NEW DELHI: In a day packed with significant rulings, the Supreme Court on Thursday made key observations on four separate matters ranging from voter list deletions in Bihar to the rights of migrant workers.
The bench addressed electoral transparency, public safety , regional governance and civil liberties.
From directing the Election Commission to disclose details of 65 lakh voters removed from Bihar’s electoral rolls, to reserving its order on stray dog ruling, the court’s interventions also touched upon the sensitive issue of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood and the alleged harassment of Bengali-speaking migrant workers .
Bihar SIR row
The row over Bihar’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls deepened as the Supreme Court ordered the Election Commission to publish details of 65 lakh voters deleted after the exercise. Opposition parties have alleged mass exclusions ahead of the state polls, warning of large-scale disenfranchisement.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymala Bagchi directed the poll body to display printed booth-wise lists of the deleted names, along with reasons for deletion, at panchayat and block offices. District-wise data must be available at the chief electoral officer’s office and uploaded on official websites in a searchable form by Tuesday.
The court further ordered that deletions be publicised through newspapers, radio and television, and that Aadhaar be accepted as a valid identification document. Rejecting calls to quash the SIR, the bench said the EC had residual powers to conduct such exercises as it deemed fit.
Earlier this month, Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi accused EC of colluding with the BJP to steal elections, claiming over 100,000 fake votes were added in Karnataka’s Mahadevapura assembly segment—citing duplicate entries, invalid addresses and misuse of voter enrolment forms. The EC had denied this, demanding proof or a formal declaration.
Also read: Bihar SIR: SC asks EC to publish names of 65 lakh omitted from voter list; says Aadhaar acceptable as ID
Stray dogs verdict
The apex court reserved its order on an interim plea seeking to stay an earlier directive allowing the removal of stray dogs from Delhi-NCR streets. The matter was reassigned after criticism of the August 11 order issued by a two-judge bench.
During the hearing, a three-judge bench of Justices Nath, Sandeep Mehta and N V Anjaria criticised civic authorities, saying the problem stemmed from their inaction. The Delhi government told the court that children were dying from dog bites, with over 37 lakh bite incidents recorded annually.
Solicitor general Tushar Mehta described the issue as a contest between a “vocal minority” and a “silent majority” suffering due to attacks. Senior advocates Kapil Sibal and A M Singhvi argued against the sweeping removal of dogs, citing the lack of shelter homes and sterilisation measures, and noting there had been zero rabies deaths in Delhi this year.
On Monday, a two-judge bench (Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan) issued a directive mandating the removal of all stray dogs from Delhi-NCR and relocating them to shelters within eight weeks.
Also read: Stray dogs case: Supreme Court says whole problem is because of 'inaction' of authorities; 10 takeaways from hearing
Jammu and Kashmir statehood
The Supreme Court pressed the Centre for a response within eight weeks to a plea seeking restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood. While noting that “incidents like Pahalgam cannot be ignored”, Chief Justice B R Gavai, sitting with Justice K Vinod Chandran, stressed that ground realities must be assessed before any decision.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said steps were being taken but highlighted “peculiar situations” in the region. He reminded the court that assembly elections had already been conducted as promised to the Constitution Bench that upheld the abrogation of Article 370.
The petitioners argued that keeping J&K as a Union territory for nearly five years had undermined its democratic structure and development, in violation of earlier Supreme Court directions to restore statehood “as soon as possible”.
Article 370 was abrogated in 2019, stripping Jammu and Kashmir of its special status and bifurcating it into two Union territories. Since then, political parties and residents have demanded the restoration of statehood. The Centre has assured it will be done, but no specific timeline has been announced yet.
Also read: 'Incidents like Pahalgam can't be ignored': Supreme Court hears pleas seeking restoration of J&K’s statehood; seeks Centre's response
Migrant workers case
The court agreed to hear a PIL alleging detention and harassment of Bengali-speaking migrant workers wrongly suspected of being Bangladeshi nationals. The petition, filed by the West Bengal Migrant Welfare Board, claims some workers were targeted simply for speaking Bengali or having documents in the language.
Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi issued notices to the Centre and nine states, including Odisha, Maharashtra, Delhi, and Uttar Pradesh, but declined to pass an interim order halting detentions.
The bench acknowledged the need to protect legitimate citizens from harassment, while noting that states had the right to verify a worker’s origin and that unlawful entrants from across the border could be deported under the law. The court will take up the matter next week after receiving responses from the states concerned.
Also read: 'Suspected Bangladeshis': SC to hear PIL over 'detention' of Bengali-speaking migrant workers; notice issued to Centre, 9 states
The bench addressed electoral transparency, public safety , regional governance and civil liberties.
From directing the Election Commission to disclose details of 65 lakh voters removed from Bihar’s electoral rolls, to reserving its order on stray dog ruling, the court’s interventions also touched upon the sensitive issue of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood and the alleged harassment of Bengali-speaking migrant workers .
Bihar SIR row
The row over Bihar’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls deepened as the Supreme Court ordered the Election Commission to publish details of 65 lakh voters deleted after the exercise. Opposition parties have alleged mass exclusions ahead of the state polls, warning of large-scale disenfranchisement.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymala Bagchi directed the poll body to display printed booth-wise lists of the deleted names, along with reasons for deletion, at panchayat and block offices. District-wise data must be available at the chief electoral officer’s office and uploaded on official websites in a searchable form by Tuesday.
The court further ordered that deletions be publicised through newspapers, radio and television, and that Aadhaar be accepted as a valid identification document. Rejecting calls to quash the SIR, the bench said the EC had residual powers to conduct such exercises as it deemed fit.
Earlier this month, Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi accused EC of colluding with the BJP to steal elections, claiming over 100,000 fake votes were added in Karnataka’s Mahadevapura assembly segment—citing duplicate entries, invalid addresses and misuse of voter enrolment forms. The EC had denied this, demanding proof or a formal declaration.
Also read: Bihar SIR: SC asks EC to publish names of 65 lakh omitted from voter list; says Aadhaar acceptable as ID
Stray dogs verdict
The apex court reserved its order on an interim plea seeking to stay an earlier directive allowing the removal of stray dogs from Delhi-NCR streets. The matter was reassigned after criticism of the August 11 order issued by a two-judge bench.
During the hearing, a three-judge bench of Justices Nath, Sandeep Mehta and N V Anjaria criticised civic authorities, saying the problem stemmed from their inaction. The Delhi government told the court that children were dying from dog bites, with over 37 lakh bite incidents recorded annually.
Solicitor general Tushar Mehta described the issue as a contest between a “vocal minority” and a “silent majority” suffering due to attacks. Senior advocates Kapil Sibal and A M Singhvi argued against the sweeping removal of dogs, citing the lack of shelter homes and sterilisation measures, and noting there had been zero rabies deaths in Delhi this year.
On Monday, a two-judge bench (Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan) issued a directive mandating the removal of all stray dogs from Delhi-NCR and relocating them to shelters within eight weeks.
Also read: Stray dogs case: Supreme Court says whole problem is because of 'inaction' of authorities; 10 takeaways from hearing
Jammu and Kashmir statehood
The Supreme Court pressed the Centre for a response within eight weeks to a plea seeking restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood. While noting that “incidents like Pahalgam cannot be ignored”, Chief Justice B R Gavai, sitting with Justice K Vinod Chandran, stressed that ground realities must be assessed before any decision.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said steps were being taken but highlighted “peculiar situations” in the region. He reminded the court that assembly elections had already been conducted as promised to the Constitution Bench that upheld the abrogation of Article 370.
The petitioners argued that keeping J&K as a Union territory for nearly five years had undermined its democratic structure and development, in violation of earlier Supreme Court directions to restore statehood “as soon as possible”.
Article 370 was abrogated in 2019, stripping Jammu and Kashmir of its special status and bifurcating it into two Union territories. Since then, political parties and residents have demanded the restoration of statehood. The Centre has assured it will be done, but no specific timeline has been announced yet.
Also read: 'Incidents like Pahalgam can't be ignored': Supreme Court hears pleas seeking restoration of J&K’s statehood; seeks Centre's response
Migrant workers case
The court agreed to hear a PIL alleging detention and harassment of Bengali-speaking migrant workers wrongly suspected of being Bangladeshi nationals. The petition, filed by the West Bengal Migrant Welfare Board, claims some workers were targeted simply for speaking Bengali or having documents in the language.
Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi issued notices to the Centre and nine states, including Odisha, Maharashtra, Delhi, and Uttar Pradesh, but declined to pass an interim order halting detentions.
The bench acknowledged the need to protect legitimate citizens from harassment, while noting that states had the right to verify a worker’s origin and that unlawful entrants from across the border could be deported under the law. The court will take up the matter next week after receiving responses from the states concerned.
Also read: 'Suspected Bangladeshis': SC to hear PIL over 'detention' of Bengali-speaking migrant workers; notice issued to Centre, 9 states
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