a 4.5 kg shortfall in gold-plated plates on dwarapalaka idols sent out for refurbishment.
Read more here
11. Attempted Attack on CJI Gavai: A shocking incident occurred inside the Supreme Court when a lawyer attempted to attack Chief Justice B R Gavai during proceedings. The CJI remained calm, while the Bar Council and top legal bodies condemned the act as an “attack on the judiciary". An FIR has also been registered against the attacking lawyer.