This week in Indian law: The Supreme Court delivered two Constitution Bench verdicts on the same day — ruling the Governor's floor test direction in the Maharashtra political crisis unconstitutional, and holding that the elected Delhi government controls administrative services under Article 239AA. The Court also directed strict POSH Act compliance across all workplaces and confirmed that PMLA Section 45 twin conditions apply to anticipatory bail. 4 significant legal developments this week across constitutional-rights, supreme-court-judgments, and criminal-law.
Top story
SC Rules Governor's Floor Test Order in Maharashtra Illegal
Category: constitutional-rights | Date: 11 May 2023 | Source: Supreme Court of India
A five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud unanimously held in Subhash Desai v. Principal Secretary, Governor of Maharashtra that the Governor acted unconstitutionally in directing a floor test during the June 2022 Maharashtra political crisis. The Bench ruled that the Governor did not possess any objective material to form the satisfaction that the Uddhav Thackeray government had lost the confidence of the House — the rebel faction's departure from the state and letters to the Governor were insufficient. However, the Court held that restoring the status quo ante was not feasible because Thackeray had voluntarily resigned before the floor test. The Court referred the reconsideration of Nabam Rebia to a larger bench.
Why it matters: The judgment establishes definitive limits on gubernatorial discretion in government formation scenarios, but the practical difficulty — finding the Governor's action illegal yet being unable to provide effective relief — creates a significant constitutional gap.
Read more: Veritect analysis
Court judgments
SC: Delhi Government Controls Administrative Services
Court: Supreme Court of India | Bench: CJI Chandrachud, Justices Shah, Murari, Kohli, Narasimha | Date: 11 May 2023
In Government of NCT of Delhi v. Union of India, the same five-judge Constitution Bench unanimously held that the elected Delhi government has legislative and executive control over administrative services, excluding public order, police, and land. The Bench emphasised that civil servants must be accountable to the elected government, and the Lieutenant Governor's discretionary powers are confined to the three excluded subjects. The judgment was hailed as a decisive resolution of the long-standing Delhi governance dispute.
Key point: The Delhi government, not the LG, controls transfers, postings, and discipline of officers serving in Delhi — but the Centre promulgated an Ordinance overriding this verdict just eight days later.
SC Directs Strict POSH Act Compliance Across All Workplaces
Court: Supreme Court of India | Date: 12 May 2023
In Aureliano Fernandes v. State of Goa, the Supreme Court directed all employers to ensure immediate compliance with the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013. The Court noted that many workplaces, including government offices and educational institutions, have not constituted Internal Complaints Committees as required. Non-compliance was directed to be treated as a serious dereliction of statutory duty.
Key point: All employers must immediately constitute Internal Complaints Committees under the POSH Act; non-compliance is now flagged by the Supreme Court as a serious statutory dereliction.
SC: PMLA Section 45 Twin Conditions Apply to Anticipatory Bail
Court: Supreme Court of India | Date: 12 May 2023
The Supreme Court held that the twin conditions under Section 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 — requiring prima facie satisfaction of non-guilt and no likelihood of committing offence on bail — apply equally to applications for anticipatory bail in money laundering cases. The judgment extends the stringent bail standard from regular bail to the anticipatory bail stage.
Key point: Anticipatory bail in PMLA cases is now subject to the same twin conditions as regular bail, making pre-arrest protection even harder to obtain in money laundering cases.
By the numbers
- 2 — Constitution Bench judgments delivered on the same day (11 May 2023), an exceptional judicial event
- 8 days — Time between SC's Delhi governance verdict (11 May) and Centre's overriding Ordinance (19 May)
- 4 — Major SC developments in a single week across 3 legal domains
Looking ahead
- May 18: SC Constitution Bench expected to deliver Jallikattu judgment on state amendments to PCA Act.
- May 19: Centre expected to promulgate Ordinance overriding Delhi governance verdict.
- Late May: SC summer vacation begins; regulatory and legislative news to dominate.
This is the Veritect Weekly Legal Roundup for Week 19 of 2023. For daily updates, visit our legal news page. Subscribe to receive this roundup every Monday morning.
Veritect provides this content for informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice.