In October, the Court heard important cases on reservations, powers of the Directorate of Enforcement, and foreign funding for NGOs.

16 orders of the NGT are now before the Supreme Court on appeal. The Court will decide whether the NGT has suo moto powers.

The NGT's use of suo moto powers has been heavily debated: are the powers inherent to its functioning or should they be explicit in the Act?

Statutory tribunals’ powers are limited by their statute. Can their powers be expanded based on the purpose with which they are formed?

The Supreme Court will decide if the NGT can exercise suo moto powers without the NGT Act, 2010 explicitly granting them these powers.

Courts often exercise their suo moto jurisdiction by taking up matters based on media reports or act on letters written to them.

Over nine lakh PILs were filed in the Supreme Court between 1985-2020. The data indicates that the rate at which PILs are filed is rising.

The Indian Courts seem to have pioneered the use of suo moto powers, inspiring other South Asian Courts, including Pakistan and Bangladesh.

DESK BRIEF: Suo moto powers have been invoked to protect fundamental rights and to scrutinise state action even during the pandemic.