Key Supreme Court judgments that marked 2020
The year 2020 was as striking as any other year for the Supreme Court of India. A rundown of the outgoing year shows an assortment of crucial judgments , including a few that changed the landscape of judicial history.
The Supreme Court held that the concept of ‘ex post facto’ Environmental Clearance (EC) is against the fundamental
principles of environmental jurisprudence.(PTI)
The Supreme Court , once a hive of activity, remains quiet, but since March 23, when the courts started virtual hearings, life has returned to some sort of new normal : the court rooms have been substituted by virtual courts; paper books by computer files; judges conduct hearings through video conferencing; and technology largely determines success of a hearing, if not the outcome. But the year 2020 was as striking as any other year for the Supreme Court of India. A rundown of the outgoing year shows an assortment of crucial judgments , including a few that changed the landscape of judicial history.
Access to Internet equivalent to a fundamental right
The first month of 2020 witnessed a three-judge bench ruling against the telecommunication blackout in Jammu and Kashmir following the scrapping of Article 370. The judgment did not directly order for restoration of the services in the backdrop of the security concerns, but laid down an important principle in law – right to access Internet is a fundamental right by extension. Therefore, it can be demanded as such before a constitutional court. Further, every blackout order must specify reasons and has to be reviewed regularly by the authorities concerned, the court said.
Consider taking away power of disqualification from the Speaker
The Speaker also belongs to a political party, emphasised the court, requesting Parliament to amend the Constitution and strip Legislative Assembly Speakers of their exclusive power to disqualify MLAs. The court was hearing an appeal by a Congress MLA from Manipur, who complained against a delay by the Speaker in deciding a disqualification petition against another MLA who won on a Congress ticket but later joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The court maintained that disqualification cases of either MPs or the MLAs should be decided by an independent tribunal, outside Parliament or legislative assemblies. In this case, the court said it was bound by existing laws and thus asked the Speaker to decide the disqualification petition preferably within three months.
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