JANUARY 2020:

1. Kashmir Lockdown Judgment: Anuradha Bhasin v. Union of India: The Supreme

Court's judgement on Kashmir lockdown is its declaration that freedom of speech and
expression and also freedom of trade and commerce through the medium of internet are
constitutionally protected rights under Articles 19(1)(a) and Articles 19(1)(g),
respectively. The Court observed that indefinite suspension of internet is not permissible
and that repeated orders under Section 144 CrPC will amount to abuse of power. The
Court also added that the Government should publish all orders of restrictions, and should
follow the principles of proportionality to adopt less restrictive measures.
2. SC Issues Slew Of Directions To Curb Air Pollution In Delhi MC Mehta v. Union of
India : The Supreme Court passed a slew of directions to address the protracted problem
of air pollution in Delhi. Bench has passed several directions, dealing right from the
problem of stubble burning to vehicular emissions and construction dust.
3. Shyamlal Devda and Others V Parimala: Court Has To Be Prima Facie Satisfied That
There Have Been Instances Of Violence Before Issuing Notice In Complaint
4. Kerala became the first state to pass a resolution against the Citizenship Amendment Act
amid widespread protests across the country

FEBRUARY 2020:

1. Sabarimala Judgement: The 9 judge Bench of the Supreme Court was constituted to
decide the doctrine of essential religious practice and constitutional morality.
2. The Supreme Court has held that that settlement between the victim and the accused
cannot be a valid ground to quash the FIR or the charge sheet when the offences alleged
are against society and not private in nature.
3. In Prithviraj Chauhan v. Union of India & Ors.,the Supreme court upheld the validity
of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act of
2018. The petitioner had challenged the Act stating it violates Article 14, 19 and 21 of the
Constitution and is against the basic structure of the Constitution.
 4. In order to end the criminalization of Politics, the Supreme Court in the case of
Rambabusingh Thakur v. Sunil Arora &Ors. has issued mandatory guidelines for the
political parties.
5. The Secretary, Ministry of Defence v. Babita Puniya Ors., The supreme court ruled in
favour of permanent commission to female officers in the Indian Navy and asked the
government to treat men and women equally in the armed forces.
6. The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister, approved THE 22nd Law
Commission India for a period of three years from the date of publication of the Order of
Constitution in the Official Gazette.

MARCH 2020

1. Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill 2020 - Considering the need and
demand for increased gestational limit and to ensure safety and well-being of women, the
Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2020 was introduced in the Lok
Sabha on Monday, March 2, 2020 and was subsequently passed. The Bill seeks to amend
Section 3 of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971, to extend the upper limit
for medical termination of pregnancy to 24 weeks, from the present stipulation of 20
weeks, for certain categories of women which will be defined in the MTP Rules. These
categories will include 'vulnerable women' including rape victims.
2. The National Commission for Homoeopathy Bill, 2019 was introduced in Rajya Sabha.
The Bill seeks to repeal the Homoeopathy Central Council Act, 1973 and provide for a
medical education system.
3. The Central Government notified the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment)
Act, 2020 and the Mineral Laws (Amendment) Act, 2020.
4. Internet And Mobile Association of India v. Reserve Bank Of India: The court has
struck down a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Circular that had effectively imposed a ban
on virtual currency (VC) trading in India. The basis for the Court’s judgement was that
the restrictions imposed by the Circular were disproportionate to the concerns raised by
the RBI and therefore unsustainable.
APRIL 2020

1. Justice Rajnesh Oswal was sworn in as a judge of the common High Court for the Union
Territories of Jammu & Kashmir High and Ladakh on Thursday. He is the first judge of
the High Court to take oath under the Indian Constitution. All previous judges of the HC
had taken oath under the Constitution of Jammu & Kashmir, which ceased to have effect
since August 5, 2019.
2. The Press Council of India clarified that it has no jurisdiction over electronic media, TV
news channels, social media i.e. Whatsapp/twitter/Facebook. “Electronic media, TV news
channels, social media i.e. Whatsapp/ twitter/Facebook do not come under the
jurisdiction of the Press Council of India”, the press watchdog said in a press release.
Referring to Section 14 of the Press Council of India Act, it said that it can exercise
powers over a newspaper or news agency.
3. Vijay Mallya's appeal against his extradition order was rejected by the High Court in the
United Kingdom. Pursuant to a request from the Indian Government, the Senior District
Judge (SDJ) at the Westminster Magistrate's Court had, in December 2018, ordered
Mallya to be extradited back to India so he could face charges of financial irregularities.
Mallya preferred an appeal to this order in February 2020.
4. The US state of Missouri sued China over COVID 19. Alleging that the Chinese
Government is responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, the State of Missouri has filed a
lawsuit against all concerned Chinese authorities in a Federal Court.

MAY 2020
1. Supreme Court upheld the validity of National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET) for
admissions to medical and dental courses. In the case of Christian Medical College
Vellore Association V. Union of India &Ors, the Supreme Court stated that Article 30
doesn't prevent states from imposing reasonable regulations to make administration of
minority institutions transparent.
2. Contempt of Court: The Supreme Court in the case of In Re Vijay Kurle and Ors. held 3
people guilty of contempt for making scandalous allegations against judges. A citizen
must have some standing or knowledge before questioning the capability of or integrity
 of a Judge of the Highest Court and cautioned that the right to criticise Judgements
delivered by any court, including the Supreme Court, does not encompass the right to
question the "bona fides" of a judge or to raise questions with regard to their competence.
3. The Supreme Court in the case of Pandurang Ganpat Chougule and others V.
Vishwasrao Patil Murgud Sahakari Bank Limited Held that the Securitization and
Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security (SARFREZI) Act, 2002
is applicable to Cooperative banks.
4. . In the case of Arnab Ranjan Goswami V. Union of India &Ors, the court observed that
India's freedom will rest safe as long as journalists can speak to power without being
chilled by a threat of reprisal.

JUNE 2020
1. The Supreme Court in the case of Namah V. Union of India asked the Central
Government to treat a writ petition seeking direction to change the name of the country as
"Bharat" from "India" as a representation and to take a decision on the same.
2. The Supreme Court refused to stay the 2019 Presidential Order, whereby the State of
Assam has been excluded from Inner Line Area, in light of the Citizenship Amendment
Act (CAA), 2019.
3. In Re: Problems & Miseries of Migrant Workers - The Supreme Court passed a slew of
directions in the suo motu case taken on the crisis of migrant workers during lockdown.
4. The Supreme Court in the case of Mohd. Inam V. Sanjay Kumar Singhal & Ors.
reiterated that while hearing a petition under Article 227 of the Constitution of India, a
High Court cannot convert itself into a court of appeal.

JULY 2020
1. In Sri Marthanda Varma & Anr. V. State Of Kerala & Ors, the Supreme Court upheld
the rights of erstwhile royal family of Travancore in the administration of Sree
Padmanabha Swamy temple at Thiruvananthapuram.
2. In Divya Jyoti V. Union of India, the Supreme Court has issued notice in a plea seeking
directions to the Centre to formulate a law in order to ensure that e-commerce sites and
 business houses declare the "country of origin" of goods so as to facilitate boycotting of
Chinese products.

AUGUST 2020
1. Massimilano Latore V. Union of India - The Supreme Court refused to close the
pending cases against two Italian Marines, without hearing the families of the victims.
The Court asked the Centre to implead the victims in the case and said that they should
be paid adequate compensation.
2. Janhit Abhiyan V. Union of India & Ors. - The Supreme Court referred a batch of writ
petitions, challenging the 10% quota for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS)
introduced by 103rd Constitution Amendment passed by the Parliament last year, to a
five-Judge bench.
3. In Re Prashant Bhushan & Anr: The Supreme Court bench headed by Justice Arun
Mishra sentenced Prashant Bhuashan to pay a fine of Rupee One, which is to be
deposited with the Supreme Court Registry within September 15.

SEPTEMBER 2020
1. The Supreme Court has given 10 years to the Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) to
complete the payment of their AGR dues.
2. Abhilasha v. Prakash: The court held that an unmarried Hindu daughter can claim
maintenance from her father till she is married relying on Section 20(3) of the Hindu
Adoptions & Maintenance Act, 1956, provided she pleads and proves that she is unable
to maintain herself, for enforcement of which right her application/suit has to be under
Section 20 of Act, 1956.
3. SC stays the telecast of Sudarshan News’ ‘UPSC Jihad’ show; says it prima facie appears
like an attempt to vilify the Muslim community.

OCTOBER 2020
1. Satish Chander Ahuja v. Sneha Ahuja: The court heldWife can claim right to residence
in a shared household belonging to not just husband but also to his relatives. Read
conditions
 2. Shaheen Bagh Protests: Amit Sahni v. Commissioner of Police- The court held
Democracy and dissent go hand in hand but public spaces cannot be occupied indefinitely
for expressing dissent
3. Pravasi Legal Cell v. Union of India: The court has directed full refund of air tickets
booked during lockdown period i.e. from 25th March, 2020 to 24th May, 2020 for travel
during lockdown period.

NOVEMBER 2020
1. Rajnesh v. Neha & Anr: Supreme Court Issues Guidelines On Payment Of Maintenance
In Matrimonial Mattersand held that maintenance in all cases will be awarded from the
date of filing the application for maintenance.
2. Hitesh Verma v. State of Uttarakhand: The Supreme Court observed that the offence
under Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act is not
established merely on the fact that the informant is a member of Scheduled Caste unless
there is an intention to humiliate a member of Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe for the
reason that the victim belongs to such caste.
3. Ram Sharan Maurya & Ors. v. State of U.P.: Right to education guaranteed in terms of
Article 21A of the Constitution would envisage quality education being imparted to the
children which in turn, would signify that the teachers must be meritorious and the best of
the lot, the Supreme Court observed
4. M/s Kaledonia Jute & Fibres Pvt. Ltd v. M/s Axis Nirman & Industries Ltd.: The
Supreme Court held that any creditor of a company can seek transfer of winding up
proceedings pending before a High court to a National Company Law Tribunal.
5. The Supreme Court set up a panel in order to formulate rules regulating live-streaming of
hearings in High Courts and Trial Courts.

DECEMBER 2020
1. Farmer’s Protest: Rakesh Vaishnav v. Union of India: The right to protest is part of a
fundamental right and can as a matter of fact, be exercised subject to public order. There
can certainly be no impediment in the exercise of such rights as long as it is non-violent
 and does not result in damage to the life and properties of other citizens and is in
accordance with law.
2. Himangni Enterprises v. Kamaljeet Singh Ahluwalia: Landlord-tenant disputes
governed by the provisions of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882, are arbitrable.
3. Paramvir Singh Saini v. Baljit Singh: The court has directed all the States and UTs to
install CCTV cameras in all Police Stations
4. Kush Kalra v. Union of India: The directed that no State or Union Territory is required
to paste posters outside the residence of COVID-19 positive persons, as of now. The
State Governments and Union Territories can do so only when any direction is issued by
the competent authority under the Disaster Management Act, 2005.
5. The court issued notice to cartoonist Rachita Taneja and comedian Kunal Kamra in two
separate cases relating to contemptuous social media posts.
6. Amish Devgan v. Union of India: The court attempted to define “hate speech” albeit it
was of the opinion that a universal definition of ‘hate speech’ remains difficult, except for
one commonality that ‘incitement to violence’ is punishable.
JANUARY 2021

1. Supreme Court gives a go-ahead to Central Vista Project in a 2:1 verdict: The Supreme
Court upheld the Central Government's plan for construction of the Central Vista project
and the government's proposal to construct a new Parliament in Lutyen's Delhi.
2. Supreme Court stays implementation of Farm Laws: As per the order:
❖ Implementation of three farm laws stayed;
❖ MSP system as it existed before the enactment of the laws must be
continued;
❖ No farmer must be dispossessed or deprived of his title as a result of any
action taken under the laws;
3. No sexual assault if no ‘skin to skin’ contact? Supreme Court stays Bombay High Court’s
“dangerous precedent” on POCSO Act: The Bench led by CJI SA Bobde stayed the
acquittal of the accused under the Bombay High Court Judgment which held that pressing
of breasts of a minor girl without disrobing does not amount to "sexual assault" within
the meaning of Section 8 of POCSO Act
4. Rama Narang v. Ramesh Narang: The court observed that only Wilful And Deliberate
Disobedience To Court's Order Amounts To Contempt.

FEBRUARY 2021

1. Right To Protest Cannot Be Any Time And Everywhere: TheSupreme Court Dismisses
Review Petition Against 'Shaheen Bagh' Judgment.
2. The Supreme Court closed the suo moto proceedings which were instituted to examine if
there was a larger conspiracy behind the allegations of sexual harassment against the then
Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi.
3. Supreme Court Refuses To Entertain PIL Seeking Directions To Stop Sale Of
Counterfeit COVID 19 Vaccine
4. The Supreme Court declined to entertain a petition by Confederation of All India Traders
against the new privacy policy of social media chat platform WhatsApp, since a similar
plea was challenged before the Delhi High Court.
MARCH 2021

1. Aparna Bhat v. State of Madhya Pradesh: Supreme Court calls for gender sensitisation
of judges and lawyers- cannot ask sexual offence survivor to tie Rakhi or get married to
the accused
2. The court refused to interfere with the scheme of sale of electoral bonds by the Political
Parties challenged on the ground that it allows the donors of political parties to maintain
anonymity which is not healthy for a democracy. The Court said that even though the
Scheme provides anonymity, it is intended to ensure that everything happens only
through banking channels
3. Kapil Agarwal v. Sanjay Sharma: Writ Jurisdiction Under Article 226 Can Be Invoked
To Quash FIR If It Is Found To Be Abuse Of Process Of Law: Supreme Court

APRIL 2021

1. The court stayed the Allahabad High Court judgment issuing directions for “lockdown”
in the State of Uttar Pradesh but has directed that the State Government to “immediately”
report to the High Court about the steps it has taken and proposes to take in the
immediate future within a period of one week in view of the current pandemic.
2. The court has directed all High Courts to take expeditious steps to incorporate the Draft
Rules of Criminal Practice, 2021 as part of the rules governing criminal trials, and ensure
that the existing rules, notifications, orders and practice directions are suitably modified,
and promulgated within 6 months.
3. The Supreme Court has held that Rohingya Refugees should not be deported unless the
procedure prescribed for such deportation is followed.
4. Justice NV Ramana sworn in as the 48th Chief Justice of India