2 October 2026
A Division Bench of Justice Shekhar B Saraf and Justice Abdhesh Kumar Chaudhary ruled on the point in Akhilesh Jaiswal and Another v Bar Council of India and 2 Others.
The Bench held that suspension under Section 35(3)(c) of the Advocates Act, 1961 is a final order and cannot be passed at an interim stage of a disciplinary inquiry.
The petitioners were Akhilesh Jaiswal, President of the Central Bar Association, Civil Court Lucknow, and Avnish Dixit, its Secretary.
The disciplinary committee of the Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh had suspended their licences on 26 September while the disciplinary proceedings were still pending.
The court quashed that suspension order, observing that an indefinite suspension was legally unsustainable.
It directed the Bar Council to supply any documents sought by the petitioners within 24 hours, and required them to appear at the next hearing.
Provision considered:
Section 35(3)(c), Advocates Act, 1961
Suspension order dated:
26 September 2026
Time given to supply documents:
24 hours
Why it matters for exams: The Advocates Act, 1961 and the powers of State Bar Councils are standard polity and legal-awareness material, and this ruling fixes the stage at which a licence may be suspended.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Bar Council State Bar Council under the Advocates Act, 1961 — The statutory body that enrols advocates in a state and exercises disciplinary control over them.
1 October 2026
The judgment was delivered by Justice Atul Sreedharan and Justice Divesh Chandra Samant in Arvind Kumar Yadav (Corpus) and Another v State of U.P. and Others, reported as 2026 LiveLaw (AB) 773.
The Bench held that the police cannot resort to pressure tactics to compel an offender to surrender by unlawfully detaining an innocent member of the family.
The court found that the petitioner had been kept in custody in Prayagraj for at least four days, from 23 to 26 June 2026, without lawful justification.
He had no connection with the case registered against his brother.
The court awarded ₹40,000 as compensation for the wrongful detention.
The amount is to be deducted from the salaries of the police officers found responsible, as determined by the State.
The court also directed that its displeasure be recorded in the service files of the station house officer, Yogendra Kumar Singh, and the investigating officer, Ashvani Savita.
Compensation awarded:
₹40,000
Period of detention:
23 to 26 June 2026
Citation:
2026 LiveLaw (AB) 773
Why it matters for exams: Compensation for illegal detention under Article 21 and the limits on police power are recurring questions in both polity and constitutional-law sections.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
Habeas corpus Writ of habeas corpus — A writ by which a court requires that a detained person be produced before it and the legality of the detention be justified.
1 October 2026
Justice Vinod Diwakar delivered the judgment in Pappu Met @ Pappu v State of U.P. and Another, reported as 2026:AHC:204628.
The judgment records that 16.15 lakh criminal cases in Uttar Pradesh are pending without charges having been framed — 14.08 lakh in magisterial courts and 2.07 lakh in sessions courts.
It notes that 22.51 lakh charge-sheets were filed between 2021 and 2025.
On staffing, the judgment counts 10,352 vacancies across the High Court registry and the district judiciary: 1,122 judicial officer posts of 4,625 sanctioned, 7,834 district staff posts of 28,552 sanctioned, and 1,396 registry posts of 4,138 sanctioned.
It also records 1,65,930 bail orders passed in defiance of High Court guidelines between August 2025 and early 2026.
The judgment says judicial discipline is not a matter of choice but a constitutional imperative, and that the chief-justice-centric model of High Court administration requires recalibration.
It asks that full court meetings be convened, noting that only 16 were held over a decade.
Criminal cases awaiting framing of charges:
16.15 lakh
Total vacancies counted:
10,352
Judicial officer vacancies:
1,122 of 4,625 sanctioned
Charge-sheets filed 2021-2025:
22.51 lakh
Why it matters for exams: Judicial pendency and vacancy figures are standard data points for questions on judicial reform, and Uttar Pradesh carries the largest subordinate judiciary workload in the country.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Framing of charges Framing of charges by a criminal court — The stage at which a court formally sets out the accusations a person must answer before the trial begins.
Full court Full court meeting of a High Court — A meeting of all the judges of a High Court, used mainly for administrative decisions.
29 September 2026
A Bench of Justice Shekhar B Saraf and Justice Abdhesh Kumar Chaudhary dismissed a batch of connected petitions filed by hookah bar operators and restaurants.
The court held that Rule 4(3) of the Prohibition of Smoking in Public Places Rules, 2008, as amended in 2017, prohibits any service being provided in a designated smoking area, which bars the serving of hookah.
The rules are framed under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003, generally called COTPA.
The petitioners had argued their right to trade under Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution.
The Bench said the right of a non-smoker to breathe clean air in a public place is a fundamental right that cannot be abridged by commercial interest, reading it with Article 21.
The effect of the ruling is that hookah bars cannot operate anywhere in Uttar Pradesh.
Rule applied:
Rule 4(3), Prohibition of Smoking in Public Places Rules, 2008 (as amended in 2017)
Parent Act:
Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003
Outcome:
All connected petitions dismissed
Why it matters for exams: COTPA and the 2008 smoking rules appear in health and polity questions, and the judgment is a clear example of a fundamental right being read against a trade right.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
COTPA Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003 — The central law regulating tobacco advertising, sale and smoking in public places in India.
29 September 2026
Rivers were flowing above the danger mark at several points in Uttar Pradesh: the Ramganga at Shahjahanpur, the Ghaghra at Barabanki, Ayodhya and Turtipar in Ballia, the Kuwano at Gonda, and the Gandak in Kushinagar.
An embankment on the Narayani in the Tamkuhi Raj area of Kushinagar gave way over a stretch of around 25 metres under water pressure.
Nearly two dozen villages in the district were left facing the threat of flooding after the breach.
Teams of the National Disaster Response Force and the State Disaster Response Force were deployed for rescue work.
The weather office forecast further thundershowers and rainfall in the region.
The Chief Minister inspected a flood relief camp in Kushinagar and distributed relief material on 29 September.
Length of the breach:
around 25 metres
Villages facing flood threat:
nearly two dozen
River and district:
Narayani, Kushinagar (Tamkuhi Raj area)
Why it matters for exams: The Ghaghra, Gandak, Ramganga and Kuwano are tributaries of the Ganga system that examiners ask about, and NDRF-SDRF deployment is a standard disaster-management point.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
NDRF National Disaster Response Force — The central specialised force raised under the Disaster Management Act for rescue and relief work.
30 September 2026
Twenty-two dairy companies submitted investment proposals worth ₹695.18 crore at the Uttar Pradesh International Trade Show, UPITS-2026.
The proposals are expected to create more than 2,500 jobs.
Ace International Ltd proposed ₹457 crore across Hathras, Aligarh and Agra, with about 1,500 jobs.
Carebro Innovators Pvt Ltd proposed ₹100 crore across Ayodhya, Lucknow, Meerut and Bareilly, with more than 250 jobs.
Anjum Dairy proposed ₹50 crore in Moradabad, Amroha and Rampur; Gwin Whey Protein ₹27 crore in Etah, Firozabad and Etawah; and Gauri Food and Beverages ₹14.65 crore in Jhansi.
The proposals were received under the Uttar Pradesh Dairy Development and Dairy Products Promotion Policy, 2022.
Milk Commissioner Dhanlakshmi K was among the officials associated with the exercise.
Total proposals:
₹695.18 crore
Companies:
22
Jobs expected:
over 2,500
Largest single proposal:
₹457 crore, Ace International Ltd
Why it matters for exams: Uttar Pradesh is the country's largest milk-producing state, and state-level investment policies and their figures are regular economy questions.
Kerala PSCUPSCBank
In plain words
UPITS Uttar Pradesh International Trade Show — An annual trade fair held by the Uttar Pradesh government to showcase the state's products and attract investment.
30 September 2026
Justice Garima Prashad of the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court decided Uma Kant Tripathi v C/M Bahraich Coop Bank Ltd, cited as 2026:AHC-LKO:67510.
On 2 May 1994 the court had directed the respondents to file counter affidavits within six weeks, kept the impugned order in abeyance, and directed that the petitioner be allowed to work and paid his salary.
The court recorded that opposite parties 3 and 4, whose action formed the basis of the impugned orders, filed their counter affidavit only after further orders were passed in 2025, and that no explanation was offered for this delay of more than three decades.
The petitioner's case was that the interim relief was never implemented.
The court held that the state cannot avoid responsibility for the lapse merely because the petitioner failed to establish his substantive claim.
The delay, it said, deprived the court of timely assistance from the authorities concerned.
Dismissing the writ petition on merits and discharging the interim order, the court directed opposite parties numbered 3 and 4 to ensure that ₹1 lakh is paid to the petitioner within six weeks.
Costs imposed on the State:
₹1 lakh
Original interim order:
2 May 1994
Citation:
2026:AHC-LKO:67510
Time to pay:
six weeks
Delay in filing the counter affidavit:
more than three decades (1994 order, affidavit filed after 2025 orders)
Why it matters for exams: Costs imposed on the state for litigation delay illustrate judicial accountability mechanisms, a theme examiners use in governance questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Counter affidavit Counter affidavit — The sworn reply a respondent files to the facts set out in a petition.
1 October 2026
The Allahabad High Court has registered a fresh suo motu Public Interest Litigation on noise pollution.
The order was passed by a Lucknow bench of Justice Rajan Roy and Justice Manjive Shukla, which was hearing an existing PIL on the misuse of pressure horns, modified silencers and hooters.
The court recorded that a Class 2 student of Divine Public School on City Palace Road in Bhagautiganj, Balrampur, collapsed in her classroom on 22 September when loudspeakers and a music system were being played at high volume during a nearby procession, and that she could not be saved after being taken for medical treatment.
The bench made it clear that it had not reached any conclusion on the cause of the child's death, but said the circumstances were sufficient for it to take cognisance of the matter.
It observed that noise pollution was becoming a menace despite its recognition under the Environment Protection Act, 1986 and the Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000.
The new proceedings will examine compliance with those statutory provisions and the measures needed to curb noise pollution, with senior advocate Gaurav Mehrotra continuing as amicus curiae.
The court directed the state counsel to obtain reports from the District Magistrate and the Superintendent of Police of Balrampur, and listed the matter for further hearing on 12 October.
Bench:
Justice Rajan Roy and Justice Manjive Shukla, Lucknow
District:
Balrampur
Date of the incident:
22 September
Provisions to be examined:
Environment Protection Act, 1986 and Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000
Next hearing:
12 October
Why it matters for exams: The item ties a High Court's suo motu jurisdiction to the Environment Protection Act, 1986 and the Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000, a pairing examiners use in both polity and environment questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Suo motu Suo motu — A court taking up a matter on its own, without anyone filing a petition.
PIL Public Interest Litigation — A petition filed in the public interest rather than for a private grievance.
Amicus curiae Amicus curiae — A lawyer appointed to assist the court rather than to represent a party.
Background
The district where the Narayani embankment gave way in the floods of late September is Kushinagar, in the Gorakhpur division of north-eastern Uttar Pradesh.
It was formerly known as Kushinara, the place where Gautam Buddha attained Mahaparinirvana, and remains a Buddhist pilgrimage centre.
The district headquarters is at Padrauna.
It covers 2,873.5 square kilometres and had a population of 3,560,830 at the 2011 Census, with a literacy rate of 67.66 per cent and a sex ratio of 955.
The district has six tehsils — Padrauna, Kushinagar, Hatta, Tamkihiraj, Khida and Kaptanganj — and 14 development blocks.
It contains 1,447 villages.
It sends one member to the Lok Sabha and has seven assembly constituencies.
Headquarters:
Padrauna
Area:
2,873.5 square kilometres
Population (2011 Census):
3,560,830
Literacy rate:
67.66 per cent
Assembly constituencies:
7
Why it matters for exams: Kushinagar is one of the four principal Buddhist pilgrimage sites and its district statistics are standard geography and census material.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Mahaparinirvana Mahaparinirvana — In Buddhist tradition, the final passing away of the Buddha, marking release from the cycle of rebirth.
Background
Uttar Pradesh's drive for industrial investment, seen again in the dairy proposals at its international trade show this week, rests partly on new transport projects such as the airport at Jewar.
Commercial flight operations at Noida International Airport began on 15 June 2026.
The first flight ran from Jewar to Lucknow and carried 170 farmers who had given land for the project, led by the Jewar MLA, Dhirendra Singh.
Union Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu was present at the inaugural ceremony.
In its first phase the airport can handle 1.2 crore passengers a year.
When complete, its capacity is expected to exceed 7 crore passengers a year.
It is intended to serve as a hub for both domestic and international operations.
Commercial operations began:
15 June 2026
First route:
Jewar to Lucknow
Phase 1 capacity:
1.2 crore passengers a year
Capacity on completion:
expected to exceed 7 crore a year
Why it matters for exams: New airports, their capacity figures and their locations are routine economy and geography questions, and Jewar is in Uttar Pradesh's Gautam Buddha Nagar belt of investment projects.
Kerala PSCUPSCBank