New Delhi, August 29, 2022: A bench headed by new Chief Justice of India (CJI) U U Lalit will hear the bail plea of Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan, a petition of prominent Indian activist Gautam Navlakha and some important PILs on, today, Monday, his first working day in the Supreme Court as the CJI. Justice Lalit was sworn in as the 49th Chief Justice of India on Saturday, a non-working day in the Supreme Court.
On his first day as the Chief Justice of India on Monday, Justice UU Lalit will hear bail plea of Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan arrested by the UP Police and Bhima Koregaon case accused Gautam Navlakha’s petition seeking to be transferred from prison to house arrest.
Twenty five of the 500 Constitution Bench cases pending in the top court have been ordered to be listed from August 29.
Listing out his priorities as the CJI and ‘master of roster’, Justice Lalit had on Friday announced that he would strive to have one Constitution Bench functioning throughout the year; streamline the system of urgent mentioning and bring transparency to the system.
Kappan has moved the Supreme Court challenging an Allahabad High Court order rejecting his bail plea in connection with a case registered against him by the Uttar Pradesh Police under the black law UAPA.
He was arrested on October 5, 2020, while on his way to Hathras to cover a gangrape case of a Dalit woman.
Navlakha has challenged the Bombay High Court’s order dismissing his plea to be transferred from Taloja Prison and placed under house arrest. Arrested in August 2018 under the draconian law UAPA, he was initially placed under house arrest.
Another important case listed for hearing on Monday relates to the hijab ban in Kerala institutes which will be taken up by another Bench led by Justice Hemant Gupta.
On August 2, then Chief Justice N V Ramana, while hearing a plea for urgent listing of appeals and other petitions on the Hijab row, had said that the court would hear a batch of pleas challenging the Karnataka High Court verdict.
The top court of India on July 13 had agreed to hear the petitions challenging the Karnataka High Court verdict on the issue. agencies