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Judgment Intelligence
OtherHrishikesh Sahoo v. The State of Karnataka & Ors.
Petitions for Special Leave to Appeal (Crl.) Nos. 4063-4064/2022 with connected matters
- Court
- Supreme Court of India
- Date of Decision
- 9 September 2026
- Bench
- Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V. Mohana
- Relevant Acts & Sections
- Indian Penal Code, 1860 — Section 375, Exception 2; Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 — Section 63, Exception 2
Final Outcome
Procedural directions only; the special leave petitions and connected matters are posted for final hearing on 18.11.2026 and remain pending (paras 2-5).
Key holdings
- As the Solicitor General stated, the Union's counter affidavit in the lead case may be treated as its reply in connected matters (para 2).
- The Nodal Counsel may compile the pleadings, a convenience compilation and the judgments relied upon, exchanged within three weeks (para 3).
- The matters are posted for final hearing on 18.11.2026 (para 4).
- The parties may exchange the proposed questions of law that arise for consideration (para 5).
Brief Facts
The lead case, Hrishikesh Sahoo's special leave petitions against the State of Karnataka, arises from a 2022 judgment of the High Court of Karnataka. It and the special leave petitions, writ petitions and PILs later tagged with it concern reading down Exception 2 to Section 375 of the IPC, the constitutionality of that provision, and Exception 2 to Section 63 of the BNS, which came into force on the IPC's repeal; other allied issues also arise (para 1). The connected civil appeals and writ petitions were listed with it on 09.09.2026 before the Chief Justice, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V. Mohana.
Court's Findings
The record of proceedings contains only case-management directions. The Solicitor General of India stated that the Union of India's counter affidavit in the lead case may be treated as a reply in the connected matters, with copies to all counsel within two days (para 2). Told that other pleadings were complete, the Bench provided that the Nodal Counsel, Ms. Pooja Dhar and Ms. Jaikriti S. Jadeja, may compile the pleadings, a convenience compilation and a separate set of the judgments relied upon, to be exchanged with the citations within three weeks (para 3). It directed: "Post these matters for final hearing on 18.11.2026." (para 4). The parties may also exchange the proposed questions of law (para 5). Any questions put by the Bench during the hearing are not recorded in the order.
Legal Principle
Before the final hearing of a batch of challenges to a statutory provision, the Supreme Court may accept the Union's counter affidavit in the lead case as its reply in connected matters, have nodal counsel compile pleadings and authorities, and invite proposed questions of law. This order decides nothing on the merits (paras 2-5).
