QUIET CHANGE

There is a visible change in the way the Supreme Court is deciding on cases; it is now asking tough questions of the government. All this is being attributed to Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana

- SONI MISHRA

On March 24, 2020, when a nationwide lockdown was announced to prevent the spread of Covid-19, lakhs of migrants working in cities began their long walk home. Shortly afterwards, the Supreme Court, hearing a petition seeking relief for the stranded workers, refused to intervene. A bench headed by then chief justice of India S.A. Bobde accepted the government’s submission that not a single worker was on the road.

The same court, in the aftermath of the second wave of Covid-19 this year, directed the Centre and states to provide relief to migrants.

This February 9, a bench comprising Bobde and Justices A.S. Bopanna and V. Ramasubramanian dismissed a petition challenging the constitutionality of the sedition law. A few months later, the top court agreed to examine the same, with Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana asking the government if the colonial-era law was needed 75 years after independence.

In October 2018, a Supreme Court bench headed by then CJI Ranjan Gogoi sought price details of Rafale fighter jets in a sealed envelope from the Centre, raising eyebrows. Recently, hearing a plea of the Election Commission, a bench comprising Justices D.Y. Chandrachud and M.R. Shah batted for transparency by refusing to restrict the media’s coverage of court proceedings. There is a distinct change in the top court’s approach to cases, making experts sit up and take notice.