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Relevance: GS-II (Indian Constitution, Structure & Functioning of Judiciary, Governance) Source: Supreme Court Proceedings / Legal Reviews, 2026

SC Weighs SOP for urgent cases Affecting Life and Liberty

1 · What is the news in simple words?

Imagine police coming to arrest someone or bulldozers arriving to demolish a house in the middle of the night or on a Sunday. If the courts are closed, where does a citizen go for immediate help?

To solve this, a three-judge Bench of the Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, has agreed to create a formal Standard Operating Procedure (SOP). This new rulebook will ensure that citizens can approach constitutional courts at any time—day or night—for urgent cases that threaten their basic life and liberty.

2 · Why is a 24/7 rulebook needed right now?

Currently, getting a late-night hearing depends heavily on chance and the personal discretion of judges. A formal SOP will make urgent justice a structured right rather than a random favor:

The Ground Reality
Off-Hour State Action
Harsh state actions—like late-night arrests, sudden morning demolitions, custodial violence, or deportations—often happen during weekends, holidays, or when courts are closed, leaving citizens helpless.
The Morning Bell Rule
Liberty Can’t Wait
The petition rightly argues that human liberty cannot depend on office timings or wait for the morning court bell to ring. Once a house is demolished or a person is unlawfully deported, the damage is irreversible.
The CJI’s Vision
One-Hour Response
CJI Surya Kant noted that a clear SOP would drastically cut down waiting times. He suggested that once an urgent plea is mentioned, the court should ideally respond within an hour!
The Systemic Shift
Rules Over Discretion
While the Supreme Court has held famous “midnight hearings” before (like for urgent death penalty stays), they were ad-hoc. An SOP converts this unpredictable system into an official, guaranteed institution.

  • What is the Government’s Stand? The Solicitor-General agreed that an SOP is necessary, but suggested that the Supreme Court should prepare these rules internally on its administrative side, rather than passing a judicial court order.
  • Why this matters for Democracy: In a country governed by the Rule of Law, fundamental rights must exist in practice, not just on paper. The Constitution cannot go to sleep at night!

UPSC Prelims Quick Facts
Article 21 Protection of Life and Personal Liberty. Sudden, irreversible state actions (like night demolitions or custodial violence) directly violate this core fundamental right.
Article 32 Gives citizens the right to move the Supreme Court directly for constitutional remedies. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar called it the “heart and soul” of the Constitution.
Article 226 Empowers High Courts to issue writs for the enforcement of Fundamental Rights and for “any other purpose,” making its scope wider than Article 32.
Rule of Law The legal principle that no one is above the law and that state power must be exercised according to established legal rules, not arbitrary executive whim.

MCQ Practice Question
Q. With reference to constitutional remedies and judicial functioning in India, consider the following statements:

  1. The right to move the Supreme Court for the enforcement of Fundamental Rights under Article 32 is itself a Fundamental Right.
  2. High Courts in India cannot hear urgent petitions regarding personal liberty outside regular working hours under any circumstances.
  3. A Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for urgent hearings aims to transition the judicial response from an ad-hoc discretionary approach to an institutionalized mechanism.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only    (b) 1 and 3 only    (c) 2 and 3 only    (d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (b) 1 and 3 only

  • Statement 1 — Correct: Article 32 is included in Part III of the Constitution, making the right to constitutional remedies a Fundamental Right in itself.
  • Statement 2 — Incorrect (the trap): Both the Supreme Court and High Courts have historically conducted ad-hoc emergency hearings (including midnight or holiday hearings) to protect fundamental rights. There is no constitutional bar on hearing cases outside regular hours.
  • Statement 3 — Correct: The primary objective of the proposed SOP is to institutionalize urgent judicial access so that citizens do not have to depend solely on individual judicial discretion.
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