2024: Amidst controversies surrounding former CJI Chandrachud, SC batted for the rule of law, personal liberty and transparency

Amidst controversies surrounding the former Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud arising from his public statements particularly relating to seeking divine guidance for writing the Ayodhya judgment, handling of the politically sensitive cases, Prime Minister Narendra Modi attending the Ganpati poojan at his residence and its video going viral, and so on, the Supreme Court by and large continued its march upholding the rule of law and transparency in the actions of the government both at the Centre and in the States.

- PARMOD KUMAR

The judgments that were not perceived to be comforting to the government included the 15 February 2024, striking down of the electoral bonds scheme as "unconstitutional", the 8 January 2024, judgment in Bilkis Bano case that quashed the Gujarat government's decision to grant remission of sentence to 11 life convicts, 4 March 2024, judgment in PV Narasimha Rao case holding that the lawmakers can be prosecuted for accepting bribes for voting or making speech in the legislature, and on 13 November 2024, the Court came down heavily on use of bulldozers to raze the residential and commercial buildings belonging to (or residence of) an alleged accused of offence which infamously came to be known as 'Bulldozer justice'.

Terming the bulldozer justice as "unconstitutional, arbitrary, high-handed and violative of the rule of law, abuse of power by the executive authorities and violative of fundamental right to life and shelter guaranteed under Article 21 of the constitution", the Supreme Court had said that it is a "dream of every person, every family to have a shelter above their heads" and a house is an "embodiment of the collective hopes of a family or individuals' stability and security".