Legal news

Supreme Court questions forcing deleted Delhi voters to file first-time voter Form 6

The Supreme Court on 28 October 2026 questioned why Delhi voters already on the 2026 electoral roll, whose names were omitted from the draft roll, must file Form 6, a form meant for first-time voters that requires declaring they were never enrolled. Justice Joymalya Bagchi called the situation a structural incongruity, observing that missing one enumeration form cannot forfeit the right to vote forever, and the Election Commission's counsel said it would discuss a new residual category for voters who missed the enumeration form. The bench also noted that about 47 lakh of Delhi's 1.45 crore voters had been deleted, and listed the matter again in two weeks. Source: Telegraph India (Telegraphindia)

Supreme Court tells poll panel to contact 47 lakh deleted Delhi voters and publish list of those it could not reach

The Supreme Court on 28 October 2026 asked the Election Commission to devise a mechanism to reach out to nearly 47 lakh Delhi voters omitted from the draft rolls during the Special Intensive Revision, observing that the right to vote cannot be forfeited merely because a voter was absent during enumeration. Chief Justice Surya Kant suggested publishing a list of voters the poll panel could not contact, with their previous polling locations, and asking them to approach their nearest booth-level officer. The court also urged the Commission to keep accepting Forms 6 and 8 with no cut-off for now, and listed the matter again in two weeks. Sources: New Indian Express, Deccan Chronicle, National Herald (New Indian Express, Deccan Chronicle, Nationalheraldindia)

Delhi SIR audit finds 416 of 1,236 verified Trilokpuri voters wrongly marked absent, shifted, dead or duplicate

A door-to-door audit across four polling booths in Trilokpuri found that 416 of 1,236 verified voters, about one in three, had been wrongly categorised as absent, shifted, dead or duplicate in Delhi's draft electoral roll, organisers said at a public hearing on 27 October 2026. Only 87 of the 416 had filed Form 6 to seek restoration, three voters marked dead were found alive, and 55% of those marked absent were found living at their registered addresses. The Election Commission has not independently verified the audit findings. Sources: The Hindu, Indian Express, The Wire (The Hindu, Indian Express, The Wire)

Supreme Court says brief work trips cannot mean a permanent change of voter residence in Delhi SIR case

During the 28 October 2026 hearing on Delhi's Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, the Supreme Court observed that being away from home for one or two months for work cannot be treated as a permanent change of residence, and cannot justify deleting migrant workers, street vendors and daily wagers from the rolls. The bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi also clarified that Form 6 is meant only for first-time voters, while voters who have merely changed address should use Form 8. The court was hearing a challenge concerning about 47 lakh allegedly deleted names and 33 lakh notices, and listed the matter again in two weeks. Source: New Indian Express (New Indian Express)

Pervasive control makes a lender a related party

The Supreme Court on October 27, 2026 upheld the exclusion of ECL Finance and its debenture trustee from Palm Developers' Committee of Creditors. It held that steering a debtor's policy counts as related-party status under the insolvency law, even without complete control. (Lawchakra)

Supreme Court says legality of 'logical discrepancy' voter deletions is yet to be tested

The Supreme Court has said it is yet to decide the constitutionality of using 'logical discrepancy' as a ground to remove voters from electoral rolls, during the hearing on petitions challenging the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of rolls in Delhi. A three-judge bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana noted that the ground was never an issue when the court upheld the Bihar SIR, because it had not been used there, and that its use in West Bengal was only an interim arrangement, not a final decision. The court also questioned how entries in the 2003 voter list could be reopened on this ground, and told the Election Commission not to treat October 30 as a cut-off date, asking it to keep accepting Forms 6 and 8 and to reach out to voters. The Indian Express (Indian Express)

Pending appeal alone cannot keep seized property

The court directed the Maharashtra government to hand over custody of the petitioner's licensed revolver within eight weeks. A pending appeal against acquittal, it said, does not excuse leaving a return application unexamined on its merits. (Deccanherald)

US extradition request for idol-smuggling accused Subhash Kapoor pending, Supreme Court stay keeps him in custody

A United States extradition request dated 27 September 2021 for idol-smuggling accused Subhash Chandra Kapoor remains pending, even as the Supreme Court's stay on the Madras High Court order directing his return to Germany keeps him in custody. The High Court judgment recorded that, according to a Ministry of External Affairs status report, if Kapoor were released from domestic detention he would be produced before the Special Court at Patiala House, New Delhi, for proceedings under Section 5 of the Extradition Act on the US request. Kapoor was extradited from Germany in July 2012 and convicted in November 2022 to 10 years in the Suthamalli temple idols case, while the High Court had held his continued detention for other pre-extradition offences without Germany's consent violated the rule of specialty. The Supreme Court posted the matter for hearing after four weeks. Sources: Devdiscourse, New Indian Express. (Devdiscourse, New Indian Express)

Supreme Court asks poll body to extend Delhi voter revision deadlines and simplify re-inclusion with no cut-off dates

The Supreme Court on 28 October asked the Election Commission to extend deadlines for Delhi's Special Intensive Revision and simplify enrolment, after around 43 lakh voters were left out of the draft electoral roll. A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana questioned why voters already on the roll had to file Form 6, meant for first-time voters, to seek re-inclusion, noting that Forms 6, 7 and 8 are cast in stone and cannot be changed. The court said there should be no cut-off dates for applying for re-inclusion, the Commission agreed to extend the claims, objections and enrolment deadlines, and it was given two weeks to make the necessary changes. Sources: The Hindu, ABP Live. (The Hindu, News)

Supreme Court calls digital arrest cybercrime digital dacoity, refuses to consolidate 35 cases across 12 states

The Supreme Court on 28 October termed cybercrimes involving digital arrests digital dacoity and refused to consolidate 35 criminal cases pending across 12 states against Gourab Kumar Saha and Nidhi Bhandari, who allegedly allowed their company's bank account to be used as a mule account for cyber offences. A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana cited an 81-year-old man from Ernakulam who was defrauded of Rs 1.90 crore, with the money allegedly deposited in the mule account. Justice Bagchi said victims could not be forced to travel to Delhi merely for the accused's convenience, and the petitioners ultimately withdrew their plea. Sources: New Indian Express, CNBC-TV18. (New Indian Express, Cnbctv18)

Supreme Court calls drug price regulator totally defunct, asks why uniform 16 percent margin cannot apply to all medicines

The Supreme Court on 27 October questioned the Centre over the wide gap between medicine prices and retail costs, describing the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority as seemingly totally defunct. A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta pointed to a medicine with a price to retailer of Rs 15 carrying a maximum retail price of Rs 250, and asked why a uniform 16 per cent trade margin could not apply to all medicines after the Centre said anti-cancer drug margins were capped at 30 per cent. The court also cited a cancer injection available for Rs 11,000 that a hospital charged Rs 1.30 lakh for, and reserved its verdict on two petitions seeking stricter price controls. Sources: Mathrubhumi, Telegraph India. (English, Telegraphindia)

Supreme Court stays Madras High Court order returning idol dealer Subhash Kapoor to Germany

The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed a Madras High Court order that directed the Centre to take custody of antique dealer Subhash Chandra Kapoor from prison in Tamil Nadu and proceed with his return to Germany. A bench of Justices B. V. Nagarathna and R. Mahadevan passed the stay while hearing a challenge to the High Court's September 8 order. The Madurai Bench had allowed Kapoor's habeas corpus petition, holding that his continued detention for other offences allegedly committed before his extradition could not be sustained without Germany's consent, under the rule of specialty in the Extradition Act, 1962 and the India-Germany Extradition Treaty. Kapoor, extradited from Germany in July 2012, was convicted in November 2022 and sentenced to ten years for the theft and illegal export of 19 idols from a Tamil Nadu temple, valued at over Rs 94 crore, while four more idol-smuggling cases remain pending against him. Sources: New Indian Express, Latestly (ANI), Punjab Kesari (IANS) (New Indian Express, Latestly, English)

Supreme Court sets November 17 for next SIR hearing

The petitioners got time to answer the Election Commission affidavit, which had been filed the previous day. The court also directed the commission to respond to the other pending petitions before the case returns. (News)

Supreme Court asks states to build women-only bar rooms

The Supreme Court on Monday directed all states and Union Territories to fund bar rooms, washrooms and other basic amenities for women advocates in district and taluk courts. The bench said those facilities must be provided regardless of how many women advocates practise in a court. (New Indian Express)

RERA claims expire three years after promised completion

The Tamil Nadu Real Estate Appellate Tribunal dismissed a homebuyers' appeal against Tata Value Homes, upholding a December 24, 2025 order that had thrown out their complaint. The three-year clock runs from the proposed completion date, not from a delayed handover, so late possession does not create a fresh cause of action. (New Indian Express)

Delhi HC upholds extra immigration checks despite valid visa

Justice Amit Mahajan dismissed a petition challenging repeated scrutiny at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport, according to the Delhi High Court ruling. The court held that the inconvenience of extra checks alone did not justify judicial intervention, because the traveler was allowed to depart after each one. (News18)

ED challenges Delhi HC order quashing NewsClick PMLA case

The Supreme Court has been asked to revive the money-laundering case against NewsClick and its founder Prabir Purkayastha. The Enforcement Directorate says the Delhi High Court's May 29, 2026 order fails to deal with the evidence and incriminating material it submitted in support of the allegations. (Indian Express)