5 historic judgments that changed our lives in 2018
Friday, September 28, 2018 IST
From decriminalising gay sex to declaring adultery law unconstitutional, the Supreme Court has delivered several important judgments this year. Here's a look at five landmark judgments of 2018.
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This year has brought a lot of changes in our laws and hence, lives. Several laws which showed that India was trailing other countries in recognising individual's rights have been struck down.
The Supreme Court delivered judgments interpreting laws to expand the ambit of fundamental rights.
Here are five iconic judgments of 2018 that changed the course of the Constitution:
A five-judge bench of Supreme Court on September 26, 2018 ruled that Aadhaar was constitutional but making it mandatory for availing government services was unconstitutional. So, while Aadhaar-PAN linking is mandatory, banks and telecom companies cannot ask ask people to link their bank accounts and mobile numbers with Aadhaar. This is unconstitutional.
The bench termed the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) Rules as well as the notification issued by Department of Telecommunications (DoT) in this regard as unconstitutional. It also means that banks and mobile phone companies can't anymore insist on Aadhaar number to verify your details when you seek a new connection or open a new bank account.
The Supreme Court, in a landmark judgment which came out in early September, decriminalised gay sex holding that consensual sex between two adults was covered under the right to privacy.
A five-judge bench of the Supreme Court headed by CJI Dipak Misra partly struck down Section 377 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) holding it violative of the fundamental right to privacy. However, the Supreme Court said that Section 377 would continue to be in force in cases of unnatural sex with animals and children.
Any kind of sexual activity with animals and children remains a penal offence. The Supreme Court held that Section 377 of IPC was a weapon to harass members of LGBTQ-plus community resulting in discrimination against them.
The Supreme Court unanimously struck down a 150-year-old law that considered adultery to be an offence committed against a married man by another man. Defined under Section 497 of the IPC, adultery law came under sharp criticism for treating women as possessions rather than human beings.
The Supreme Court declared Section 497 as unconstitutional. Adultery is no longer a crime but if it leads to someone committing suicide, the act will be treated as a crime - abetment to suicide.
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"Sunlight is the best disinfectant," said the Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra and ordered live-streaming and video recording of the court proceedings yesterday, September 26.
Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justice AM Khanwilkar delivered a common judgment. Justice DY Chandrachud gave a separate but concurring judgment. The Supreme Court said that live streaming would bring in more transparency in judicial proceedings and effectuate the "public right to know".
A petition had come before the Supreme Court seeking a ban on the legal practise by sitting Members of Parliament and other legislators. The petition, filed by BJP leader Ashwini Upadhyay, called it a conflict of interest and professional misconduct on the part of the MPs, who draw salary from State but argue against them in courts by charging a professional fee from their clients.
The Supreme Court gave a major relief MPs, MLAs and MLCs, who practise law. The Supreme Court did not accept the petitioner's argument that the Bar Council of India (BCI) Rules debars legislators from practising law. The BCI had earlier told the court that legislators cannot be barred from legal practice.
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