Why in News?

2024 marked a significant shift in India’s judiciary, with the Supreme Court taking decisive stances on politically sensitive issues, addressing long-standing criticisms of "judicial evasion."

Landmark rulings, major institutional reforms, and debates on contentious laws defined the year, setting the stage for critical developments in 2025.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Key Verdicts and Interventions in 2024
• Challenges Ahead for 2025
• Major Cases to Watch in 2025
• Contentious Legislative Reforms
• Conclusion 

Key Verdicts and Interventions in 2024:

• Landmark judgments:
  • Electoral Bonds scheme: Declared unconstitutional, addressing concerns of transparency in political funding.
  • Bilkis Bano case: Reversed the Gujarat government’s remission for convicts in a high-profile gangrape case.
  • Bulldozer demolitions: Issued guidelines to curb illegal practices.
  • Opposition leaders: Granted bail in politically charged cases, signaling judicial independence.
  • Mandir-Masjid disputes: Barred fresh district court cases on ownership of religious sites.
• Long-pending issues addressed: Constitution Benches took up key cases, including:
  • Aligarh Muslim University’s minority status.
  • Taxation of industrial alcohol.
• Significance of these verdicts and interventions: These efforts continued reforms initiated during former Chief Justice U U Lalit’s tenure and advanced under Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud.

Challenges Ahead for 2025:

• Transition in leadership:
  • Three Chief Justices will preside in 2025:
    • CJI Sanjiv Khanna (until May).
    • Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai (194-day tenure).
    • Justice Surya Kant (November 2025–February 2027).
  • Short tenures of CJIs mean the composition of the Collegium, which makes recommendations for the appointment of judges, sees frequent changes.
  • Short tenures also pose challenges to continuity in addressing institutional reforms and pendency.
• Institutional reforms: Digital advancements under Justice Chandrachud have increased public scrutiny of the judiciary, requiring further adaptation.

Major Cases to Watch in 2025:

• Religious and cultural issues:
  • Places of Worship Act: Constitutional challenges to the 1991 law freezing religious character as of 1947 are pending.
  • Hijab ban: A 3-judge bench will reexamine the legality of Karnataka’s ban on headscarves in schools.
  • Essential religious practices: Re-evaluation of doctrines affecting cases like women’s entry into religious sites, which was decided in the Sabarimala verdict (2018).
• Citizenship and secularism (The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019): Challenges on grounds of exclusion of Muslims and violation of secularism will test the Court’s interpretation of equality and fraternity.
• Gender rights (Marital rape): Debate over criminalising marital rape continues, with concerns of disproportionate consequences.
• Enforcement Directorate’s powers: Judicial scrutiny of the ED’s arrest powers and procedural safeguards could redefine the scope of investigative agencies.

Contentious Legislative Reforms:

• One Nation, One Election: Among key legislative reforms in the pipeline, the Bills to hold simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha, and state and Union Territory Assemblies, will likely be most significant.
• New criminal laws: Replacement of colonial-era laws with Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and related statutes has introduced progressive changes but also contentious provisions, such as:
  • Rebranding sedition as "deshdroh" (treason).
  • Extending detention periods.
• Uniform Civil Code (UCC):
  • Uttarakhand’s UCC, effective January 2025, mandates registration of live-in relationships and introduces penalties for non-compliance.
  • Similar codes in BJP-ruled states face scrutiny for encroaching on personal freedoms.
• Sub-classification of Scheduled Castes: States can now create sub-quotas within Scheduled Caste reservations, potentially reshaping affirmative action policies.

Conclusion:

• 2024 underscored the Supreme Court's evolving role in addressing critical legal and social issues.
• With high-stakes cases and legislative reforms on the horizon, 2025 promises to be another pivotal year for India’s judiciary.
• The challenge lies in balancing judicial intervention with respect for legislative intent, ensuring justice and constitutional values prevail.