The yr 2023 turned out to be extremely eventful for the Madras Excessive Courtroom.
It started with a writ of quo warranto questioning the authority below which Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi was holding his workplace whereas concurrently serving because the chairman of the board of governors of Auroville Basis in Puducherry.
On January 5, 2023, the then Performing Chief Justice (ACJ) T. Raja and Justice D. Bharatha Chakravarthy held the writ petition, filed by M. Kannadasan of Thanthai Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam, to be not maintainable in view of the immunity loved by the Governor, from authorized proceedings, below Article 361 of the Structure.
Gutkha ban
In the identical month, Justices R. Subramanian and Ok. Kumaresh Babu put aside a 2018 notification issued by the Meals Security Commissioner (FSC) banning the manufacture, storage, transport, distribution or sale of gutkha, pan masala and different chewable meals merchandise containing tobacco / nicotine as substances.
The Bench held that the ban may very well be imposed just for a brief interval which may lengthen as much as a most of 1 yr and never past that.
Justice L. Victoria Gowri
In February 2023, the elevation of Justice L. Victoria Gowri to the Bench turned controversial with a bunch of legal professionals accusing her of getting delivered “hate speeches” when she was a lawyer.
In a nail-biting end to the controversy on February 7, 2023, the ACJ administered the oath of workplace to her, even because the Supreme Courtroom was concurrently listening to a case towards her elevation. The case was dismissed, on deserves, minutes after she assumed workplace as a further decide of the Excessive Courtroom for a interval of two years.
O. Panneerselvam expulsion case
A month later, former Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam and his supporters P.H. Manoj Pandian, R. Vaithilingam and J.C.D. Prabhakar moved the Madras Excessive Courtroom difficult the AIADMK social gathering’s July 11, 2022 common council resolutions by which they have been expelled from major membership for alleged anti-party actions.
The Excessive Courtroom denied interim aid. So, they took the matter on an enchantment to the Supreme Courtroom.
Fishers on Loop Street
In April 2023, the Madras Excessive Courtroom and the fishermen households on the Loop Street off Marina seashore in Chennai discovered themselves at loggerheads after the court docket insisted on evicting the fish stalls from the highway.
The fishermen, residing on tenements adjoining to the Loop Street, blocked your complete highway utilized by the judges, and others, each day to commute between their bungalows on Greenways Street and the Excessive Courtroom. A truce ensued solely after the court docket permitted the Chennai Company to manage the fish sellers as a substitute of evicting them.
Particular liquor licence
On April 26, 2023, a Bench of Justices S. Vaidyanathan and R. Kalaimathi stayed the operation of a Authorities Order which launched a particular licence regime to serve liquor to friends at worldwide and nationwide occasions performed in stadia, convention halls and conference centres. The keep continues to be in power until date.
Subsequently, on Might 26, 2023 the Centre notified the appointment of incumbent Chief Justice Sanjay V. Gangapurwala. He assumed workplace on June 1, 2023 after the Excessive Courtroom had been functioning below ACJs for greater than eight months for the reason that retirement of former CJ Munishwar Nath Bhandari on September 12, 2022.
Gokulraj homicide case
On June 2, 2023, Justices M.S. Ramesh and N. Anand Venkatesh confirmed the life sentence (until loss of life with none remission) imposed on eight convicts together with S. Yuvaraj, 43, a caste outfit chief, for beheading Scheduled Caste youth V. Gokulraj in 2015 after suspecting him to be in love with a Caste Hindu faculty pupil.
“This is a case which brings out the dark side of human behaviour. It focuses our attention to the ugly facets of our society: the caste system, bigotry, inhuman treatment of persons belonging to the marginalised section, et al. Cases such as this are textbook examples of how the criminal justice system can be easily manipulated and won over by witnesses who suborn at the drop of a hat,” the judges wrote.
Senthilbalaji cut up verdict
Thereafter, on June 15, 2023, a Division Bench of Justices J. Nisha Banu and D. Bharatha Chakravarthy ordered the switch of Minister V. Senthilbalaji, arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in a cash laundering case, from a authorities hospital in Chennai to a personal hospital of his selection for present process a bypass surgical procedure.
Nevertheless, on July 4, 2023, the 2 judges within the Bench delivered a cut up verdict in a habeas corpus petition filed by the Minister’s spouse. Whereas Justice Banu declared his detention to be unlawful, Justice Chakravarthy differed. The problem was referred to Justice C.V. Karthikeyan, the third decide, who concurred with the view taken by Justice Chakravarthy on July 14, 2023.
Within the meantime, coping with two different necessary circumstances, Justice Venkatesh dominated that pedigree based mostly on caste would don’t have any position to play in appointment of temple monks and Justice S.S. Sundar declared the 2019 election of Theni Member of Parliament P. Ravindranath, son of former Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam, null and void. The verdicts have been delivered on June 26, 2023 and July 6, 2023 respectively.
On July 21, 2023, disposing of yet one more case, Justice Venkatesh famously wrote that if temple festivals grow to be a cause to perpetuate violence, it could be higher to shut down such temples.
Suo Motu revision towards T.N. Ministers
Starting from August 10, 2023 Justice Venkatesh took up six suo motu revision petitions towards the acquittal/ discharge of sitting in addition to former Ministers from totally different felony circumstances. The suo motu motion taken by the Excessive Courtroom turned out to be essentially the most talked about matter within the State.
Thereafter, in a judgement welcomed by many, Justice S.M. Subramaniam on August 23, 2023 directed the State authorities to offer reservations for transgender individuals in native physique polls. The decide opined that such a transfer would assist in integrating them with the mainstream society.
Minister with no portfolio
On September 5, 2023, the primary Division Bench comprising the Chief Justice and Justice Chakravarthy delivered its verdict on a batch of circumstances filed towards continuation of arrested Minister Senthilbalaji within the Cupboard.
“A Minister without portfolio is a constitutional travesty,” the judges wrote. In addition they stated that the continuation of an individual within the Cupboard, regardless of him being in judicial custody, “does not augur well with the principles of constitutional ethos on goodness, good governance and purity in administration.”
The Bench anticipated the Chief Minister to take a name on the difficulty purely on considerations over Constitutional and public morality although there was no authorized bar for an individual in judicial custody to proceed as a Minister.
Vachathi verdict
On September 29, 2023, Justice P. Velmurugan confirmed the conviction and sentences imposed on a number of presidency officers for the 1992 Vachathi brutality and in addition ordered compensation to the tribes who have been subjected to backbone chilling violence after suspecting them to be sandalwood smugglers. The decision was welcomed by activists who had been preventing for justice for lengthy.
In October 2023, Justice G. Jayachandran heard an anticipatory bail petition filed by AIADMK former MLA R. Kumaraguru in a case booked towards him for having made derogatory remarks towards Chief Minister M.Ok. Stalin and Sports activities Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin in a public assembly at Ulundurpet.
The decide handed an uncommon order, within the case, asking the petitioner if he can be prepared to conduct one other public meet on the identical venue to hunt apology. The previous MLA did so and subsequently, the decide really helpful withdrawal of prosecution towards him. The police accepted the advice and dropped additional motion.
Sanatana Dharma row
On October 6, 2023, three writ of quo warranto petitions have been filed towards Sports activities Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, Hindu Non secular and Charitable Endowments Minister P.Ok. Sekarbabu and the Nilgiris Member of Parliament A. Raja in reference to the Sanatana Dharma row.
Justice Anita Sumanth heard marathon arguments in these circumstances and reserved her judgement on December 21, 2023. The decision reserved only a day earlier than the graduation of the Christmas trip ended up being the final important occasion of the yr.
Because it took three months for the listening to on the quo warranto petitions to come back to a detailed, a number of different important occasions unfolded within the Excessive Courtroom within the meantime. In October 2023, Justice N. Seshasayee declared as unlawful the reluctance amongst many hospitals to encourage non-relatives as organ donors and in the identical month, Justice Jayachandran refused to grant bail to Minister Senthilbalaji on well being grounds.
Ponmudy convicted
Justice Jayachandran additionally convicted Minister Ok. Ponmudy and his spouse P. Visalakshi in a disproportionate property case and sentenced them to a few years of straightforward imprisonment in December 2023. The decide, nonetheless, granted 30 days’ time to give up earlier than the trial court docket and stated, they might go on enchantment to the Supreme Courtroom within the meantime.
On November 9, 2023, a Bench comprising Chief Justice Gangapurwala and Justice P.D. Audikesavalu dominated {that a} State legislation towards on-line playing would apply solely to video games of probability and to not video games of ability similar to rummy and poker. The State authorities’s competition that avid gamers have been committing suicide as a result of their habit to on-line video games didn’t reduce ice with the judges.
On December 5, 2023, a Division Bench of Justices R. Subramanian and N. Senthilkumar rejected a declare over the AIADMK common secretary’s put up by V.Ok. Sasikala who was a detailed aide of former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa. Curiously, each Mr. Panneerselvam in addition to incumbent AIADMK common secretary Edappadi Ok. Palaniswami had opposed the case filed by her.
Although the Excessive Courtroom heard many different important circumstances too in 2023, a few of them stay inconclusive and can spill over to 2024.