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News Snippets

  • Allahabad HC said that the UP Police is acting as law unto themselves as they detained a person unlawfully even before his arrest
  • Kolkata witnesses traffic snarls on the first day of the Durga Puja festival as revellers start pnadal-hopping
  • Neha Bora was subsequently released and Dipke is to appear before a magistrate today at noon
  • Delhi Police detained Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke, Neha Bora of AISA, student leaders and supporters ahead of a rally in Connaught Place demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation. The protest followed the detention and jailing of two CJP leaders earlier in the week over demonstrations at Jantar Mantar
  • The Reserve Bank of India is considering further monetary tightening to counter capital outflows and increase the cost of betting against the rupee, according to bankers and analysts cited by Reuters. The measures follow recent rate increases and steps to drain liquidity as pressure on the currency and inflation concerns persist
  • India directed oil marketing companies to stop diverting sugar-based feedstocks for ethanol production in the 2026–27 supply year, according to a new tender issued on Friday. The companies have invited bids for 11 billion litres of ethanol made from alternatives including corn and broken rice, amid concerns about domestic sugar supplies and prices
  • Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India's trade imbalance with China was growing sharply and attributed the problem partly to restrictions on Indian goods and services entering the Chinese market. China subsequently said it was ready to work with India to address mutual economic and trade concerns; India's trade deficit with China reached $69 billion in the first half of FY2026–27, up 27% year-on-year
  • Indian equity benchmarks extended their recovery on Friday, with the Sensex rising 413.66 points to close at 74,729.27 and the Nifty 50 gaining 148.80 points to settle at 23,146.15. Information technology shares, including Tech Mahindra, Infosys and TCS, helped lift the indices
  • India defeated Zimbabwe by four wickets in the opening women's T20 International in Raipur, taking a 1–0 lead in the three-match series. Deepti Sharma and Niki Prasad combined in an 82-run stand after India's top order collapsed, helping the hosts chase down Zimbabwe's total of 114 for five
  • Indian wrestler Komal won bronze in the women's 59 kg category at the Under-23 World Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas, defeating Kazakhstan's Viktoriia Khusainova 7–2. Fellow Indian Amruta Pujari advanced to the women's 72 kg final after recording two pinfall victories
  • Indian shuttler Jagsher Singh Khangurra secured a bronze medal at the BWF World Junior Badminton Championships in Cairo
  • The Supreme Court of India upheld the Bombay High Court's decision quashing the 2020 write-off of ₹8,415 crore in additional tier-1 bonds issued by Yes Bank (Yes Bank). The court ruled that the bank's administrator lacked the authority to extinguish the bonds under the final reconstruction scheme, strengthening bondholders' claims
  • The Supreme Court issued notices to the Election Commission of India, Delhi Police and opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav, in separate petitions concerning electoral-roll revision and protests held in Delhi on October 10–12. The court also directed the preservation of CCTV footage linked to allegations of police excesses
  • The Supreme Court ruled that a person converting from Hinduism to Islam cannot automatically claim backward-class reservation benefits in the new religious community solely on the basis of their previous caste status. The judgment upheld the Madras High Court's decision striking down a 2024 Tamil Nadu government order that permitted such certification for specified communities
  • The Election Commission of India ordered a Special Summary Revision of electoral rolls in 14 states and three Union Territories, using January 1, 2027, as the qualifying date for voter eligibility. The draft rolls are scheduled for publication on November 12, claims and objections will be accepted until December 11, and the final rolls are due on January 4, 2027
Tragedy in Kolkata: Stampede at the Chor Bagan Pujo results in 18 people losing their lives and scores injured /////// The stampede was caused by a sudden downpour which made people in the heavy crowd run for cover
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The Constitution And The Judiciary

By Our Editorial Team
First publised on 2022-07-05 05:53:15

About the Author

Sunil Garodia The India Commentary view

There is no doubt that the Constitution must be supreme in a democratic country that swears by rule of law. All laws enacted by the legislature must pass the constitutional test and all pillars of democracy must function within the boundaries set for them in the Constitution. Hence, what CJI N V Ramana said in US about the judiciary being answerable only to the Constitution is true. Justice Ramana also elaborated that the situation in India is such that even after 72 years of the Constitution, the ruling party always expects the judiciary to decide all cases in its favour (thereby giving the judicial stamp for its policy initiatives) and the opposition parties similarly expect the judiciary to decide in their favour as and when they choose to raise a dispute regarding any policy.

But since the judiciary must go by the Constitution and the laws of the nation, it is not possible for it to take sides. Hence, all politicians, though always pretending to respect the judiciary and judicial decisions, are at most times miffed with it for giving verdicts that go against their positions. Not that the judiciary is always consistent but since each bench interprets the law according to its own reading, some amount of inconsistency is unavoidable. The judiciary is also hampered by badly drafted laws which are a result of the legislature doing its work in a shoddy manner (bills are poorly drafted and rushed through the houses without proper discussion or vetting by legislative committees).

But one thing is certain - the judiciary will always get flak for most of its decisions as it is impossible to please both sides in a conflict. But the rising trend of criticizing judges, which at times takes the shape of accusing them of bias, is dangerous. The judges are also guilty of making unwarranted oral observations during many sensitive cases. Despite the Supreme Court cautioning judges in lower courts against making such observations during hearing, judges in the apex court are also not immune from making such observations. This is also an ugly trend and must be avoided. The judiciary, the executive and the legislature must, at all times, stick to their defined roles as per the Constitution and must not transgress into other domains.