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1. [Abu Salem] Stating that the imprisonment of Abu Salem, a convict in the Bombay blast case, cannot extend beyond 25 years as per the assurances given by the government of India to Portugal during his extradition, the Supreme Court has held that that Centre is bound to release Salem on completion of 25 years of sentence in order to honour its assurance to Portugal. Court further held that the Central government should advise the President of India for exercise of power under Article 72 of the Constitution and the national commitment on completion of Salem's sentence. Court was dealing with Salem's plea challenging the life sentence awarded to him. The plea has been disposed of.
   Bench: Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and MM Sundaresh
   Case Title: Abu Saleem vs. State of Maharashtra
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2. [Sidhu Moose Wala Murder Row] Supreme Court adjourned the plea filed by Lawrence Bishnoi's father Lawinder Kumar challenging the transit and police remand issued for production of Bishnoi before Mansa Court in relation to the Sidhu Moose Wala murder case.
   Bench: Justice Ajay Rastogi and Justice Abhay S Oka
   Case Title: Lawinder Kumar vs. State (N.C.T.) of Delhi & Ors.
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3. [Maharashtra Political Crisis] Supreme Court orally asked the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Speaker to not decide matters pertaining to the disqualification of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Members till the petitions, filed by the delinquent MLAs of Shiv Sena challenging the disqualification proceedings, are pending before the Apex Court.
   Bench: Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, Justice Krishna Murari, and Justice Hima Kohli
   Case Title: Sunil Prabhu vs. Principal Secretary, Governor of Maharashtra
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4. [Vijay Mallya] Supreme Court sentenced fugitive liquor baron Vijay Mallya to four (4) months in prison in contempt of court case. Mallya was found guilty of contempt of court for transferring USD 40 million to his children in violation of the court's order. The top court has held that in order to maintain the majesty of law, it must impose adequate punishment upon the Mallya. The court has observed that it must also pass necessary directions so that the advantages secured by Mallya or anyone claiming under him are set at naught.
   Bench: Justices Lalit, Ravindra Bhat and Sudhandhu Dhulia
   Case Title: State Bank of India vs. Dr.Vijay Malayya
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5. [Remarks By HC Judge Alleging Transfer Threat] Supreme Court has allowed urgent listing of the plea filed by the Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) seeking withdrawal of the statement made by Karnataka High Court Judge, Justice HP Sandesh alleging that he was threatened with transfer for questioning ADGP of ACB. When the matter was mentioned before the bench, CJI Ramana said, "What is this, threatening judges with transfers and all?"
   Bench: Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, Justice Krishna Murari, and Justice Hima Kohli
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6. [Maharashtra Local Body Elections] Supreme Court has directed the State Election Commission to defer the non-notified Maharashtra local body elections till the next date of hearing i.e. July 19, 2022 in a batch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the amendment(s) to Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, the Maharashtra Municipal Corporations Act and Maharashtra Municipal Councils, Nagar Panchayats, Industrial Townships Act which mandated the State government to take over the powers of formation of electoral wards.
   Bench: Justice AM Khanwilkar and Justice JB Pardiwala
   Case Title: Rahul Ramesh Wagh vs. State of Maharashtra
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7. [Bhima Koregaon] Supreme Court extended the protection granted to Bhima-Koregaon violence accused P. Varavara Rao while hearing his plea challenging a Bombay High Court order of April 2022 rejecting his prayer for permanent medical bail. Rao was arrested for his alleged inflammatory speeches made at the Elgar Parishad conclave held at Pune in December 2017. According to the police, his speech triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial located on the outskirts of Pune.
   Bench: Justices UU Lalit, Ravindra Bhat and Sudhanshu Dhulia
   Case Title: Varavara Rao vs. NIA
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8. [Hate Monger case] Supreme Court has extended the interim bail granted to Mohammed Zubair, an accused in a case concerning derogatory comments he allegedly made against persons of a religious fold.  After ASG SV Raju, appearing for Uttar Pradesh Police and SG Tushar Mehta, appearing for the State of Uttar Pradesh, sought time for filing a counter affidavit detailing status report in the case(s), Court granted 4 weeks to the state to file the counter and further extended the protection of interim bail.
   Bench: Justices Chandrachud and Bopanna
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9. [Transfer Threat] Supreme Court requested the Karnataka High Court judge, Justice HP Sandesh to defer hearings in the matter wherein, the judge had alleged that he was threatened with transfer for questioning the Additional Director General of Police of the Anti-Corruption Bureau. The Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) of the ACB and the Karnataka Government sought withdrawal of the statement made by Karnataka High Court Judge, Justice HP Sandesh alleging that he was threatened with transfer for questioning ADGP of ACB.
   Bench: Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, Justice Krishna Murari, and Justice Hima Kohli
   Case Title: Seemant Kumar Singh vs. Mahesh PS and Anr.
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10. [Hijab issue] Supreme Court has agreed to list a batch of petitions challenging the Karnataka High Court order which upheld the ban on wearing the Hijab at Pre-University colleges in Udupi district of Karnataka after the High Court found that the Hijab is not an Essential Religious Practice of Islam. Court has said that the matter will be listed sometime in the next week.
    Bench: Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, Justice Krishna Murari, and Justice Hima Kohli
    Case Title: X vs. State of Karnataka and Connect Matters
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11. [Sukash Chandrashekar] While hearing his plea for being shifted out of Tihar jail alleging a threat to his life, the Supreme Court asked alleged conman Sukash Chandrashekar to provide details of who made payments to the jail authorities on his behalf and who received the same. It is Chandrashekar’s plea that there is a threat to his life at Tihar as many officials of the jail have been arrested for taking bribes from him. It has also been alleged, by authorities that Chandrashekar bribed Tihar officials to live comfortably in jail.
    Bench: Justices UU Lalit, Ravindra Bhat and Sudhanshu Dhulia
    Case Title: Sukash Chandra Shekar vs. Union of India
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12. [Extension of ED Director’s tenure] Congress leader Dr. Jaya Thakur has moved Supreme Court seeking direction to quash the Central Government's order extending the tenure of Enforcement Directorate Director, Sanjay Kumar Mishra. The matter was mentioned before a CJI led bench which has directed the matter to be listed next week. The plea challenges the applicability of the Central Vigilance Commission (Amendment) Act 2021 because the said order, as well as the act, are contrary to the Judgment passed by the top Court in the Common Cause case.
    Bench: Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, Justice Krishna Murari, and Justice Hima Kohli
    Case Title: Dr Jaya Thakur vs. Union of India & Ors.
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13. [Bulldozer action] Top Court refused to pass interim order(s) in the plea(s) against "Bulldozer" action in states across India. It is the contention of an organisation claiming to be of Islamic Scholars from the Deobandi school that the demolitions target persons only from the Muslim community after they are accused of rioting. Court orally expressed reservations about passing omnibus orders in issues that concern municipal procedural laws after Dushyant Dave, Senior Advocate told the court that several newspapers had been reporting that demolitions were being carried out across the country.
    Bench: Justices BR Gavai & PS Narasimha
    Case Title: Jamiat Ulama I Hind vs. Union of India & other connected matters
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14. [Agnipath Scheme] A Supreme Court bench of Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice AS Bopanna will hear a batch of petitions challenging the recently introduced Agnipath Scheme for recruitment in the Indian defence divisions i.e. the Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force. In this row, several petitions have been filed challenging the Agnipath Recruitment Scheme for reconsideration of the same.
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15. [Mohammad Zubair] Co-Founder of the AltNews, Mohammad Zubair has moved the Supreme Court seeking direction to quash six FIRs filed against him at Lakhimpur Kheri, Sitapur, Muzaffarnagar, Ghaziabad, and two at Hathras over his allegedly 'controversial' tweets. The plea has further challenged the Special Investigation Team constituted by the Uttar Government to investigate the cases registered.
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16. [33% Reservation For Women In Local Body Elections] The Supreme Court on Thursday, July 14, slammed the State Government of Nagaland for non-implementation of the notification for 33% reservation for women in local body elections. Court further said, "No trust in the State Government, it's been 12 years, something which could have been done automatically requires so many efforts."
    Bench: Justice SK Kaul and Justice MM Sundresh
    Case Title: PUCL vs. State of Nagaland
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17. [Subrata Roy] Supreme Court set aside the order of Patna High Court summoning Sahara Group chairman Subrata Roy in an unrelated anticipatory bail plea. The Patna High Court had passed the impugned order in a plea for anticipatory bail filed by one Pramod Kumar Saini apprehending arrest in a cheating and forgery case. The cheating case involved a group of companies that defrauded investors of nearly Rs. 3 crores, however, the High Court, in the proceedings, heard applications by investors in Sahara group who alleged that the company has not refunded their deposits and the deposits had matured long ago.
    Bench: Justices Khanwilkar and Pardiwala
    Case Title: Subrata Roy Sahara vs. Pramod Kumar Saini
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18. [Common Dress Code] While refusing to list a PIL by a Law student Nikhil Upadhyay for a common dress code in educational institutions, the top court asked his counsel Adv. Ashwini Upadhyay, “Is the parliament not functioning?” The CJI further told Upadhyay that a PIL cannot be filed on every aspect this way. Upadhyay had asked the court to list the plea along with the batch of petitions challenging the judgment of the Karnataka High Court in the Hijab case.
    Bench: Chief Justice of India, Justice NV Ramana
    Case Title: Nikhil Upadhyay vs. Union of India & Ors.
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19. [UP Demolitions] The State of Uttar Pradesh has submitted before the Supreme Court that Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind has initiated a proxy litigation in an attempt to obtain sweeping interim orders without the examination of the legality of the demolition actions taken by the Municipal/ Development Authorities of the state. This response was filed to the applications filed in the main plea by Jamiat Ulema-I-Hind after the Jahangirpuri demolitions. UP government has further submitted that in case there are any individual grievances against action taken under the law of the land, the aggrieved person may approach a competent court.
    Case Title: Jamiat Ulama I Hind and Anr. vs. Union of India and Ors.
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20. [Fundamental duties] Supreme Court has deferred hearing in a plea seeking directions to the Central government to make comprehensive well defined laws/rules ensuring the adherence to the provisions of Part IV-A of the Constitution of India effectively and requiring the citizens to perform their Fundamental Duties properly. The matter has been listed for September 26, 2022.
    Bench: Justice SK Kaul and Justice MM Sundresh
    Case Title: Durga Dutt vs. Union of India & Ors.
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21. [Extra Judicial tribal killings] Supreme Court dismissed the plea by one Himanshu Kumar seeking independent investigation into alleged extra judicial killings in Chattisgarh by Security forces. The court has also imposed a cost of Rs.5 lakhs. Kumar along with some tribals from the areas had filed a plea in 2009 over the alleged killing of tribals in Dantewada District, Chattisgarh in September and October 2009.
    Bench: Justices Khanwilkar and Pardiwala
    Case Title: Himanshu Kumar vs. State of Chattisgarh
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22. [Court Timings] A Supreme Court bench headed by Justice Lalit held court from 9:30 AM on Friday, July 15, as opposed to the usual time where court proceedings usually start at 10:30 AM. Justice Lalit remarked, that an early start to the day will ensure that judges finish hearings earlier and have time to read papers for the hearing the following day. He further opined that the courts can start working at 9 AM in the morning and rise at 11:30 AM for a short break. He said, “The courts can then finish hearings by 2:30 PM so that the judges can prepare for the next day’s hearing.” On being asked, if the arrangement is likely to continue, Justice Lalit said remarked that this was just a capsule.
    Bench: Justices UU Lalit, Ravindra Bhat and Sudhanshu Dhulia
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23. [Nambi Narayanan False Implication] The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) approached the Supreme Court challenging the grant of anticipatory bail to Siby Mathews, who is facing probe for allegedly falsely implicating former ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan on espionage charges.
    Bench: Justices Khanwilkar and Pardiwala
    Case Title: CBI vs. Siby Mathews
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24. [Gyanvapi] A petition has been filed before the Supreme Court seeking a direction to allow Hindu disciples to perform religious rituals at the Shivling found at the disputed Gyanvapi site. Citing that the holy month of Shravan is beginning, the plea seeks that Hindus may be allowed to offer puja and exercise their right to “Freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion” as guaranteed under Article 25 of the Constitution of India.
    Case Title: Rajesh Mani Tripathi vs. State of UP and Ors.
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25. [Mohammad Mansoor Khan] Supreme Court has dismissed the plea by the Enforcement Directorate challenging the order of Karnataka High Court, granting bail to the prime accused in the multi-crore I Monetary Advisory (IMA) scam, Mohammad Mansoor Khan. Khan is accused of being kingpin in a multi-crore scam in which investors were lured promising high returns & the scheme was pitched to be in line with “Sharia Principles of Islam”
    Bench: Justices Khanwilkar and Pardiwala
    Case Title: Directorate of Enforcement vs. Mohammad Mansoor Khan
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26. [CBI Investigation Into Sidhu MooseWala's Murder] Bhartiya Janta Party leader Jagjit Singh, who had filed a plea seeking an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation in the Sidhu Moose Wala murder case, informed the top court last week that he does not wish to press the plea any further as the Punjab police is taking steps in the investigation. Counsel Namit Saxena accordingly withdrew the plea. While hearing such submissions, Court remarked that while all the parties are equal before the Supreme Court, matters should not be given a political color.
    Bench: Justice Ajay Rastogi and Justice Abhay S Oka
    Case Title: Jagjit Singh vs. The State of Punjab & Ors.
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