Law

 The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has decided not to sell the newly launched Class 8 Social Science book after a part about corruption in judiciary became a subject of harsh reaction in the Supreme Court.

The matter was raised after a few hours before a Bench headed by the Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, who took a very serious view of the matter and suo motu proceedings were ordered. CJI observed that the court will not allow any move to defame the judiciary, implying that it is a matter that concerns the whole judiciary, both the Bar and the Bench.

“I am fully aware of it. We will wait for a day. This definitely concerns the entire institution. I am getting a lot of calls and messages. I am taking suo motu cognisance. I will not let anybody, no matter how high up they are, defame the institution,” CJI Kant observed in court.

The issue was brought up by senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Manu Singhvi who stated that the text of the book seemed to single out the judiciary while not mentioning the corruption in other sectors such as politics and bureaucracy. They argued that by isolating the problem, a distorted view was given to the young students.

Sources revealed that NCERT has withdrawn the textbooks from the market and is re, examining the material. The contentious paragraph was allegedly a part of a chapter on the judiciary's role and the discussion of the problems of the judiciary of the backlog of cases, the mechanisms for the accountability of the judges, and the instances of corruption which are said to have been reported.

The Supreme Court's move to take suo motu cognizance signifies the sensitivity of the issue of institutional integrity and the framework of civic education. NCERT will probably change the material after getting advice.

This incident has sparked the discussion again of how the constitutional institutions should be presented in the school syllabus and the extent to which the students' right to questioning should be balanced by the respect for the institution in the classrooms.

The Allahabad High Court has terminated the criminal case against two students who were accused of performing namaz in a place where the local administration had prohibited it.

The case was overturned by a single judge bench of Justice Saurabh Srivastava after an FIR was filed under sections 143 (member of unlawful assembly) and 188 (disobedience to municipal orders) of the IPC. The bench stated that the setting up of the two applicants "who had no criminal record" was totally uncalled for.

In Sant Kabir Nagar, the court had recognized the charges and directed the two students to appear before it in May 2019.

The attorney for the applicants argued that the two were just students without any previous record of crime and had been set up for actually performing namaz, which was their religious practice.

It was also argued that one of them was preparing for a competitive exam and continuation of trial in such a "petty offence" could adversely affect his future.

Opposing the plea, the additional government advocate admitted that the applicants had no criminal record but went on to say that certain places had been declared out of bounds for offering namaz so as to avoid any law and order problems. The state argued that the applicants deliberately defied the authorities' request not to say namaz at the site and thereby infringed on the peacekeeping measures that had been issued.The court emphasized that in a democratic and secular country, all citizens, including those of minority faiths, belong to their religious rights and practices. But, it also mentioned that in a heterogeneous society, it is most beneficial for public order and harmony that people obey the directives of the local authorities.

The bench considered it was almost unfair that the two applicants were brought to court, especially since they had no previous records of crime, and this action might severely impact their future.

 The court in its order dated February 17, had only reversed the proceedings against the two applicants.

At the same time, it warned them to strictly follow any instructions or specific restraints issued by the local administration.

A young man, 19, who was a NEET aspirant and a non-working youth (NEET) from Madhya Pradesh represented his own case in the Supreme Court of India and as a result, MBBS admission under the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) quota was granted to him.

During the conversation with TOI Atharva Chaturvedi said, "I didn't argue emotionally; I just presented the law as it is".

NEET Aspirant secures MBBS Seat via EWS Quota after Legal Battle

Atharva cleared NEET 202425 with a score of 530 out of 720 marks in the EWS category. But even after fulfilling all the criteria for admission, he was refused entry because the EWS reservation policy was not implemented correctly in private medical colleges in Madhya Pradesh.

The constitution provides for 10 percent reservation to EWS category candidates in private non, minority institutions, but the policy has not been implemented in the state's private medical colleges.

Being firm in his decision to take the complaint forward, Atharva decided to personally argue the case instead of hiring a senior advocate.

Legal Argument Supported by 103rd Constitutional Amendment

In front of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, Atharva argued that the 103rd Constitutional Amendment, especially Articles 15(6) and 16(6), which allow for 10% reservation for the Economically Weaker Sections in the educational institutions and public employment, be taken into consideration.

The High Court directed the state to increase seats and implement the EWS quota in private medical colleges within a year.

Nevertheless, the policy was not put into practice in the following admission cycle.

Article 142 Relief Granted by Supreme Court

When Atharva was rejected admission once more in spite of being at 164 rank EWS in NEET 202526, he took the matter to the Supreme Court through an online petition.

On 10 February, the panel chaired by Chief Justice Surya Kant was just about ending the session for the day when Atharva, after asking for ten minutes, got the opportunity to argue his case. The bench permitted him to argue.

Invoking its powers under Article 142 of the Constitution, the Supreme Court noted that the petitioner was denied admission due to factors that were out of his control and that the state authorities had failed to comply with previous judicial directions.

The court ordered the National Medical Commission and the Madhya Pradesh government to make sure that he is admitted to an MBBS program in a private medical college and warned that if the matter is delayed any further, a deserving candidate would be irrevocably harmed.

Self-Representation and Virtual Hearing

Speaking to TOI, Atharva explained that he was initially nervous, but after carefully going through the earlier orders, he became confident that law was on his side.

His father, advocate Manoj Chaturvedi, helped him decipher the earlier rulings but deciding to argue the case himself was a conscious decision. Doing court visits in Delhi would have been financially and logistically exhausting and as such, he decided to file the petition online and attend the hearing virtually.

Court observers were impressed by how respectfully and convincingly Atharva dealt with the issues of constitutional intent, reservation policy, and administrative lapses, a degree of accuracy that even seasoned lawyers hardly ever achieve.

Although suggestions were made to Atharva that the courtroom was perhaps opening up a path for him to pursue a legal career, he is still dead set on his medical doctor goal.

The Supreme Court today served the Central Government and the University Grants Commission (UGC) with notices through two new petitions which challenge the recently announced UGC regulations 2026. The bench ordered that these new petitions be merged with the earlier petitions, and all matters would be collectively heard.

The fresh petitions contend that the new rules discriminate against the general category and violate their fundamental rights. Earlier, the top court had issued notices to the Centre and UGC and stayed the implementation of the regulations. During the proceedings, the court also suggested the constitution of a committee to reconsider the provisions of the UGC rules. A hearing date for the combined petitions will be scheduled shortly.

The UGC regulations 2026, which mandated all universities and colleges in the country to establish an Equal Opportunity Centre (EOC) and campus-level committees to inquire into discrimination complaints and promote equity and inclusion, have been put on hold amid widespread protests, especially from general category students. The bench flagged "complete vagueness" in the rules that makes them prone to misuse.

During the hearing, Chief Justice of India Surya Kant had highlighted the persistence of caste-based discrimination even 75 years after independence.

"In a country after 75 years, all that we have achieved, to become a classless society; are we becoming a regressive society? The worst thing happening in ragging is that children coming from south or north-east... they carry their culture, and somebody alien to this starts commenting on them. Then you have separate hostels. For God's sake. There are inter-caste marriages, and we have also been in hostels where all stayed together," the Chief Justice had remarked.

The bench made it clear that the language of the regulations has to be evaluated by the experts. Justice Joymalya Bagchi, who was on the two, judge bench, brought to light that Article 15(4) authorizes making laws for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, but lawmaking with a stepping up attitude should not be stepping back.

I hope we dont go to segregated schools like the U.S. where blacks and whites went to different schools, he said, to which the Chief Justice of India added, This kind of situation can be exploited.

While representing the petitioners, the lawyer Vishnu Shankar Jain submitted that Section 3(c) of the regulations limits the definition of caste, based discrimination only against SCs, STs, and OBCs, thereby excluding the general category, and hence it is against Article 14.

Caste based discrimination is define as discrimination against SC, ST and OBC only. This completely excludes the members of the general category. This definition under Section 3(c) is hit by Article 14, as discrimination cannot be assumed to target only one segment," Jain said.

With the UGC 2026 regulations stayed, colleges and universities must continue following the 2012 rules. The next hearing has been scheduled for March 19.

New lawyers without a lot of legal education, training, courtroom exposure, or income generally end up doing banal and repetitive work, according to a Careers360 investigation. In fact, first generation lawyers and women are particularly vulnerable as they not only face financial hardships but also have to handle gender discrimination that is deeply rooted in the profession.

From Patiala House Courts, Delhi to the civil courts in Bengaluru, young lawyers disclose that they are essentially given donkey work, drafting pla Rohit Kumar, a junior advocate practising in Gaya, Bihar, said he continues to rely on family support while struggling to meet basic professional expenses such as court robes, rent, and bar association fees. “Seniors often cite lack of contacts or pedigree as reasons for not trusting juniors with cases,” he said.

Legal aid panels, often projected as opportunities for hands-on experience, present a mixed reality. While juniors receive a high volume of cases—ranging from undertrial defence and domestic violence petitions to eviction matters—they are frequently left to handle them independently, without supervision or guidance. Several senior lawyers acknowledged that legal aid work has increasingly become a “file-dumping system,” raising concerns about both junior welfare and the quality of justice delivery.

Women lawyers face additional systemic barriers. Ridha Joshi, a 2021 batch female lawyer practising at Patiala House Courts, recalled that during the preparation of a case brief, hers was taken away and given to male colleagues on the excuse that they had more 'experience'. In Bengaluru, Ananya Mehra revealed that even during hearings, men get informal priority in using the podium which further establishes disparities in visibility, speaking time, and earnings.

Law schools are still teaching theory thus graduates will not be able to sustain in practice without depending on informal apprenticeship which is full of favouritism. The investigation further exposes a mismatch between legal education and judiciary. Law schools continue to stress theory at the expense of practical skills such as live legal reasoning, court behaviour, and oral advocacy.

Young advocates have made public their wish that stipends be compulsory, that there be structured mentorship programmes, that case allocation be made more transparent and that there be anti, gender bias protocols in order to make legal practice at the entry level more professional. If India is to have a fair and equitable justice system, then lawyers at the bottom of the ladder should not be left out of the changes that are taking place.

The Madras High Court has instructed the Bar Council of India (BCI) to decide on requests made by 11 private law colleges in Tamil Nadu, for sanction to increase student intake and the introduction of new courses, within three weeks. A division bench of Justices R. Suresh Kumar and Shamim Ahmed delivered the order while hearing a batch of petitions by the law colleges which sought a direction to the BCI to consider their applications that were pending for the next academic year. However, seven colleges challenged the BCI’s decision to return their applications along with the fees, while two other colleges sought a direction for processing of their applications, as their fees had not been refunded.

During the course of arguments, it was also brought to the court’s notice that the applications of two additional law colleges were pending with the BCI, taking the total number of affected institutions to 11.

The bench observed that there was no legal ban or restriction on the BCI from processing the applications. Therefore, the court ordered the BCI to clear all pending applications within three weeks of receiving a copy of the order.

To ensure the timely processing of their applications, the court also ordered the law colleges whose applications had been returned to submit their applications again within three days.

The order is likely to be a source of relief for private law colleges in Tamil Nadu that have been waiting for regulatory clearance to increase their capacities and diversify their courses. The players involved in legal education contend that the court's ruling may avert an academic crisis and provide a smoother admission process for the next session.