Supreme Court Weekly Round Up [January 5- January 11, 2026]

1. [Delhi Riots] The Supreme Court granted bail to Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa-ur-Rehman, Shadab Ahmed and Mohd Saleem Khan accused in the 2020 Delhi riots larger conspiracy case, offering major relief to those booked under the stringent provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The Court however, denied bail to Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, holding that they stood on a different footing and that a prima facie case under the UAPA was made out against them. It stressed that parity cannot be applied mechanically and that differentiation between accused is a constitutional necessity.
Click here to read more

2. [Ajmer Dargah] The Supreme Court dismissed a petition challenging the extension of state-sponsored ceremonial honors and symbolic recognition to the Ajmer Dargah and Islamic scholar Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti. During the hearing, counsel for the petitioner noted that the custom of honoring the saint had been followed since 1947 and that a civil suit on the matter was already pending. Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant remarked that such issues were “not justiciable” and advised the petitioner to pursue the pending civil suit. 
Click here to read more

3. [Customs Duty on Adani Power] In a significant order, the Supreme Court has set aside the customs duty levied on r Adani Power Ltd, for electricity supplied from a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) to the domestic market. A bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and NV Anjaria has set aside a 2019 Gujarat High Court judgment and granted relief to the company from the levy on power generated at its Mundra plant. Customs authorities has been directed to refund the duty collected from Adani Power, asking the jurisdictional Commissioner of Customs to complete verification and issue refunds within eight weeks from the date of the judgment.
Click here to read more

4. [Polavaram Project] The Supreme Court heard a writ petition filed by the State of Telangana challenging the Union government’s extension of financial assistance to Andhra Pradesh for the expansion of the Polavaram irrigation project, with the Chief Justice of India Surya Kant indicating that the dispute appeared to fall squarely within the realm of an inter-state water dispute more suited to a civil suit. Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Telangana, contended that Andhra Pradesh had begun diverting excess flood waters beyond the agreed limits, causing serious and irreversible prejudice to Telangana, a relatively new state with several barrages still under construction. Singhvi argued that Andhra Pradesh was diverting flood waters in excess of 484 TMC, impacting Telangana’s legitimate share of 968 TMC, and that the diversion threatened to permanently reduce the water available to Telangana.
Click here to read more

5. [Augusta Westland Scam] The Supreme Court dismissed a writ petition filed by lawyer Gautam Khaitan challenging a Delhi High Court order that had upheld the Enforcement Directorate’s provisional attachment of his properties in the AgustaWestland VVIP helicopter deal case. The Bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi declined to examine the validity of the attachment proceedings under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), noting that the legality of Section 44(1)(c) of the statute is already under consideration in pending review petitions arising from the Vijay Madanlal Choudhary judgment.
Click here to read more

6. [Remarks on Operation Sindoor] The Supreme Court continued its interim protection in favour of an Ashoka University professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad facing multiple FIRs over his social media posts related to ‘Operation Sindoor’, noting that the State government has not yet granted sanction for prosecution despite a chargesheet being filed months ago. Hearing the matter, Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi was informed by the Additional Solicitor General that although the chargesheet was filed in August 2025, the mandatory sanction from the State government has not been accorded so far.
Click here to read more

7. [Bank Accounts Frozen] The Supreme Court issued notice in a writ petition has been filed under Article 32 of the Constitution challenging the arbitrary freezing of bank accounts by Cyber Cells across States without prior notice, judicial oversight, or procedural safeguards, and seeking uniform nationwide guidelines to govern such actions. The Bench of Justices Pankaj Mithal and SVN Bhatti after using notice to the Union of India, listed the matter for hearing next week.
Click here to read more

8. [Delhi NCR Air Pollution] The Supreme Court came down heavily on authorities over the persistent air pollution crisis in the Delhi-NCR, expressing serious dissatisfaction with delays, lack of clarity on causes, and the absence of concrete long-term solutions. The Bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi made it clear that the Court would hear the matter on a continuous, issue-wise basis and refused to grant long adjournments sought by the Union government. 
Click here to read more

9. [Publicity Litigation] The Supreme Court dismissed a plea seeking implementation of the 2006 Lyngdoh Committee Report, which lays down a regulatory framework for conducting student union elections in colleges and universities across the country, calling the petition a “publicity interest litigation.” The Bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi declined to entertain the petition filed by Shiv Kumar Tripathi, observing that it lacked merit and did not warrant the Court’s interference.
Click here to read more

10. [Remarks on Pahalgam Attack and PM] The Supreme Court granted interim protection from arrest to folk singer Neha Singh Rathore in connection with an FIR accusing her of making objectionable social media posts concerning Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Pahalgam terror attack. The Bench of Justices J.K. Maheshwari and Atul S. Chandurkar directed that no coercive steps be taken against Rathore, while issuing notice on her plea challenging the Allahabad High Court’s refusal to grant her anticipatory bail.
Click here to read more

11. [Pune Porche Case] The Supreme Court has issued notice on the bail pleas of businessmen Ashish Mittal and Aditya Sood, accused in the 2024 Pune Porsche hit and-run case that claimed two lives. In Pune, a Porsche car, which did not have registration plates, being driven in an extremely rash and negligent manner, under drunken condition by a child in conflict of law hit a Bajaj Pulsar Motorcycle from the backside, thereby causing the death of the victims, who were riding the motorcycle.
Click here to read more

12. [Karthigai Deepam Row] Reportedly, Tamil Nadu Minister for Natural Resources S. Regupathy, has said the State government will prefer an appeal in the Supreme Court challenging the orders passed by the Madras High Court allowing the lighting of a lamp at a stone pillar near a dargah on the Thirupparankundram hill. Notably on 6th January 2026, a division bench of the Madras High Court upheld a single judge’s order directing that the Karthigai Deepam ceremonial lamp be lit at the stone pillar known as Deepathoon atop the Thiruparankundram hills in Madurai, rejecting appeals by the State of Tamil Nadu and other parties challenging that direction.
Click here to read more

13. [Cash Discovery Row] The Supreme Court reserved judgment on a writ petition filed by Justice Yashwant Varma challenging the legality of the Parliamentary Committee constituted under the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968, to probe the alleged recovery of unaccounted cash from his official residence. The Bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma continued hearing the matter a day after being informed that the impeachment motion against Justice Varma had been rejected by the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
Click here to read more

14. [Sonam Wangchuk] The Supreme Court heard a habeas corpus petition filed by Dr. Gitanjali Angmo challenging the preventive detention of her husband, Ladakh-based social activist and education reformer Sonam Wangchuk, under the National Security Act, 1980, following violence during recent protests in Ladakh. The Bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and Prasanna B Varale heard detailed submissions from Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the petitioner, who argued that the detention was vitiated due to serious procedural lapses and suppression of material crucial to Wangchuk’s defence.
Click here to read more

15. [JKCA Elections] The Supreme Court has stayed the ongoing elections of the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA), taking note of allegations of fraud, back-dating of orders, and manipulation of the electoral rolls against members of a Sub-Committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The matter will be heard next on February 6. A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta, while hearing the matter, termed it as serious in nature and said that a thorough investigation was required.
Click here to read more

16. [Case Pendency] The Supreme Court has requested the Chief Justices of all the High Courts to ensure that the petitions wherein interim orders are passed holding up the trials should be immediately taken up for hearing, more particularly in sensitive and serious matters like murder, dowry death, rape etc. "If criminal trials in such serious offences remain pending for years together on the strength of interim orders passed by the High Courts, it would lead to nothing but mockery of justice. Justice has to be done with all the parties. Justice cannot be done only with the accused persons. Justice has to be done even with the victim and the family members of the victim. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere," a bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and KV Vishwanathan has said.
Click here to read more 

17. [Stray Dogs Case] The Supreme Court continued its extensive hearing in the stray dogs management case on Friday, as a bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta, and NV Anjaria heard detailed submissions from animal rights activists, NGOs, and representatives of citizens affected by stray dog attacks. For two consecutive days, the Bench examined the issue of stray dogs in institutional and residential premises, with intervenors seeking modifications to the Court’s earlier directions. They urged that stray dogs be released in the same area after sterilization and suggested adopting scientific and humane population control models capable of curbing dog-bite incidents within a few years.
Click here to read more

18. [I-PAC Raid Case] The West Bengal government has filed a caveat before the Supreme Court, seeking an opportunity of hearing before any order is passed in connection with the Enforcement Directorate’s raids on political consultancy firm Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) and its director Pratik Jain. A caveat is filed to ensure that no adverse order is made against a party without it being heard. The development comes in the backdrop of searches conducted by the Enforcement Directorate on January 8 at multiple premises linked to I-PAC and Pratik Jain in Kolkata. The searches were carried out as part of a money laundering investigation connected to an alleged multi-crore coal pilferage scam.
Click here to read more