Today, On 18th November, The Supreme Court restored the mechanism for retrospective environment clearance, with CJI Gavai noting that his judgment had been criticised. Justice Bhuyan dissented firmly, arguing that review was unjustified and warning that established environmental jurisprudence should not be reversed.
Today, On 5th August, The Supreme Court dismissed a PIL challenging the use of body parts as political symbols, noting the plea’s specific aim at the Indian National Congress hand symbol. The court emphasized the Election Commission’s authority in symbol allocation, affirming the importance of symbols in the electoral process and judicial restraint in such matters, while upholding established norms.
The Union Ministry of Law and Justice has replaced the Indian Penal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure, and Indian Evidence Act with new laws. These bring changes including a 45-day time limit for court rulings, 60-day framing of trial charges, and two-month limit for investigating offenses against women and children. Also introduced: the death penalty for specific offenses and recognition of digital records as trial evidence.
The Delhi High Court and the Punjab & Haryana High Court interpreted the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Samhita (BNSS) for the first time, alongside two other criminal laws. The courts determined whether pending cases should proceed under the old procedures of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC) or under the new BNSS regime. Justice Pratibha M Singh applied Section 531 of the BNSS to a trademark suit and continued proceedings under the CrPC. Justice Anoop Chitkara addressed a delay application in a criminal revision petition and ruled that it should proceed under CrPC provisions as if the BNSS had not come into effect for this case. Mandeep Singh’s delayed petition was accepted under the CrPC regime, despite the repeal of CrPC and the enforcement of BNSS.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court addressed the applicability of procedural law to time-barred petitions filed before the enactment of the BNSS, 2023. It clarified that petitions with condoned delays after July 1, 2024, will be governed by the CrPC, 1973, rather than the new BNSS, ensuring consistency in legal proceedings. The case is scheduled for further hearing on July 4, 2024.