Rule of Law

The Supreme Court in 2025: Deference, technicality and the retreat from rights

From citizenship and reservation to encounter accountability, privacy, environmental protection and minority rights, the Court's most contentious judgments of 2025 reveal an increasing preference for institutional deference and procedural compliance over substantive constitutional justice

Delhi HC grants bail pending appeal to Unnao rape convict Kuldeep Singh Sengar

The bail order accompanies a temporary suspension of sentence for Sengar will walk free; it has returned public attention to the survivor and her mother's pursuit of justice since 2017; Sengar will, however, remain in jail as he is also serving a 10-year sentence in the custodial death case of the rape victim’s father

Dadri lynching: UP Court rejects state govt plea to withdraw charges against Akhlaq murder accused

Additional District Judge Saurabh Dwivedi hearing the matter also directed that the case be categorised as “most important” and heard on a daily basis.

Bombay High Court allows Gautam Navlakha to return to Delhi, relaxes restrictive bail condition in Bhima Koregaon Case

Court recognises financial hardship, prolonged trial delay, and the human cost of territorial bail restrictions on a 73-year-old activist; NIA conditions accepted to ensure continued oversight

Allahabad High Court registers suo moto PIL over delays in termination of pregnancy of rape survivors

From September 2025, three months ago, the Allahabad High Court has registered a suo-moto Public Interest Litigation (PIL) regarding the issue of delay at different levels in taking appropriate steps while dealing with cases of termination of pregnancy of rape survivors

Allahabad HC: Quashes FIR under draconian UP ‘Anti-Conversion Act’, warns state authorities against lodging ‘Mimeographic Style’ FIRs

Apart from quashing the FIR lodged in April 2025 that was patently motivated, the Division Bench held the State to account by asserting its constitutional role and requiring the Principal Secretary (Home) to file a personal affidavit explaining the conduct of the Pratapgarh police

Interim bail to Gujarat journalist Mahesh Langa: SC

Langa has been in Sabarmati jail for over 14 months

When Morality Meets Surveillance: The court’s push toward state-regulated digital content

As the Supreme Court pushes the Union to regulate online obscenity and now suggests Aadhaar-based age verification, India stands at the edge of a new regime where the State decides what citizens may see, say, or seek

Allahabad HC slams overzealous police action, says distributing Bibles or preaching Christianity is not an offence under UP conversion law

Bench flags suspicious FIR, delayed ‘victim’ statements, and questions complainant’s conduct in alleged conversion case

Gujarat High Court calls out “routine emergency”, strikes down years of Section 144 orders, demands transparency in all future restrictions

In its ruling, the Court holds that Ahmedabad Police normalised extraordinary powers, suppressed peaceful dissent, and failed to inform the public — directing that all future prohibitory orders must be published across social media and modern communication platforms

Bombay HC bail for Hany Babu signals a critical reassessment of the Bhima Koregaon Case

After nearly five years of incarceration under the UAPA, the High Court’s decision marks a pivotal shift in a prosecution dogged by forensic uncertainty, procedural delay and mounting constitutional concerns

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The Supreme Court in 2025: Deference, technicality and the retreat from rights

From citizenship and reservation to encounter accountability, privacy, environmental protection and minority rights, the Court's most contentious judgments of 2025 reveal an increasing preference for institutional deference and procedural compliance over substantive constitutional justice

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