Law & Justice This Week: Big Wins, Court Orders & Legal Milestones [August 18- 24, 2025]
1. Presidential Reference: The Supreme Court’s Constitution Bench heard President Droupadi Murmu’s Article 143(1) Reference against its April 8 ruling in the Tamil Nadu Governor case this week. The Centre, represented by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, told the court that President Murmu’s reference is advisory in nature, seeking uniform constitutional guidance rather than revisiting past judgments. He argued that the Governor’s role carries constitutional dignity and is not meant to serve as a haven for political retirees. Centre also urged states to resolve delayed bills through political dialogue. However, the court questioned whether allowing a Governor to withhold bills entirely would render the elected government powerless. Moreover, CJI BR Gavai warned against judicial overreach.
Case Title: In Re: Assent, Withholding or Reservation of Bills by the Governor and the President of India
Read more for SG's arguments here, here, and here. For the court's remarks here and here
2. Stray dogs: The Supreme Court, on August 22, partly stayed its recent order directing relocation of dogs from all localities of Delhi, Ghaziabad, NOIDA, Faridabad, Gurugram as well as areas on the outskirts, to designated shelters/pounds. Moreover, court directed dog lovers and NGOs to deposit respective sums for further appearance in the case.
Case Title: IN RE: “City Hounded by strays, kids pay price"
3. Muslim marriage at puberty: The Supreme Court, on August 19, dismissed an appeal filed by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) challenging a ruling of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which had held that a Muslim girl can enter into a valid marriage upon attaining puberty. Court stressed that the NCPCR lacked locus and urged restraint in “romantic cases".
Case Title: NCPCR v. Gulab Deen & Anr. and connected matters
Read more here
4. Sambhal Mosque: The Supreme Court, on August 22, heard a plea filed by the Sambhal Mosque Committee challenging an Allahabad High Court order that had upheld a trial court’s decision to appoint an advocate commissioner to survey the mosque premises. Court asked whether the matter ought to be tagged with pending petitions concerning the validity of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991.
Case Title: Committee of Management, Shahi Jama Masjid, Sambhal vs. Hari Shankar Jain and others
Read more here
5. ANI Vs OpenAI: The Delhi High Court on August 18, 2025, heard arguments in the ongoing copyright infringement suit filed by ANI Media Pvt. Ltd. against OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT. The Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA), appearing as an intervener on behalf of leading Indian digital news outlets, warned that unchecked use of copyrighted news content by AI platforms like ChatGPT “reduces the incentive to create” and undermines both the viability and creativity of journalism.
Case Title: ANI Media Pvt. Ltd. v. OpenAI OpCo LLC
Read more here
6. POCSO Is Gender-Neutral: The Karnataka High Court on August 18, 2025, ruled that the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act is gender-neutral and can be used to prosecute a woman accused of sexually assaulting a minor boy. Referring to several reports and research articles, court also noted that sexual abuse of minor boys is more common than that of minor girls.
Case Title: xxx vs. State of Karnataka and Another
Read more here
7. Section 498A IPC Misuse: A Gurugram court recently cleared the way for a husband to pursue his civil claim for damages against his wife, after finding that his plaint disclosed a valid cause of action in malicious prosecution. Court dismissed an application filed by the wife, which had sought rejection of the husband's plaint at the threshold.
Case Title: Gursaranlal Awasthi versus Secretary Home Department & others
Read more here
8. Arnab Goswami Defamation Case: A Delhi Court on August 18 ordered the Delhi Police to conduct an inquiry against Times Now Group Editor-in-Chief Navika Kumar in a defamation case filed by Arnab Goswami’s company, ARG Outlier Media Private Limited. The matter pertains to alleged defamatory remarks in a 2020 Times Now broadcast on TRP scam against Arnab Goswami.
Case Title: ARG Outlier Media Pvt. Ltd. v. Navika
Read more here
9. Life sentence to advocate for false cases: A special court in Lucknow on August 19 delivered a landmark judgment, sentencing advocate Permanand Gupta to life imprisonment for conspiring to file fabricated legal complaints, including under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Gupta had colluded with a woman from the SC/ST community to falsely implicate his adversaries in a land dispute in multiple rape and SC/ST cases.
Case Title: State through Circle Officer Radharaman Singh vs Parmanand Gupta and Another
Read more here
10. The Constitution (One Hundred and Thirtieth Amendment) Bill, 2025: Union Home Minister Amit Shah, on August 20, tabled the 130th Constitution Bill in the Lok Sabha, a landmark proposal that mandates removal of PM, ministers, CMs, or UT ministers jailed for 30+ days in connection with a serious offence carrying a minimum 5-year jail term, with reappointment possible after release. The Bill has been referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC).
Read more here