LEGAL NEWS
Supreme Court on Retirement Age of District Judges
• The Supreme Court of India, in All India Judges Association v. Union of India, directed seven consenting States to amend service rules and raise the retirement age of district judges from 60 to 62 years.
• The seven States are Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.
• The extension to 62 years will be subject to a suitability assessment by the concerned High Court when a judicial officer reaches the age of 60 years.
• Judicial officers in these seven States who have already crossed 60 years will not retire until 62 years, pending formal amendments to the respective service rules.
• District judges form part of the subordinate judiciary governed by Articles 233–237 of the Constitution; Article 233 specifically deals with the appointment of district judges and gives the High Court a constitutional role.
• The Court directed the States to complete the required amendments preferably within two months and clarified that ordinary State government employees cannot claim parity with judicial officers regarding the retirement age.
• The Court noted that judicial officers generally enter service later—around 27–28 years, with direct recruitment as Additional District Judge often requiring a minimum age of 35 years—and linked the extension to retaining experienced judges amid district-court pendency exceeding 5.18 crore cases.
• Non-consenting States have been given two weeks to reconsider their position, and the matter is scheduled for the next hearing on 1 October 2026.
APPOINTMENTS
Justice Sanjay Kumar Agrawal: Rajasthan High Court Chief Justice
• Justice Sanjay Kumar Agrawal was appointed the 44th regular Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court on 5 September 2026.
• Before this appointment, he was serving as a judge of the Chhattisgarh High Court.
• His appointment was part of the Central Government’s order appointing eight Chief Justices to different High Courts.
• The Supreme Court Collegium recommended his appointment for Rajasthan on 31 August 2026.
• The Collegium also proposed the transfer of Justice Pushpendra Singh Bhati, the second-most senior Rajasthan High Court judge, to the Jammu & Kashmir High Court.
• The Rajasthan High Court, established in 1949, has its principal seat at Jodhpur and a bench at Jaipur.
• Article 217 deals with the appointment of High Court judges, while Article 223 provides for an Acting Chief Justice when the office of Chief Justice is vacant.
• The Chief Justice heads the High Court and oversees case allocation, judicial rosters and administrative functions, while the Court exercises original, appellate and writ jurisdiction.
Eight New High Court Chief Justices Appointed
• The Central Government appointed eight Chief Justices to different High Courts on 5 September 2026, following approval by President Droupadi Murmu and recommendations of the Supreme Court Collegium.
• Justice Valluri Kameswar Rao was appointed Chief Justice of Patna High Court, while Justice Ravindra V. Ghuge became Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court.
• Justice Sanjay Kumar Agrawal was appointed Chief Justice of Rajasthan High Court, and Justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi became Chief Justice of Bombay High Court.
• Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra was elevated as Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court, while Justice Krushna Ram Mohapatra became Chief Justice of Chhattisgarh High Court.
• Justice Alpesh Yeshwant Kogje was appointed Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh High Court, and Justice Pushpendra Singh Bhati became Chief Justice of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court.
• Article 217 governs the appointment, tenure and conditions of service of High Court judges. The President makes appointments after the prescribed constitutional consultations.
• The Supreme Court Collegium recommends appointments and transfers in the higher judiciary, while the Ministry of Law and Justice issues the formal notification after presidential approval.
• A High Court is the highest judicial authority at the State/UT level, with the Chief Justice responsible for case allocation, administrative supervision and constitution of judicial rosters.
Giorgia Meloni – Longest-Serving Postwar Italian Prime Minister
• Giorgia Meloni became the longest continuously serving postwar Prime Minister of Italy on 4 September 2026, completing 1,413 consecutive days in office.
• Meloni assumed office on 22 October 2022 and leads the right-wing Brothers of Italy (Fratelli d’Italia) party; she is also Italy’s first woman Prime Minister.
• The Prime Minister of Italy is the head of government in Italy’s parliamentary system and serves in the context of maintaining parliamentary support.
• Meloni surpassed the previous postwar continuity record of 1,412 days, held by Silvio Berlusconi during his second administration (June 2001–April 2005).
• Italy has experienced significant political turnover, with 68 governments in approximately 80 years, reflecting the frequent changes in its postwar political history.
• On 4 September 2026, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Meloni on X, highlighting the close India–Italy relationship.
• Meloni responded by highlighting cooperation between India and Italy on the India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), a trans-regional connectivity initiative announced in 2023.
• The Brothers of Italy organised a public celebration in Bari on 4 September, while Italian authorities imposed high-security arrangements amid concerns over possible protests.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
International Day for Elimination of Child, Early and Forced Marriage
• The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on 4 September 2026 to observe 27 November every year as the International Day for the Elimination of Child, Early and Forced Marriage.
• The resolution was adopted by consensus by the 193-member United Nations and was presented by Dr. Fatima Maada Bio, First Lady of Sierra Leone.
• Child marriage refers to a formal marriage or informal union involving at least one person below 18 years, while forced marriage occurs without full and free consent.
• UNFPA estimates that around 640 million women and girls alive today were married during childhood, with about 12 million girls entering marriage before 18 each year.
• India’s Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat campaign was launched on 27 November 2024, making the date significant for both India and the new UN observance.
• Bhuwan Ribhu, founder of Just Rights for Children, played an advocacy role in promoting a dedicated international day against child marriage.
• Assam has reported more than 12,000 registered cases and 11,000 arrests, along with an 81% decline in child marriages across 20 districts.
• India’s NFHS recorded a decline in women aged 20–24 married before 18, from 23.3% (NFHS-5) to 20.1% (NFHS-6). India’s key law is the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006.
Rangpur-Sivasagar Historical Ensemble Added to UNESCO Tentative List
• The Rangpur-Sivasagar Historical Ensemble of Assam was added to UNESCO’s World Heritage Tentative List in 2026.
• India’s Permanent Mission to UNESCO submitted the nomination dossier on 19 June 2026 under cultural criteria (iii) and (iv).
• The Ahom dynasty ruled the Brahmaputra Valley from 1228 to 1826, with Sivasagar serving as its major political and ceremonial centre.
• The ensemble includes Rang Ghar, Talatal Ghar, Namdang Stone Bridge, and the historic tanks of Sivasagar, Joysagar and Gaurisagar.
• Rang Ghar is recognised as one of Asia’s oldest surviving amphitheatres, while Talatal Ghar represents Ahom-era palace and military architecture.
• UNESCO’s Tentative List contains properties that may be nominated for the World Heritage List in the future.
• With this addition and three other properties, India’s Tentative List reached 73 properties. The other additions include the Colonial Penal Settlement of the Andaman Islands, Nicobarese Cultural Continuity, and Painted Haveli Towns of Shekhawati.
• Charaideo Moidams, the royal burial mounds of the Ahom dynasty, became India’s 43rd UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2024, representing the dynasty’s funerary heritage.
UN “Correct the Map” Resolution 2026
• The UN General Assembly adopted the “Correct the Map” resolution on 4 September 2026 to address distortions in world maps.
• India voted in favour, supporting equal-area map projections generally, rather than endorsing only the Equal Earth projection.
• The resolution was sponsored by Togo and supported by the African Union, passing with 164 votes in favour.
• The United States voted against the resolution, while Estonia, Georgia, Lithuania, Moldova, Serbia and Ukraine abstained.
• The Mercator projection, developed in the 16th century, preserves direction but significantly distorts the area of regions at higher latitudes.
• Under Mercator, Africa appears nearly similar in size to Greenland, although Africa is actually about 14–15 times larger.
• India emphasised cartographic neutrality, stating that countries and institutions should remain free to choose map projections according to their requirements.
• Equal-area projections preserve the relative size of landmasses, while Equal Earth is one modern equal-area projection used in world mapping.
SPORTS
India–Japan First Men’s T20I – Suzuki Cup 2026
• India and Japan will play their first-ever men’s T20 International (T20I) on 22 September 2026 at the Sano International Cricket Ground, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan.
• The match, named the Suzuki Cup, will launch celebrations marking 75 years of India–Japan diplomatic relations, which will be formally completed in 2027.
• A T20 International (T20I) is an ICC-recognised match between national teams in which each side can bat for a maximum of 20 overs.
• India and Japan established diplomatic relations in 1952, making 2027 the 75th anniversary of their formal diplomatic ties.
• Sport 75 is a bilateral initiative promoting sporting cooperation and people-to-people exchanges between India and Japan, agreed during a summit between PM Narendra Modi and PM Sanae Takaichi.
• The BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) is India’s national cricket governing body, while the Japan Cricket Association (JCA) governs cricket in Japan.
• The Sano International Cricket Ground has a spectator capacity of approximately 500, and the fixture is planned as a warm-up match for the cricket tournament at the Asian Games 2026.
• Japan is an Associate Member of the ICC (International Cricket Council), with its men’s cricket developing through bilateral matches, domestic competitions and participation in regional Asian cricket events.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
ISRO GSLV-F17 and EOS-05 Mission 2026
• ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) launched GSLV-F17 on 4 September 2026 from the Second Launch Pad, Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.
• The 51.7-metre-tall GSLV-F17 carried the 2,367-kg EOS-05 Earth observation satellite and placed it into a Sub-Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (Sub-GTO) about 18–19 minutes after liftoff.
• GSLV (Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle) is a three-stage launch vehicle primarily used to place heavier satellites into geosynchronous transfer orbits; GSLV-F17 marked the 19th GSLV mission and the 107th launch from Sriharikota.
• EOS-05 is an Earth observation satellite designed for operation from a geosynchronous orbit at around 36,000 km altitude, providing frequent observation of the Indian subcontinent.
• The satellite is intended to transmit real-time images approximately every 30 minutes and has an expected operational life of about nine years.
• Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC), located on Sriharikota island, is India’s primary spaceport, while its Second Launch Pad supports orbital missions using PSLV and GSLV-class launch vehicles.
• A geosynchronous orbit is located at approximately 35,786 km above the equator, while Earth observation satellites support applications such as agriculture, disaster management, mapping, weather studies and environmental monitoring.
• ISRO plans six more launches during the current financial year, including the NVS-03 navigation satellite, while also progressing towards the first uncrewed mission of the Gaganyaan human spaceflight programme.
SUMMIT AND CONFERENCE
BRICS Chief Justices’ Forum 2026
• India hosted the three-day BRICS Chief Justices’ Forum in New Delhi from 4–6 September 2026, ahead of the 18th BRICS Summit.
• The forum is a judicial cooperation platform associated with BRICS, bringing together Chief Justices and senior judicial leaders of member states and invited partner countries.
• Chief Justice of India Justice Surya Kant inaugurated the forum on 4 September 2026 and held bilateral meetings with judicial heads from several countries.
• The bilateral discussions involved Russia, China, Egypt, Indonesia, UAE, Belarus, Kazakhstan, South Africa, Iran and Uzbekistan, focusing on strengthening judicial cooperation.
• Key issues included modern jurisprudence, Artificial Intelligence (AI) in judicial administration, international commercial mediation, sustainable development and cross-border enforcement of arbitral awards.
• Russia’s Chief Justice Igor Krasnov arrived in New Delhi for the forum and was received by Russian Ambassador to India Denis Alipov.
• Iran’s Head of Judiciary, Ayatollah Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, also visited New Delhi for the forum and visited Jama Masjid during his stay.
• BRICS originally comprised Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa; the forum reflects India’s role in promoting international judicial cooperation and dialogue alongside its wider BRICS engagement.
