2025 in the Supreme Court: 10 Verdicts That Will Outlive the Year

On a November morning this year, the Supreme Court quietly rewrote the ending of one of India’s darkest crime stories.

- TDG NETWORK

Straight, frontal shot of the Supreme Court of India building.

Nearly two decades after the Nithari killings first horrified the country, the Court finally acquitted Surendra Koli in the last pending case against him, saying the prosecution had failed to meet basic standards of proof. The same Court, in other cases, was telling governments how long they can sit on bills, ordering dangerous stray dogs off school campuses, and deciding how much science can intrude into family life.

In 2025, the Supreme Court didn’t just interpret the Constitution; it nudged its way into classrooms, marriages, festivals, shelters, and bank ledgers.

POWER & THE CONSTITUTION

In a much-watched advisory opinion on governors delaying assent to bills, the Court refused to write a hard deadline into the Constitution, but it also refused to bless endless inaction. It said the President and governors must act within a “reasonable time” on bills, and that extreme delay is open to judicial review: That keeps separation of powers intact while signaling to Raj Bhavans that legislation cannot be buried forever in a constitutional black hole.

SAFETY, DOGS AND DIWALI