The Supreme Court of India is often hailed as the “sentinel on the qui vive,” a vigilant guardian of the Constitution. Yet, the institution today finds itself caught in a paradox. On one hand, it is burdened with a massive backlog of more than 80,000 pending cases (as per August 2023 data), with lakhs more languishing in the High Courts.
On the other hand, the handful of cases that do capture national attention often expose deeper anxieties about the Court’s priorities and moral compass. For many citizens, justice is already a distant promise; when controversial verdicts appear to dilute rights or sidestep urgent reforms, the disillusionment only grows.
The past few years have seen several rulings that, instead of resolving social tensions, have sharpened them. The marital rape exception was left untouched, effectively protecting a colonial-era immunity for husbands. Comedians and satirists found themselves dragged to courtrooms under the banner of “hurting sentiments,” with the judiciary offering little clarity on free speech.
Cases on privacy and surveillance raised alarms about how far state power could stretch, while disputes as unexpected as the stray dog menace revealed the gap between judicial pronouncements and ground realities. Each of these verdicts, progressive in tone at times but hesitant or conservative in outcome, sparked debate about whether the judiciary was shielding citizens or merely managing optics.
What makes these controversies sharper is the institutional credibility crisis that shadows the Court. Vacancies on the bench, delayed hearings in matters of constitutional importance, and selective urgency in politically sensitive cases have fed the perception that judicial independence is uneven.
Critics argue that when the Supreme Court hesitates to confront entrenched patriarchy, censorship, or surveillance, it risks becoming complicit in the very injustices it was created to check. Against this backdrop, the following five verdicts stand out, not merely for their legal content, but for the way they unsettled public faith in the idea of justice.
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The five verdicts discussed here are not isolated instances of judicial controversy; they reflect a deeper struggle within the Supreme Court between constitutional ideals and institutional hesitations.
While the Court continues to describe itself as the guardian of fundamental rights, its judgments on issues such as marital rape, free speech, privacy, and civic conflicts reveal a pattern of caution that often sidelines social realities.
Citizens expect the apex court to be a shield against arbitrary state power and regressive norms, yet what they frequently encounter are rulings that appear ambiguous, delayed, or divorced from lived experience.
This disquiet is amplified by the judiciary’s own structural crisis. With more than 4.5 crore cases pending across Indian courts, justice delayed increasingly feels like justice denied.
Vacant judicial positions, the selective fast-tracking of politically sensitive cases, and an overreliance on technicalities contribute to a growing perception that the Court is faltering in its constitutional duty. In such an environment, each controversial verdict does more than stir debate; it chips away at institutional trust.
For a democracy that places immense faith in its judiciary, the way forward must involve both structural reforms and a renewed judicial courage. Clearing backlogs, ensuring transparent appointments, and prioritising constitutional morality over populist sentiment are urgent needs.
Above all, the Supreme Court must remember that its legitimacy does not rest in abstract doctrines alone but in the everyday lives of people who look to it as their last hope. Until then, verdicts that make headlines for the wrong reasons will continue to serve as reminders of a judiciary caught between its promises and its performance.
Images: Google Images
Sources: Hindustan Times, Times of India, The Indian Express
Find the blogger: Katyayani Joshi
This post is tagged under: Supreme Court Of India, Indian Judiciary, Court Verdicts, Legal Controversy, Justice Delayed, Judicial Reform, Constitutional Rights, Rule Of Law, Landmark Judgments, Democracy In India, Human Rights India, Law And Society, Legal Awareness, Judiciary Under Scrutiny, Public Trust
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