On Saturday, the Supreme Court convened a special session following its suo moto acknowledgment of an order issued by a single bench of the Calcutta High Court, which deemed a division bench order concerning alleged irregularities in the admission process of MBBS students in West Bengal's state-run medical institutions as "illegal." This session, presided over by a five-judge bench consisting of Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and justices Sanjiv Khanna, B R Gavai, Surya Kant, and Aniruddha Bose, resulted in a stay on all proceedings related to the matter before the Calcutta High Court. Additionally, notices were issued to the West Bengal government and the original petitioner involved in the case.
This instance reflects a recurring pattern wherein the apex court has convened special sessions on non-working days in recent years. During such sessions, the court has addressed a spectrum of issues, ranging from concerns about personal liberty, and political turmoil in various states, to environmental pollution in the national capital.
Illustrating further instances, on July 1 of the previous year, the Supreme Court constituted consecutive benches to address activist Teesta Setalvad's plea, seeking interim protection against arrest in a case related to the alleged fabrication of evidence in 2002 post-Godhra riot cases. In a noteworthy late-night session on a Saturday, a bench comprising Justices B R Gavai, A S Bopanna, and Dipankar Datta raised questions regarding the denial of time for Setalvad to appeal against a High Court order, emphasizing the importance of granting interim relief even to an ordinary criminal.
Similarly, in 2023, the apex court took suo motu cognizance and convened a session on a Saturday to stay an Allahabad High Court order concerning a woman, purportedly a rape victim, and her astrological classification as 'manglik.' Additionally, a Special Bench assembled on a Saturday in October 2022 to suspend a Bombay High Court decision to discharge former Delhi University professor G N Saibaba in a case linked to Maoist activities.
Earlier instances include a session convened by the then Chief Justice N V Ramana on a Saturday in November 2021, urging the Centre and the Delhi government to implement "emergency measures," including a proposed two-day lockdown, to address air quality concerns in the capital.
Furthermore, the Supreme Court judges have occasionally held sessions even on Sundays, such as the urgent petition filed by Congress, Nationalist Congress Party, and Shiv Sena against the swearing-in of BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis as Maharashtra chief minister on November 24, 2019. Additionally, a special hearing conducted by then Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi in April 2019 addressed allegations of sexual harassment leveled against him, underlining the matter's significance concerning the independence of the judiciary.
In 2020, the top court continued its commitment to addressing important matters by convening a Sunday session to hear the plea of late journalist Vinod Dua, seeking the quashing of a sedition case against him.
