The Supreme Court shuts for the winter vacation and will be back only in 2019. Which means its time for a thread of the important judgments of 2018. And there have been a few. Let me know if I miss out any
1. In K. Puttuswamy v. Union of India, the SC upheld Aadhaar while striking down some provisions of the act, which permitted private parties to insist upon Aadhaar data.
2. In Navtej Johar v. UoI the Court held Section 377 of IPC to be unconstitutional insofar as it applied to consenting adults and thus decriminalized homosexuality.
3. In Joseph Shine v. Union of India the Supreme Court struck down Section 497 of IPC decriminalizing adultery.
4. In Young Lawyers Foundation the Supreme Court held that the practice of not permitting women of ages 10 to 50 to visit and worship at the Sabarimala temple was discriminatory and directed the temple be opened to all.
5. In Pankaj Sinha v. Union of India the Supreme Court issued a slew of directions to prevent discrimination against persons suffering from leprosy.
6. In Jarnail Singh the Court declined to refer the previous decision in M. Nagraj to a larger bench, need for a study of backwardness of the Scheduled Castes before extending reservation in promotion & that creamy layer of SCs would not be entitled to reservation in promotion.
7.Seats & posts reserved for SC/ST/OBCs in state services & educational institutions, only persons belonging to that State can avail reservation. Sup Ct considered whether this rule applies to UTs as well & held that it doesn’t apply to Delhi leaving open question of other UTs.
8. In the State of Karnataka v. State of Tamil Nadu the Supreme Court largely upheld the award of Cauvery River water dispute Tribunal, though awarding additional 14 TMC of water to Karnataka in light of the requirements of Bangalore City being a Global City.
9. In Lok Prahari v. Union of India the Court held that election candidates have to disclose sources of Income.
10. In Shafin Jahan v. Asokan K.M. (a.k.a Hadiya case) the Court recognized the right of a person to follow a faith of their own choosing and affirmed the right to choice of a partner whether within or outside marriage.
11. In Common Cause v. Union of India the Supreme Court declared Living wills or advance directives as valid. (living will is a transfer of authority by a person to another to take decisions on his/her behalf in a situation where due to medical reasons they are unable to)
12. With its decision in S.K. Mahajan the Court attracted some criticism, by requiring a preliminary inquiry by DSP and requiring approval of appointing authority or SSP for arrest under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
13. In Asian Resurfacing of Road Agency v. CBI the court directed that stay granted in civil and criminal proceedings would expire after six months.
14. Last year, the Court in Phulvati held that women can inherit ancestral property only if the father is alive as on 9.9.2005 (Date of Hindu succession Act amendment). In Danamma v. Amar this year, daughter was held entitled even if father passed away prior to 2005
15. In Swapnil Tripathi v. Supreme Court it was decided to permit livestreaming of the hearing of important cases.
16. As per judgment in Public Interest Foundation v. Union of India, Election Candidates not disqualified just by virtue of framing of charges against them.
