Important matters heard in the Supreme Court on January 22:
* SC sought responses from Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and other lawmakers of his group on a plea of the Uddhav Thackeray faction challenging Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar’s order declaring the Shiv Sena bloc led by Shinde as the “real political party” after its split in June 2022.
* The SC asked the authorities in Tamil Nadu to act in accordance with the law and not based on any oral instructions on “banning” special prayers and live telecast of the Ram temple consecration ceremony in all temples across the state.
* The SC sought a response from the Uttar Pradesh government on a plea by MLA Abbas Ansari challenging the Allahabad High Court order rejecting his bail application in an arms licence case.
* The SC asked the Centre to respond within two weeks to a plea by a Congress leader seeking immediate implementation of the Nari Shakti Vandan Act-2023 so that one-third of the seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies can be reserved for women before the general elections due this year.
* NewsClick’s human resources department head Amit Chakravarty on Monday withdrew from the Supreme Court his petition against his arrest under the anti-terror law, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
* The SC adjourned till January 29 the hearing on Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav’s petition seeking transfer of the criminal defamation complaint pending against him in an Ahmedabad court over his alleged “only Gujaratis can be thugs” remark to a place outside the state, preferably Delhi.
