CONSTITUTIONAL LAW SOCIETY

NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY, JODHPUR

MONTHLY UPDATES- FEBRUARY

NATIONAL

 Timelines should be drawn for appointment of Judges:

Expressing concern over the delay in appointment of Judges and huge pendency of cases, a
two-judge bench of the Supreme Court comprising of Justice AK Sikri and Ashok Bhushan
observed that definite timelines should be drawn for each stage of the process of appointment
of Judges so that process of appointment is accomplished within a time-bound manner.
[Read the judgment at http://www.livelaw.in/definite-timelines-drawn-stages-appointment-
process-judges-sc-read-judgment.]

 Overruling by Equal Benches?

The Supreme Court recently witnessed two conflicting judgments rendered by two benches
of equal size. The benches lead by Justice Arun Mishra held a judgment of an equal bench to
be per incuriam. This has been questioned, as conventionally, overruling can only be done by
a larger bench. To put an end to the controversy the Chief Justice has constituted a five judge
bench, which shall decide the question of law accordingly.
[Read more at https://thewire.in/227185/sc-benches-turf-battles-conventions-suffer/]

 Sources of Income to be revealed while filing nominations:

The Hon’ble Supreme Court vide order dated February 16, 2018 made it mandatory for
candidates as well as their spouses and dependents to reveal their source of income, while
filing their nomination papers.
Justice Chelameswar remarked,

Page 1 of 5
“If an MLA’s or MP’s assets have seen a 10 time rise in 2019 from what he revealed in 2014
should you not conduct an inquiry into the very propriety of a person holding public office
enjoying such phenomenal rise in his assets The moment a candidate has shown 1,000%
increase in his income in the past five years, please have a mechanism to conduct an
enquiry.”
[Read the judgment at http://www.livelaw.in/breaking-not-just-candidates-spouses-
dependents-reveal-source-income-assets-filing-nomination-sc/]

 Cauvery Water Dispute: At Rest?

A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra pronounced
its judgment on the Cauvery Water Dispute between the states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and
Kerala and the UT of Puducherry. It partially allowed the appeal preferred by the state of
Karnataka in 2007 against the order of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal. The bench
revised the quantity of the water to 177.25 TMC instead of the 192 TMC and directed the
state of Karnataka to release the same to the state of Tamil Nadu.
[Read the judgment at :http://www.livelaw.in/cauvery-sc-directs-karnataka-release-177-25-
tmc-water-tamil-nadu
Read more about the dispute at: http://indianexpress.com/article/explained/cauvery-verdict-
today-what-is-this-dispute-5065922/]

 Guidelines issued for better implementation of juvenile laws:

A two-judge bench of Supreme Court has laid down guidelines for better implementation of
the laws against juveniles. The Court has also proposed the idea of setting up child friendly
courts.
[Read the judgment at: http://www.livelaw.in/initiate-suo-motu-proceedings-implementation-
jj-actestablish-child-friendly-vulnerable-witness-courts-sc-high-courts-read-judgment.]

 Supreme Court Roster System introduced:

The Supreme Court has revamped its erstwhile case listing and hearing mechanism, by
introducing the roster system. The system which took effect from February 5, 2018 provides
for the CJI to hear inter alia all fresh Public Interest Litigation (PILs), Letter Petitions
Page 2 of 5
Contempt of Court Matters, matters dealing with appointment of Constitutional functionaries
and law officers etc. Whereas Justice Chelameswar’s assignment includes Labour Matters,
Land Acquisition, Consumer Protection, Compensation Matters, etc.
[Read more about the allocation at https://barandbench.com/new-roster-system-supreme-
court.]

 Special Courts for handling cases against MPs and MLAs.

The Delhi High Court has passed an order designating special courts to deal with cases
against Members of Parliament and Members of Legislative Assemblies.
[Read more at https://barandbench.com/delhi-hc-sets-up-special-courts-to-deal-with-cases-
against-mps-mlas]

Page 3 of 5
 INTERNATIONAL

 Maldives Constitutional Crisis:

Political unrest in the Republic of Maldives has resulted in the President declaring a state of
emergency. The background to this proclamation is the Supreme Court ruling wherein nine
political prisoners were released which did not bode well with the President. As an outcome
Security forces have blocked and locked the Supreme Court building from outside, leaving
the judges without any food. The country is witnessing an extreme state of violation of Rule
of Law.
[Read more about the crisis at: https://edition.cnn.com/2018/02/06/asia/maldives-political-
unrest-explainer-intl/index.html]

 Defying the Constitutional Court of Turkey:

A Criminal Court has ignored a judgment of the Constitutional Court of Turkey which had
ordered the release of a journalist, on the grounds of the judgment being a “usurpation of
authority”. This is a highly condemned move, as under Article 153 of the Turkish
Constitution, decisions of Constitutional Court enter into force immediately and are binding
for the legislative, executive and judicial organs, including the administration and officials.
[Read more at: https://rsf.org/en/news/turkey-implement-constitutional-court-decision-free-
journalists]

 Major change proposed in Land Acquisition in South Africa:

The Constitutional Review Committee of the Parliament of South Africa has agreed to
review Section 25 of the Constitution which deals with property and land expropriation,
which would allow the State to seize white farmer’s lands without compensation.
[Read more at:http://www.huffingtonpost.co.za/2018/02/28/this-is-what-the-constitution-
says-about-land_a_23372955/]

Page 4 of 5
  Trump’s Travel Ban violates the Establishment Clause:
A United States Court of Appeal (Fourth Circuit) has struck down President Donald Trump’s
travel ban on eight nations, six of them predominantly Muslim i.e. Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen,
Somalia, Chad, North Korea and Venezuela. The Court held that the ban violates the
Establishment Clause under the Constitution which prohibits religious discrimination by the
government.
[Read more at: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/15/us/politics/trump-travel-ban-appeals-
court.html
Read more about Establishment Clause at: http://www.uscourts.gov/educational-
resources/educational-activities/first-amendment-and-religion]

 China set to remove the two-term restriction on the Post of President:

The Communist Party of China has proposed removal of the two-term restriction on the post
of the President. If approved, the current President Xi Jinping will be able to lead the country
for his entire lifetime.
[Read more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/world/china-to-amend-constitution-gives-
state-status-to-panels-enforcing-xis-purges-5079729/.]

(The updates have prepared by Ms. Aparna Singh (VI semester) and Ms. Shagun Taparia (IV
Semester.)


Disclaimer: The sole purpose of this document is to provide news updates in the area of Constitutional Law. The
contents of the document should not be interpreted as an official opinion of the Constitutional Law Society, NLU-
Jodhpur.]
Page 5 of 5