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Saurav Das

@SauravDassss

Aug 6

#StoryAlert 🚨

Once again, a Chief Justice of India finds himself in the throes of a propriety crisis. An important case has somehow made its way before Chief Justice Gavai’s bench, in violation of Supreme Court’s own rules and convention.

Chief Justice Gavai must face an uncomfortable question: Is he any better than his predecessors?

A thread. 🧵

Link—frontline.thehindu.com/columns/cji-b-…

1/16

The controversy stems from the aftermath of a remarkable May 2025 judgment known as the Vanashakti case, delivered by a Bench headed by Justice Abhay Oka, consisting Justice Ujjal Bhuyan.

In short, the judgment struck down as “illegal” a 2017 and 2021 procedure systemised by the Environment Ministry for ex-post facto environmental clearance. Any company that failed to get env clearance *prior* to starting the project could do so under the regime after paying a penalty.

2/16

The judgment held this system—which legalised the corporates’ sins later by obtaining clearance post hoc—to be illegal. Remarkably, it also restrained the Union Government from coming up with a similar system in future. Justice Oka retired shortly after this judgment.

3/16

Read 17 tweets

Saurav Das

@SauravDassss

Feb 28

#StoryAlert 🚨

The many analyses explaining the Aam Aadmi Party’s poll debacle in Delhi are missing one important player – the Supreme Court. While it dilly-dallied on fixing the grave constitutional crisis, governance suffered. A thread.

thewire.in/law/supreme-co…

It’s not that AAP has never delivered on its promises; Delhi’s health and education landscape saw great changes. But, beginning 2015, bit by bit, the elected government’s powers to govern had been taken away by the Union government, and the judiciary allowed this to happen.

It began in May 2015, with a circular that took away the newly elected @ArvindKejriwal government. What followed was a contentious battle in court. Several hurdles were posed by the bureaucrats. Read more about this in the piece.

Read 15 tweets

Saurav Das

@SauravDassss

Feb 19

#MyPiece🚨

It is rather rich of the Supreme Court to preach morality when, not too long ago, not a single Supreme Court judge publicly objected to their Chief Justice presiding over cases despite serious allegations of sexual harassment. 1/10

thewire.in/law/supreme-co…

The condition imposed on @BeerBicepsGuy and "his associates" to not air "any shows " for the time being until further orders is a sweeping condition.

One would expect the highest court to explain why it deemed it necessary to bar someone from their profession and gag their future speech-both fundamental rights. 2/10

Yet, the Supreme Court imposed this condition arbitrarily – paternalistic, sweeping, and entirely unaccountable – emblematic of its mai-baap approach, wherein it sees itself as the ultimate arbiter of all things, unburdened by the need to justify its own excesses. 3/10

Read 11 tweets

Saurav Das

@SauravDassss

Jan 5

#YearInReview: 2024 was profoundly meaningful. I worked on 2 long-form stories—investigating extrajudicial killings and police shootouts in Uttar Pradesh and profiling CJI DY Chandrachud—both of which took 4 months each, eventually published at 6,000 & 16,000 words.

A thread.

In January, for @AJEnglish, I reported how the three new criminal laws and the Telecom Act have the potential to turn India into a Police and Surveillance state. Concern for civil liberty continue.
aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/17…

In February, for @Article14live, I reported on the blocking of hate-crime documenter @HindutvaWatchIn's X account and website. I highlighted the loopholes in existing laws that allow the govt such drastic, arbitrary measures.
article-14.com/post/takedown-…

Read 23 tweets

Saurav Das

@SauravDassss

Aug 28, 2024

There is great confusion over DDA Tree Felling case being withdrawn from Justice Abhay Oka’s Bench. Let me break it down.

1. The issue of ridge- both forest ridge and morphological ridge in Delhi has always been a part of MC Mehta case (since 1985). This was before Oka J.

2. There is also the TN Godavarman case which is about larger forests etc. before Justice BR Gavai’s bench.

3. On 6 Dec 2023 the CEC filed Report no.36 of 2023 in MC Mehta case recommending that approval be granted to DDA for construction of approach roads to CAPFIMS in the Satbari area.

4. On 15 February 2024, in MC Mehta case before Oka, an IA was filed by the DDA requesting felling of 1051 trees for the approach roads. While this was pending, the DDA allegedly on orders of LG went ahead and cut the trees anyway.

Read 13 tweets

Saurav Das

@SauravDassss

Jul 8, 2024

#StoryAlert 🚨

Although Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud promised 14 opposition parties of safeguarding them against misuse of CBI and ED in April 2023, he has failed to list 3 "crucial cases" in the past 20 months of his 24-month tenure. A 🧵.

article-14.com/post/despite-w…

At the Oxford Union Society lecture on 4 June 2024, Chief Justice Chandrachud talked about how courts “step in” when “the State may be unwilling to balance [individual] rights against weighty purposes.”

Yet, three crucial cases pertaining the draconian PMLA linger before him.

These cases that directly challenge or raise questions about the constitutionality of various provisions of the “draconian” Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002 (PMLA) and impact its administration have remained unheard for the past 12 to 55 months.

Read 27 tweets

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