Times When the Supreme Court Held Special Sittings on Non-Working Days

NEW DELHI: A five-judge bench of the Supreme Court, on Saturday, held a special sitting after taking suo moto cognisance of unusual developments in the Calcutta High Court regarding a case of alleged irregularities in admission of MBBS students in West Bengal's state-run medical colleges and hospitals. The developments specifically concerned an order passed by Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay ignoring an order by a division bench which itself stayed Justice Gangopadhyay's single bench order directing a probe into the aforementioned irregularities. Justice Gangopadhyay had termed the stay order as ‘illegal’ and had accused his division bench's colleagues of working “for a political party.” The judge then called for the Supreme Court to take a look at the matter and, on Saturday, the apex court did exactly that. All proceedings in the matter have now been paused until such time that the SC can look into the matter. 

This is not the first time in recent years that the Supreme Court, which on average sits for around 200 days every year, has convened a special sitting on a non-working day. On July 1 last year, the Supreme Court constituted two benches to hear an appeal by the activist Teesta Setalvad which sought interim protection from arrest in a case of alleged fabrication of evidence to frame innocent people in the 2002 Godhra riot cases. 

The late-night sitting took place on a Saturday and saw a three-judge bench of the court question the denial of time to the activist to file an appeal against a high court order. 

Then, in June of 2023, another Saturday, the court held a special sitting after taking suo moto cognisance of an Allahabad High Court order asking an astrology professor to look into whether an alleged rape victim was a ‘manglik’ or not.

In another special sitting held on a Saturday in October 2022, a special Supreme Court bench of justices MR Shah and Bela M Trivedi suspended a Bombay High Court order to discharge ex-Delhi University professor GN Saibaba in a Maoist link case. 

On yet another Saturday, this time in November 2021, the Supreme Court directed the Delhi Government and the Centre to put in place emergency response measures to the rapidly degrading air quality in and around the national capital region. 

Then, in June 2020, this time on a Sunday, another non-working day for the court, the SC heard a plea by the journalist Vinod Dua seeking the quashing of a sedition case filed against him. 

On November 24, 2019, a Sunday, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court heard a petition filed by the Congress, National Congress Party and Shiv Sena against the swearing-in of BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis as Maharashtra Chief Minister. 

In yet another case in 2019, the Supreme Court held a special session on a non-working day to probe a conspiracy behind the various sexual harassment allegations being levelled against then-Chief Justice of India, Ranjan Gogoi. 

With inputs from PTI.