“Neither judiciary, nor executive and nor the Parliament is supreme but it is the Constitution of India which is supreme and all the three wings are to work as per constitution.”
     – Chief Justice of India BR Gavai at a felicitation ceremony held by Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa.

Natural Justice Versus National Security 
The Delhi High Court this week heard a case filed by Turkish firm Celebi Airport Services that found the security clearance for its ground staff revoked in India in the aftermath of the recent conflict between India and Pakistan. 

The reason cited by Bureau of Civil Aviation Safety or BCAS was simple – interest of national security. Ankara was quite vocal in its diplomatic support to Islamabad during the conflict.

The high court, which has now reserved its order on Celebi’s petition, is faced with the question between principles of natural justice and national security. 

While the firm has argued that the revocation impacts as many as 10,000 Indian jobs, the government stressed the importance of ensuring safety of civil aviation at a time the nation is bouncing back from a regional conflict. Celebi said it was not given a chance to be heard, the government said that on questions of national security, the government has to act immediately. 

While the company accused the government of not following principles of natural justice and the rules that govern this domain, the government said that it complied sufficiently with the norms and requirements.

Undoubtedly, national security is a strong and important point to be considered, it is also critical to remember that none other than the country’s Supreme Court had once criticised the government for using the garb of national security for clamping down on rights.

While Celebi has more lawsuits to fight, this time before the Bombay High Court, it becomes critical to see which way the Delhi High Court leans. 

The Week That Was
Key Rulings 

• The Supreme Court dismissed petitions filed by Vodafone Idea, Bharti Airtel and Tata Telecommunications seeking relief in relation to paying interest and penalty on their AGR dues. The top court expressed shock on the petitions and termed them “misconceived”.
• The top court has upheld the validity of entertainment tax levied by state governments on DTH services even if the service is taxed for services by the union government.

Courts

• The Supreme Court ruled that all high court judges, regardless of where they got appointed from, their entry date or whether they were permanent judges or additional judges, are entitled to full pension.
• Presidents and members of all district and state consumer commissions pan-India to be paid uniform salary and allowances, the Supreme Court held.
• A minimum three-year practice as a lawyer is mandatory for being eligible for judicial services, the Supreme Court has held.
• Reliance Industries Ltd has challenged a Delhi High Court order which quashed the arbitral award that favoured the company in relation to the gas drilling dispute with the government owned ONGC in the KG Basin.
• The Delhi High Court concluded its hearing on Turkish firm Celebi’s plea challenging the Indian government’s decision to revoke its security clearance. The firm has now also filed similar lawsuits before the Bombay High Court.
• The Supreme Court concludes hearing on the batch of petitions challenging the Waqf Amendment Act. The court has reserved its order on the interim relief of a stay on the operation of the legislation.
• Supreme Court grants interim bail to Ali Khan Mahmudabad, professor at the Ashoka University, who was arrested over a social media post about Operation Sindoor. The top court set up a three-member SIT to assess the interpretation of the post. 

Quasi Courts

• National Human Rights Commission takes suo moto cognizance of the arrest of Ali Khan Mahmudabad noting that prima facie the arrest appears to violate his human rights.

Others

• A newly-constituted bench of the National Company Law Tribunal inaugurated in Kolkata

The Big Listings
May 20: Supreme Court to hear a batch of cases relating to the GST notices sent to online gaming apps
May 20: Supreme Court to hear a batch of petitions challenging the newly passed Waqf Amendment Act
May 26: Supreme Court scheduled to begin hearing case relating to Dharavi redevelopment project awarded to Adani in the week beginning May 26
May 30: NCLT’s principal bench is scheduled to hear BPSL’s former promoter’s plea for initiating liquidation in line with top court’s order
June 3: The Ahmedabad bench of the NCLT to hear IREDA’s insolvency petition against Gensol Engineering
July 2: Delhi local court to hold daily hearings in National Herald Case against Sonia and Rahul Gandhi
August 20: Supreme Court to hear Flipkart’s appeal against a high court which affirmed CCI probe into the company
* The dates of hearing can change and a concrete list is prepared just a day before

Legal Moves 

• Justice K Somashekar appointed chief justice of Manipur High Court
• Supreme Court Bar Association hold polls, Vikas Singh elected President, Rahul Kaushik chosen Vice President and Pragya Baghel chosen Secretary
• Tripti Vini joins SK Attorneys as Senior Partner in New Delhi
• Tarang Agarwal elevated as partner in ORTIS Law offices
• Rahul Dwarkadas, who co-founded Veritas Legal leaves the firm