Landmark Constitutional Law Cases in India
A topic-wise guide to 53 important Supreme Court decisions on the Constitution of India. Trace legal issues, essential facts, rulings and subsequent changes, then open the complete judgment.
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Amendment power, basic structure and constitutional identity
7 landmark judgments
I.C. Golak Nath v. State of Punjab
Legal issue: Could Parliament amend Fundamental Rights under Article 368?
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Brief material facts
Landholders questioned the Seventeenth Constitutional Amendment and protection given to agrarian legislation.
Judgment and binding principle
By six votes to five, the Court held that Parliament could not abridge Fundamental Rights through constitutional amendment. It applied prospective overruling to preserve earlier amendments.
Why this matters and subsequent treatment
Its restrictive approach to amendment power was superseded by Kesavananda Bharati (1973).
Judgment source: Supreme Court full judgment, public Indian Kanoon transcription
Kesavananda Bharati Sripadagalvaru v. State of Kerala
Legal issue: Are there substantive limits on constitutional amendment under Article 368?
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Brief material facts
A religious institution challenged Kerala land reform laws and the Twenty-fourth, Twenty-fifth and Twenty-ninth Amendments.
Judgment and binding principle
A thirteen-judge bench, by a narrow majority, held that Parliament can amend any constitutional provision but cannot destroy or damage the Constitution’s basic structure. The judgments identified features such as constitutional supremacy, limited government and judicial review, without issuing one exhaustive list.
Why this matters and subsequent treatment
The foundational limitation on Parliament’s constituent power. Later cases operationalise its test.
Judgment source: Supreme Court full judgment, public Indian Kanoon transcription
Indira Nehru Gandhi v. Raj Narain
Legal issue: Could a constitutional amendment place one Prime Ministerial election beyond judicial adjudication?
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Brief material facts
The Thirty-ninth Amendment attempted to insulate the Prime Minister’s disputed election from ordinary election adjudication.
Judgment and binding principle
The Court struck down Article 329A(4) because its special immunity damaged constitutional democracy, electoral fairness and the rule of law. The case demonstrates the basic-structure test outside land reform.
Why this matters and subsequent treatment
Distinguish this final November 1975 constitutional ruling from the earlier June 1975 interim stay order.
Judgment source: Supreme Court full judgment, public Indian Kanoon transcription
Minerva Mills Ltd. v. Union of India
Legal issue: Could the Forty-second Amendment make the amending power unlimited and place all Directive Principles above Articles 14 and 19?
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Brief material facts
The petition involved takeover of a textile undertaking and challenges to Sections 4 and 55 of the Forty-second Amendment.
Judgment and binding principle
The Court invalidated the enlarged Article 31C and clauses (4) and (5) added to Article 368. Limited amending power and harmony between Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles were treated as basic features.
Why this matters and subsequent treatment
Read with Property Owners Association (2024) concerning survival of the earlier, narrower Article 31C.
Judgment source: Supreme Court full judgment, public Indian Kanoon transcription
I.R. Coelho v. State of Tamil Nadu
Legal issue: Are post-Kesavananda additions to the Ninth Schedule immune from constitutional scrutiny?
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Brief material facts
Petitioners challenged legislative immunities claimed for laws placed under Article 31B and the Ninth Schedule.
Judgment and binding principle
A nine-judge bench held that Ninth Schedule insertions made after 24 April 1973 remain reviewable under the basic-structure doctrine. A law’s impact on the essence of protected Fundamental Rights is relevant to the test.
Why this matters and subsequent treatment
Protects judicial review against the use of Article 31B as absolute immunity.
Judgment source: Supreme Court full judgment, public Indian Kanoon transcription
Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association v. Union of India
Legal issue: Did the Ninety-ninth Amendment and NJAC Act undermine judicial independence?
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Brief material facts
The constitutional and statutory scheme redesigned appointments to the Supreme Court and High Courts.
Judgment and binding principle
By majority, the Constitution Bench invalidated the Ninety-ninth Amendment and National Judicial Appointments Commission Act, 2014 as damaging judicial independence. The collegium system consequently continued.
Dissenting opinion
Justice J. Chelameswar dissented from the majority finding of unconstitutionality.
Why this matters and subsequent treatment
Justice J. Chelameswar dissented, supporting the NJAC model.
Judgment source: Supreme Court full judgment, public Indian Kanoon transcription
In Re: Article 370 of the Constitution
Legal issue: Was the 2019 constitutional process changing Jammu and Kashmir’s special status valid?
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Brief material facts
Petitions challenged the President’s 2019 orders and the reorganisation of the former State of Jammu and Kashmir.
Judgment and binding principle
The five-judge bench unanimously upheld the 2019 measures abrogating the special status under Article 370. It discussed the provision’s temporary character, federal structure and the limits of Presidential power.
Why this matters and subsequent treatment
The Court directed the holding of legislative assembly elections by 30 September 2024 and reiterated restoration of statehood at the earliest; those were case-specific directions.
Judgment source: Supreme Court full judgment, public Indian Kanoon transcription
Secularism, federalism and constitutional institutions
4 landmark judgments
S.R. Bommai v. Union of India
Legal issue: When may Article 356 President’s Rule be used, and can courts review it?
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Brief material facts
Dismissal of several State governments following reports by Governors was judicially challenged.
Judgment and binding principle
The nine-judge bench confirmed judicial review of Article 356 proclamations, demanded relevant objective material, and placed emphasis on testing legislative majority on the floor of the House. Secularism is part of the basic structure.
Guidelines or directions
Floor test is ordinarily the appropriate method for deciding whether a ministry enjoys Assembly confidence.
Why this matters and subsequent treatment
A core decision for federalism, parliamentary confidence and misuse of emergency power.
Judgment source: Supreme Court full judgment, public Indian Kanoon transcription
State of Punjab v. Principal Secretary to the Governor of Punjab
Legal issue: May a Governor indefinitely withhold action on Bills passed by an elected legislature?
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Brief material facts
Punjab raised grievances concerning legislative Bills pending before its Governor.
Judgment and binding principle
The Court emphasised that a Governor is an unelected constitutional head and cannot frustrate the law-making process through prolonged inaction. Its application to Articles 200 and 201 must now be read alongside the November 2025 Presidential Reference.
Why this matters and subsequent treatment
The November 2025 opinion clarified the constitutional options and limits of judicially prescribed timelines.
Judgment source: Supreme Court full judgment, public Indian Kanoon transcription
State of Tamil Nadu v. Governor of Tamil Nadu
Legal issue: What remedies exist when a Governor delays assent to State Bills?
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Brief material facts
The Tamil Nadu government questioned prolonged inaction regarding Bills and later reservation of re-passed Bills.
Judgment and binding principle
The two-judge Court criticised prolonged inaction, formulated timelines and applied Article 142 to treat particular Bills as having received assent.
Why this matters and subsequent treatment
Crucial subsequent treatment: the five-judge Presidential Reference of 20 November 2025 rejected judicially prescribed timelines and deemed assent. The earlier judgment must not be cited alone as the prevailing rule.
Judgment source: Supreme Court full judgment, public Indian Kanoon transcription
In Re: Assent, Withholding or Reservation of Bills by the Governor and the President of India
Legal issue: Can courts impose timelines or deemed assent under Articles 200, 201 and 142?
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Brief material facts
The President referred fourteen constitutional questions after disagreement over State Bill assent and the Tamil Nadu decision.
Judgment and binding principle
The five-judge bench opined that courts cannot supply constitutionally absent timelines or treat Bills as having received deemed assent. It distinguished the exercise of assent from limited judicial intervention against prolonged inaction.
Why this matters and subsequent treatment
Authoritative later explanation for Governor and President assent disputes. An Article 143 opinion must be read precisely in its advisory context.
Judgment source: Complete published judgment, non-official mirror
Equality, reservations and substantive justice
6 landmark judgments
State of Madras v. Champakam Dorairajan
Legal issue: Were community-based educational admission quotas compatible with Articles 15 and 29(2)?
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Brief material facts
The Madras Communal Government Order allocated medical and engineering seats using communal categories.
Judgment and binding principle
The Court struck down the admission arrangement under Fundamental Rights and held that Directive Principles could not override specific Part III guarantees.
Why this matters and subsequent treatment
The First Constitutional Amendment introduced Article 15(4). Later affirmative-action law substantially qualifies the historical result.
Judgment source: Supreme Court full judgment, public Indian Kanoon transcription
E.P. Royappa v. State of Tamil Nadu
Legal issue: Does arbitrary executive action engage Article 14?
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Brief material facts
A senior civil servant questioned his transfer from Chief Secretary and subsequent treatment.
Judgment and binding principle
The judgment developed the connection between equality and the prohibition of arbitrariness. However, Royappa’s particular service challenge was not allowed.
Why this matters and subsequent treatment
The anti-arbitrariness approach influenced Maneka Gandhi and later equality decisions.
Judgment source: Supreme Court full judgment, public Indian Kanoon transcription
Indra Sawhney v. Union of India
Legal issue: What limits apply to backward-class reservation in public employment?
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Brief material facts
The Mandal Commission-based decision providing 27 per cent reservation for Other Backward Classes faced constitutional challenge.
Judgment and binding principle
The nine-judge bench upheld OBC reservation, required exclusion of the creamy layer from OBC benefits, and articulated an ordinarily applicable 50 per cent ceiling with exceptional circumstances recognised. It distinguished reservation in appointments from promotion under Article 16(4) as then interpreted.
Why this matters and subsequent treatment
Must be read with subsequent constitutional amendments and decisions concerning promotions, EWS and SC sub-classification.
Judgment source: Supreme Court full judgment, public Indian Kanoon transcription
National Legal Services Authority v. Union of India
Legal issue: Do transgender persons enjoy constitutional recognition of self-identified gender?
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Brief material facts
The petition challenged exclusion and discrimination faced by transgender communities in public life.
Judgment and binding principle
The Court recognised gender identity, including self-identification, as protected under Articles 14, 15, 16, 19 and 21. It directed governments to take steps for legal recognition and social inclusion.
Guidelines or directions
The judgment directed recognition of transgender persons’ gender identity and measures regarding public education, healthcare and welfare.
Why this matters and subsequent treatment
The decision supplies a rights-based foundation for later transgender legislation and litigation.
Judgment source: Supreme Court full judgment, public Indian Kanoon transcription
Janhit Abhiyan v. Union of India
Legal issue: Does EWS reservation under the 103rd Amendment violate the basic structure?
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Brief material facts
Challenges targeted Articles 15(6) and 16(6), which introduced up to ten per cent reservation for economically weaker sections.
Judgment and binding principle
A three-to-two majority upheld the constitutional amendment. The dissent questioned exclusion of SC, ST and OBC communities from the EWS category.
Dissenting opinion
Justice S. Ravindra Bhat, joined by Chief Justice U.U. Lalit, dissented.
Why this matters and subsequent treatment
Central authority for EWS constitutional design.
Judgment source: Supreme Court full judgment, public Indian Kanoon transcription
State of Punjab v. Davinder Singh
Legal issue: Can States sub-classify Scheduled Castes for more equitable distribution of reservations?
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Brief material facts
The appeals concerned Punjab’s prioritisation of particular groups within Scheduled Caste reservation.
Judgment and binding principle
By six votes to one, the seven-judge bench permitted sub-classification within Scheduled Castes for reservation, subject to constitutional constraints and supporting material. It overruled E.V. Chinnaiah v. State of Andhra Pradesh (2004).
Dissenting opinion
Justice Bela M. Trivedi dissented.
Why this matters and subsequent treatment
Justice Bela M. Trivedi dissented. Sub-classification should not be confused with changing the Presidential list under Article 341.
Judgment source: Supreme Court full judgment, public Indian Kanoon transcription
Article 21, privacy, dignity and personal liberty
11 landmark judgments
A.K. Gopalan v. State of Madras
Legal issue: How should Article 21 operate in preventive detention challenges?
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Brief material facts
A communist leader challenged detention under the Preventive Detention Act, 1950.
Judgment and binding principle
The majority employed a relatively compartmentalised reading of Fundamental Rights and procedure established by law.
Why this matters and subsequent treatment
Its restrictive approach to the relationship among Articles 14, 19 and 21 was rejected in later jurisprudence, especially Maneka Gandhi.
Judgment source: Supreme Court full judgment, public Indian Kanoon transcription
Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India
Legal issue: Must a law or procedure restricting personal liberty be fair and reasonable?
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Brief material facts
Maneka Gandhi challenged impounding of her passport and the failure to give reasons and a meaningful opportunity to be heard.
Judgment and binding principle
The Court read Articles 14, 19 and 21 together. Procedure depriving liberty cannot be arbitrary, unfair or unreasonable, and natural justice may be required even where a statute is silent.
Why this matters and subsequent treatment
A foundational turning point in Indian due process and proportionality reasoning.
Judgment source: Supreme Court full judgment, public Indian Kanoon transcription
Olga Tellis v. Bombay Municipal Corporation
Legal issue: Is livelihood protected by Article 21 when pavement dwellers face removal?
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Brief material facts
Pavement and slum residents contested eviction in Bombay and loss of opportunities to earn.
Judgment and binding principle
The Court held that livelihood forms an integral aspect of Article 21. It nevertheless recognised municipal authority to remove encroachments subject to applicable law and fairness.
Why this matters and subsequent treatment
Do not cite the case as creating an unconditional right to occupy public land.
Judgment source: Supreme Court full judgment, public Indian Kanoon transcription
D.K. Basu v. State of West Bengal
Legal issue: What minimum safeguards govern arrest and custodial detention?
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Brief material facts
Letters about custodial deaths and police abuse prompted constitutional proceedings.
Judgment and binding principle
The Court articulated protective arrest and detention requirements to prevent torture and unrecorded custody. These directions operated alongside constitutional and criminal procedure safeguards.
Guidelines or directions
Among the directions were visible officer identification, a contemporaneous arrest memo, notification of a friend or relative, medical examination, diary entries, access to counsel during interrogation at permitted intervals and magistrate information.
Why this matters and subsequent treatment
Review present criminal procedure legislation for the currently governing statutory text.
Judgment source: Supreme Court full judgment, public Indian Kanoon transcription
Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan
Legal issue: Could courts protect women against workplace sexual harassment despite a legislative gap?
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Brief material facts
A public interest petition followed the sexual violence faced by a Rajasthan social worker, exposing inadequate workplace protections.
Judgment and binding principle
The Court treated sexual harassment as an infringement of equality, dignity and occupational freedom. It issued enforceable Vishaka Guidelines pending legislation.
Guidelines or directions
The guidelines required prevention policies, complaints mechanisms, independent participation on complaints committees, awareness and appropriate disciplinary or criminal steps.
Why this matters and subsequent treatment
The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 now supplies the principal statutory framework.
Judgment source: Supreme Court full judgment, public Indian Kanoon transcription
Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) v. Union of India
Legal issue: Is privacy a constitutionally protected Fundamental Right?
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Brief material facts
Aadhaar-related litigation raised whether privacy was protected by Part III despite earlier precedents.
Judgment and binding principle
All nine judges held that privacy is intrinsic to dignity, autonomy and the freedoms protected by the Constitution. The decision repudiated contrary strands in M.P. Sharma and Kharak Singh, and expressly disapproved ADM Jabalpur’s emergency reasoning.
Why this matters and subsequent treatment
It supplies the baseline for state surveillance, data protection and personal autonomy disputes.
Judgment source: Supreme Court full judgment, public Indian Kanoon transcription
Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) v. Union of India (Aadhaar)
Legal issue: Was the Aadhaar Act compatible with privacy and constitutional guarantees?
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Brief material facts
The challenge addressed biometric identity enrolment, authentication, private use and Aadhaar’s classification as a Money Bill.
Judgment and binding principle
The majority substantially upheld the Aadhaar Act while invalidating or reading down certain uses and provisions, including broad private-entity authentication under Section 57 as then framed.
Dissenting opinion
Justice D.Y. Chandrachud dissented.
Why this matters and subsequent treatment
Justice D.Y. Chandrachud dissented, including on the Money Bill issue. Subsequent legislation and judgments require separate checking for present Aadhaar obligations.
Judgment source: Supreme Court full judgment, public Indian Kanoon transcription
Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India
Legal issue: Could Section 377 criminalise consensual adult same-sex intimacy?
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Brief material facts
Petitioners challenged criminal penalties that affected same-sex adults and reinforced discrimination.
Judgment and binding principle
The Constitution Bench unanimously read down Section 377 IPC insofar as it criminalised consensual private intimacy between adults. It relied on dignity, autonomy, equality and freedom of expression.
Why this matters and subsequent treatment
The ruling concerned consensual adult acts and did not decide a right to same-sex marriage.
Judgment source: Supreme Court full judgment, public Indian Kanoon transcription
Common Cause v. Union of India
Legal issue: Does Article 21 protect dignified withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment?
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Brief material facts
The petition sought legal recognition of advance medical directives and permissible passive euthanasia.
Judgment and binding principle
The Court recognised a right to die with dignity in defined medical circumstances and established safeguards for advance directives and treatment withdrawal.
Guidelines or directions
The judgment set out requirements for advance directives, medical assessment boards and decisions taken in a patient’s best interests.
Why this matters and subsequent treatment
The procedural directions were simplified by the Supreme Court in 2023 and applied in Harish Rana (2026).
Judgment source: Supreme Court full judgment, public Indian Kanoon transcription
X v. Principal Secretary, Health and Family Welfare Department, Government of NCT of Delhi
Legal issue: Does the Medical Termination of Pregnancy framework discriminate against unmarried women?
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Brief material facts
An unmarried woman sought termination after a change in her relationship circumstances.
Judgment and binding principle
The Court interpreted Rule 3B purposively to avoid excluding unmarried women from specified access to abortion between twenty and twenty-four weeks. It affirmed reproductive autonomy and equality under Articles 14 and 21.
Why this matters and subsequent treatment
The decision depends on statutory conditions and medical opinions; it does not provide an unrestricted right to abortion in every circumstance.
Judgment source: Supreme Court full judgment, public Indian Kanoon transcription
Harish Rana v. Union of India
Legal issue: Can clinically assisted nutrition and hydration be withdrawn under passive-euthanasia safeguards?
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Brief material facts
The applicant remained in a long-standing irreversible vegetative state. Medical boards and his family supported the proposed treatment withdrawal.
Judgment and binding principle
The Supreme Court permitted withdrawal under a palliative-care protocol after applying the Common Cause framework. It explained that clinically assisted nutrition and hydration can constitute life-sustaining medical treatment.
Why this matters and subsequent treatment
An important 2026 application of the right to dignity; its detailed medical safeguards remain case-sensitive.
Judgment source: Supreme Court full judgment, public Indian Kanoon transcription
Speech, press and digital freedoms
4 landmark judgments
Romesh Thappar v. State of Madras
Legal issue: Did a State ban on a political journal comply with Article 19(1)(a)?
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Brief material facts
Madras prohibited entry and circulation of the English weekly Cross Roads.
Judgment and binding principle
The Supreme Court invalidated the restriction under the then-applicable text of Article 19(2), distinguishing public order from narrower constitutional grounds available at that time.
Why this matters and subsequent treatment
The First Amendment subsequently expanded Article 19(2). Do not apply the 1950 wording without this change.
Judgment source: Supreme Court full judgment, public Indian Kanoon transcription
Bennett Coleman & Co. v. Union of India
Legal issue: Could newsprint controls indirectly curtail freedom of the press?
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Brief material facts
Newspaper publishers challenged restrictions on newsprint allocation, page limits and expansion.
Judgment and binding principle
The Court held that press freedom under Article 19(1)(a) protects meaningful publication and circulation. Economic regulations cannot operate as impermissible restraints on editorial freedom.
Why this matters and subsequent treatment
Useful for both direct and indirect restrictions on expressive activity.
Judgment source: Supreme Court full judgment, public Indian Kanoon transcription
Shreya Singhal v. Union of India
Legal issue: Was Section 66A of the Information Technology Act a constitutionally valid online speech offence?
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Brief material facts
Section 66A penalised vague categories of allegedly offensive or annoying online communications.
Judgment and binding principle
The Court struck Section 66A down for violating Article 19(1)(a). It distinguished discussion and advocacy from incitement and construed intermediary takedown obligations under Section 79 narrowly.
Why this matters and subsequent treatment
Section 66A remains unconstitutional. Later developments in intermediary law must be assessed independently.
Judgment source: Supreme Court full judgment, public Indian Kanoon transcription
Anuradha Bhasin v. Union of India
Legal issue: Are indefinite internet restrictions compatible with constitutional freedoms?
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Brief material facts
Journalists and others challenged communication shutdowns and movement restrictions in Jammu and Kashmir.
Judgment and binding principle
The Court held that expression and business using the internet receive constitutional protection. Restrictions require legality, necessity, proportionality, publication of orders and periodic review. It did not recognise an unrestricted standalone right to internet access.
Guidelines or directions
Internet suspension orders must be made available for scrutiny, cannot be indefinite and must undergo periodic review.
Why this matters and subsequent treatment
Key authority for internet shutdown challenges and proportionality review.
Judgment source: Supreme Court full judgment, public Indian Kanoon transcription
Religion, conscience and minority rights
6 landmark judgments
Commissioner, Hindu Religious Endowments, Madras v. Sri Lakshmindra Thirtha Swamiar of Sri Shirur Mutt
Legal issue: Which aspects of religious practice and administration are protected under Articles 25 and 26?
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Brief material facts
A religious math challenged provisions regulating Hindu religious endowments and administrative control.
Judgment and binding principle
The Court distinguished religious matters from secular administration and established an influential approach to essential religious practices.
Why this matters and subsequent treatment
A foundational but contested doctrine requiring comparison with subsequent religious freedom decisions.
Judgment source: Supreme Court full judgment, public Indian Kanoon transcription
Bijoe Emmanuel v. State of Kerala
Legal issue: Could students be expelled for respectfully declining to sing the National Anthem?
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Brief material facts
Jehovah’s Witness schoolchildren stood respectfully but refused to sing because of genuine religious conviction.
Judgment and binding principle
The Supreme Court protected freedom of conscience and expression under Articles 19(1)(a) and 25. The children had not shown disrespect.
Why this matters and subsequent treatment
Illustrates that constitutional patriotism cannot be enforced through unsupported compulsion.
Judgment source: Supreme Court full judgment, public Indian Kanoon transcription
Shayara Bano v. Union of India
Legal issue: Was instant and irrevocable triple talaq legally valid?
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Brief material facts
Shayara Bano questioned a unilateral instant divorce and the legal validity of talaq-e-biddat.
Judgment and binding principle
A three-to-two majority set aside talaq-e-biddat. The judges arrived at that outcome through different legal reasoning, including statutory interpretation and manifest arbitrariness.
Dissenting opinion
Chief Justice J.S. Khehar and Justice S. Abdul Nazeer dissented from the result.
Why this matters and subsequent treatment
Avoid presenting every majority opinion as resting on the same constitutional ground.
Judgment source: Supreme Court full judgment, public Indian Kanoon transcription
Indian Young Lawyers Association v. State of Kerala
Legal issue: Was excluding women of menstruating age from Sabarimala Temple constitutional?
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Brief material facts
A PIL challenged a long-standing restriction on entry of women aged approximately ten to fifty.
Judgment and binding principle
By four votes to one, the Court held the entry exclusion unconstitutional under the governing statutory and constitutional framework.
Dissenting opinion
Justice Indu Malhotra dissented, emphasising religious autonomy and limits of PIL review.
Why this matters and subsequent treatment
Review and larger-bench questions concerning religious freedom remained the subject of further proceedings; check their current procedural status before litigation use.
Judgment source: Supreme Court full judgment, public Indian Kanoon transcription
T.M.A. Pai Foundation v. State of Karnataka
Legal issue: How far may States regulate educational institutions, including minority institutions?
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Brief material facts
Numerous challenges concerned admission, fee regulation and autonomy of privately established colleges.
Judgment and binding principle
An eleven-judge bench addressed the right to establish and administer educational institutions under Articles 19(1)(g), 29 and 30, permitting reasonable regulation without destroying minority character.
Why this matters and subsequent treatment
Read with P.A. Inamdar and later regulatory legislation on professional education.
Judgment source: Supreme Court full judgment, public Indian Kanoon transcription
Aligarh Muslim University v. Naresh Agarwal
Legal issue: Can an institution established through legislation qualify as a minority educational institution?
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Brief material facts
The seven-judge bench examined the legal test for minority status in litigation concerning Aligarh Muslim University.
Judgment and binding principle
The majority rejected a categorical rule that incorporation by statute necessarily defeats minority status, overruling the contrary reasoning of Azeez Basha. It laid down tests but did not finally determine AMU’s own status.
Dissenting opinion
Three judges dissented on material aspects of the majority’s approach.
Why this matters and subsequent treatment
The question whether AMU satisfies the revised standard was remitted for later adjudication.
Judgment source: Supreme Court full judgment, public Indian Kanoon transcription
Judicial review, PIL and access to justice
3 landmark judgments
Additional District Magistrate, Jabalpur v. Shivakant Shukla
Legal issue: Could detained persons seek habeas corpus during the Emergency suspension of enforcement of rights?
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Brief material facts
Emergency-era detentions and Presidential orders restricting remedies produced a constitutional challenge.
Judgment and binding principle
The majority denied habeas corpus relief in the circumstances. Justice H.R. Khanna famously dissented in favour of the rule of law and personal liberty.
Dissenting opinion
Justice H.R. Khanna dissented.
Why this matters and subsequent treatment
The majority’s position was expressly overruled in Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (2017); it is included as a historical caution, not prevailing law.
Judgment source: Supreme Court full judgment, public Indian Kanoon transcription
Bandhua Mukti Morcha v. Union of India
Legal issue: May a letter alleging bonded labour trigger public interest proceedings under Article 32?
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Brief material facts
Activists reported bonded labour and severe working conditions at stone quarries.
Judgment and binding principle
The Court accepted flexible standing and procedure to protect vulnerable workers’ fundamental rights. It allowed fact-finding and appropriate remedial directions.
Why this matters and subsequent treatment
Important for PIL standing, constitutional remedies and enforcement of Articles 21 and 23.
Judgment source: Supreme Court full judgment, public Indian Kanoon transcription
L. Chandra Kumar v. Union of India
Legal issue: May tribunal legislation exclude High Court constitutional judicial review?
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Brief material facts
Challenges involved constitutional and statutory provisions restricting court scrutiny of tribunal decisions.
Judgment and binding principle
A seven-judge bench held that judicial review under Articles 226, 227 and 32 forms part of the basic structure. Tribunal decisions remain subject to scrutiny by the relevant High Court.
Why this matters and subsequent treatment
Preserves the supervisory constitutional role of High Courts over tribunals.
Judgment source: Supreme Court full judgment, public Indian Kanoon transcription
Elections and democratic accountability
4 landmark judgments
People’s Union for Civil Liberties v. Union of India (NOTA)
Legal issue: Must voters be able to register a secret choice rejecting all candidates?
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Brief material facts
The challenge concerned secrecy when electors chose not to vote for any candidate.
Judgment and binding principle
The Court directed the Election Commission to introduce the None of the Above option in EVMs and ballots, preserving secrecy of negative voting.
Guidelines or directions
Directed suitable changes in EVMs/ballots and voter awareness concerning NOTA.
Why this matters and subsequent treatment
NOTA does not itself automatically invalidate the election or require a fresh poll.
Judgment source: Supreme Court full judgment, public Indian Kanoon transcription
Anoop Baranwal v. Union of India
Legal issue: What interim constitutional process should govern appointment of Election Commissioners?
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Brief material facts
Petitions challenged lack of an independent appointments procedure under Article 324(2).
Judgment and binding principle
The Court prescribed an interim selection committee comprising the Prime Minister, opposition leader and Chief Justice until Parliament enacted a law.
Guidelines or directions
The selection committee arrangement was explicitly interim, pending Parliamentary legislation.
Why this matters and subsequent treatment
Parliament enacted the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023. The court-made interim process should not be treated as the continuing statutory rule.
Judgment source: Supreme Court full judgment, public Indian Kanoon transcription
Association for Democratic Reforms v. Union of India (Electoral Bonds)
Legal issue: Were anonymous electoral bonds and unlimited corporate donations constitutional?
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Brief material facts
Petitioners challenged the 2018 electoral bond scheme and connected 2017 statutory amendments.
Judgment and binding principle
A five-judge bench held the anonymity regime unconstitutional under voters’ Article 19(1)(a) right to information. It also held removal of the corporate contribution ceiling arbitrary under Article 14.
Guidelines or directions
The Court directed disclosure of bond-related information through the prescribed institutions.
Why this matters and subsequent treatment
A central modern judgment linking political financing, expression and democratic accountability.
Judgment source: Supreme Court full judgment, public Indian Kanoon transcription
Association for Democratic Reforms v. Election Commission of India
Legal issue: What is the Election Commission’s power to undertake special intensive revision of electoral rolls?
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Brief material facts
The Bihar Special Intensive Revision was challenged on jurisdictional, fairness and voter-exclusion grounds.
Judgment and binding principle
The Court recognised power to undertake revision and a limited citizenship-related inquiry for electoral eligibility. It distinguished this from conclusively deciding citizenship under the Citizenship Act. Procedural safeguards and referrals to competent authorities were required.
Guidelines or directions
Where electoral eligibility is doubted on citizenship grounds, the issue cannot amount to a final citizenship determination; referral to competent government authority is required.
Why this matters and subsequent treatment
A significant 2026 decision concerning Articles 324 to 326 and the Representation of the People Act, 1950.
Judgment source: Supreme Court of India official judgment PDF
Education and socio-economic rights
3 landmark judgments
Mohini Jain v. State of Karnataka
Legal issue: Did capitation-fee policies offend the constitutional right to education?
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Brief material facts
A medical-college applicant challenged high admission fees imposed under a State arrangement.
Judgment and binding principle
The Court held education closely connected with life and dignity and invalidated exploitative admission charging.
Why this matters and subsequent treatment
Its broad right-to-education formulation was refined by Unni Krishnan (1993), and later Article 21A was added.
Judgment source: Supreme Court full judgment, public Indian Kanoon transcription
Unni Krishnan, J.P. v. State of Andhra Pradesh
Legal issue: What extent of education is protected under Article 21?
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Brief material facts
Private professional college regulation and capitation fees raised questions about access and state obligations.
Judgment and binding principle
The Court recognised free education for children up to fourteen as protected by Article 21, subjecting education beyond that age to economic capacity and development.
Why this matters and subsequent treatment
Its admissions scheme was later displaced by T.M.A. Pai. Article 21A subsequently constitutionalised free compulsory education for ages six to fourteen.
Judgment source: Supreme Court full judgment, public Indian Kanoon transcription
Dr. Jaya Thakur v. Government of India
Legal issue: Do menstrual-hygiene barriers interfere with schoolgirls’ dignity, equality and education?
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Brief material facts
A PIL sought sanitary products, toilets and hygiene education for schoolgirls.
Judgment and binding principle
The Court linked menstrual hygiene to Articles 14, 21 and 21A and issued nationwide directions on sanitation, products, awareness and implementation.
Guidelines or directions
Required compliance with standards covering menstrual-hygiene facilities and education, with specified oversight and reporting.
Why this matters and subsequent treatment
The 2026 judgment issued a continuing mandamus and compliance directions affecting Union, State and school authorities.
Judgment source: Supreme Court full judgment, public Indian Kanoon transcription
Environment, climate and constitutional duties
3 landmark judgments
M.C. Mehta v. Union of India (Oleum Gas Leak)
Legal issue: What civil liability attaches to enterprises conducting inherently hazardous activities?
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Brief material facts
A toxic gas leak at an industrial facility near Delhi raised public-safety and compensation questions.
Judgment and binding principle
The Court developed the doctrine of absolute liability for enterprises conducting hazardous or inherently dangerous activity, not subject to the traditional Rylands v. Fletcher exceptions.
Why this matters and subsequent treatment
A foundational environmental tort and constitutional-remedy decision.
Judgment source: Supreme Court full judgment, public Indian Kanoon transcription
Vellore Citizens Welfare Forum v. Union of India
Legal issue: What principles govern industrial water pollution and compensation?
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Brief material facts
Untreated tannery discharges polluted agricultural land and water sources in Tamil Nadu.
Judgment and binding principle
The Court recognised the precautionary and polluter-pays principles as components of Indian environmental law. It ordered regulatory, remedial and compensation measures.
Guidelines or directions
Set out treatment-plant, enforcement, environmental compensation and pollution-control measures for affected industries.
Why this matters and subsequent treatment
The directives address both prevention and restoration of environmental harm.
Judgment source: Supreme Court full judgment, public Indian Kanoon transcription
M.K. Ranjitsinh v. Union of India
Legal issue: Does the Constitution protect people against adverse effects of climate change?
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Brief material facts
Litigation concerning power lines, renewable energy and protection of the Great Indian Bustard raised competing environmental concerns.
Judgment and binding principle
The Supreme Court identified a right against adverse effects of climate change grounded in Articles 14 and 21, while balancing conservation and renewable-energy commitments.
Why this matters and subsequent treatment
One of the leading recent decisions explaining the constitutional basis of climate-related rights.
Judgment source: Supreme Court full judgment, public Indian Kanoon transcription
Property, distribution and directive principles
2 landmark judgments
Kolkata Municipal Corporation v. Bimal Kumar Shah
Legal issue: What procedural safeguards must accompany deprivation of property under Article 300A?
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Brief material facts
A dispute over municipal acquisition of land raised the legitimacy of State deprivation without sufficient procedure.
Judgment and binding principle
The Court described procedural protections within Article 300A, including notice, hearing, reasoned decision and appropriate compensation, as elements of a valid property-acquisition process.
Why this matters and subsequent treatment
Property is a constitutional, though no longer a Part III, right; acquisition must satisfy authority of law.
Judgment source: Supreme Court full judgment, public Indian Kanoon transcription
Property Owners Association v. State of Maharashtra
Legal issue: Are all privately owned assets automatically material resources of the community under Article 39(b)?
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Brief material facts
The nine-judge bench considered the scope of Article 39(b), private ownership and the survival of the narrower Article 31C.
Judgment and binding principle
The majority rejected the view that every privately owned resource automatically falls within Article 39(b). It confirmed that the original, limited Article 31C survived invalidation of the Forty-second Amendment’s enlargement.
Dissenting opinion
The decision includes separate concurring and dissenting opinions on the scope of community resources.
Why this matters and subsequent treatment
Critical for DPSP interpretation, Article 31C and disputes over compulsory resource distribution.
Judgment source: Supreme Court of India official judgment PDF
Research method, updates and limitations
Coverage: 53 leading Supreme Court decisions across 11 doctrinal groups, from 1950 to 2026. This is a selective, substantial landmark compilation rather than a claim to list every judgment ever delivered. Recent cases were checked against judgment text or official records through 27 October 2026.
Judgment sources: Each case links to the complete decision, usually a publicly accessible non-official Indian Kanoon text transcription. A smaller number link to Supreme Court official PDFs or a complete non-official case-text republication. Secondary-source mirrors are not certified court copies. Verify critical quotations, citations and later precedent treatment against the official court record before professional use.
Important developments: Golak Nath was superseded by Kesavananda Bharati; the restrictive A.K. Gopalan approach was rejected in Maneka Gandhi; ADM Jabalpur was overruled; E.V. Chinnaiah was overruled in Davinder Singh; and the 20 November 2025 Presidential Reference modified the legal position associated with Governor-assent timelines and deemed assent from the April 2025 Tamil Nadu decision. The electoral-commission appointment procedure in Anoop Baranwal was expressly provisional pending legislation.
Research gaps: Separate comprehensive treatment of Articles 12, 17, 20, 22, 23, 24, 32, 226, the Sixth Schedule, taxation and legislative privilege would require further cases. A complete citator audit was not possible for every decision. Procedural matters and pending reviews may change.
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