2017 -Landmark judgment of Supreme Court of India

Flashback 2017: Landmark Supreme Court judgments this Supreme Court The landmark judgment making privacy a fundamental right, upholding death sentences of Nirbhaya rapists, pronouncing Gurmeet Ram Rahim to be guilty of rape were welcomed. While decisions like releasing Rajesh and Nupur Talwar in Aarushi murder case, acquitting all the accused in 2G scam has left people disheartened. Here's a look at some of the key judgements passed in 2017 Declaring Triple Talaq unconstitutional The Supreme Court banned the controversial Islamic practice that allows men to leave their wives immediately by stating 'talaq' (divorce) three times, calling the practice 'unconstitutional'. A five-judge Constitution bench set aside the age-old practice by a majority of 3:2, holding it was unworthy of protection. Triple talaq the personal law by which Muslim men can instantaneously divorce their wives by uttering talaq thrice'is not integral to religious practice and violates constitutional morality,' the Supreme Court judges said. Interestingly, all five judges on the bench belonged to five different faiths Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism and Zoroastrianism. Right to Privacy a fundamental right This was one of the 2017's biggest judgments and was made in response to the petition challenging the constitutional validity of the Indian biometric identity scheme, Aadhaar. 'The right to privacy is protected as an intrinsic part of the right to life and personal liberty under Article 21 and as a part of the freedoms guaranteed by Part III of the Constitution,' the ruling said. With this judgment, the government will be required to create a data protection regime to protect the privacy of the individual. Explaining the meaning and scope of privacy, the court held that it includes at its core the preservation of personal intimacies, the sanctity of family life, marriage, procreation, the home and sexual orientation. The court further explained that there is a legitimate expectation of privacy even in public space and that the right is available against state as well as non-state actors. Sex with minor wife criminalized The Supreme Court held that a man's act of indulging in sex with a minor wife would amount to rape. In a landmark ruling, the top court read down exception 2 to Section 375 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code that allowed a man to have sexual relations with his wife above 15 years of age. Before the Supreme Court verdict, the law did not find a man guilty of rape for having sexual intercourse with wife older than 15 years of age. While child marriage is a crime, this exception created conflict between laws. The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act of 2012 defines 'children' as those aged below 18. It has specific provisions declaring that 'penetrative sexual assault' and 'aggressive penetrative sexual assault' against children below 18 is rape. 2012 Delhi gangrape case In May this year, the Supreme Court upheld the Delhi High Court and trial court decision to award death penalty to all four convicts in the December 16, 2012 gang rape and murder case. The execution of Mukesh (27), Pawan Gupta (20), Vinay Sharma (21) and Akshay Thakur (29) was made certain by the SC with only an option of mercy petition left to the President. The victim was assaulted and raped by six persons in a moving bus in south Delhi and thrown out of the vehicle along with her male friend on December 16 night. She later died in a Singapore hospital. In 2013, Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill,