Supreme Court Flags Alarming Trend of Overturning Its Own Rulings
The Supreme Court of India has raised serious institutional concerns over what it described as a “growing trend” of reopening and overturning its own judgments before differently constituted benches. The remarks came during the hearing of a plea in a 2019 West Bengal murder case, and the Court warned that repeated reversals threaten judicial discipline, legal certainty, and the constitutional principle of finality in decision-making. Case Background: Plea by Anisur Rahman The observations were made while hearing a plea filed by Anisur Rahman, an accused in a 2019 murder case in West Bengal. Rahman sought modification of a bail condition that prohibited him from leaving Kolkata. A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and A.G. Masih refused to modify the earlier bail order passed in January, noting that the new application was filed shortly after the judge heading the earlier bench had demitted office. The Court viewed this timing as an attempt to obtain a favorable outcome due to the c...