Probity in Governance — Landmark Cases
Landmark Cases
Vineet Narain & Others v. Union of India
1997This judgment, arising from the Jain Hawala case, is a landmark in ensuring the autonomy of investigative agencies like the CBI and CVC. It sought to insulate the CBI from…
Centre for Public Interest Litigation v. Union of India (2G Spectrum Case)
2012The Supreme Court cancelled 122 telecom licenses allocated on a 'first-come, first-served' basis, holding the process to be arbitrary and a violation of Article 14. It established…
Manohar Lal Sharma v. The Principal Secretary (Coal Block Allocation Case)
2014Similar to the 2G case, the Supreme Court cancelled the allocation of 214 out of 218 coal blocks allocated since 1993, finding the allocation process arbitrary, illegal, and…
Subramanian Swamy v. Director, CBI
2014The Supreme Court struck down Section 6A of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946, which mandated prior sanction from the Central Government to investigate corruption…
Shreya Singhal v. Union of India
2015While primarily a free speech case where Section 66A of the IT Act was struck down, its reasoning is vital for probity. The Court struck down the law for being 'vague' and…
Common Cause (A Registered Society) v. Union of India
2018The Supreme Court expressed deep dissatisfaction over the delay in the appointment of the Lokpal, years after the Act was passed in 2013. The judgment pushed the government to…
Lily Thomas v. Union of India
2013The Supreme Court struck down Section 8(4) of the Representation of the People Act, which allowed convicted MPs and MLAs to continue in office if they filed an appeal within three…
Prakash Singh & Others v. Union of India
2006In this landmark police reforms case, the Supreme Court issued seven binding directives to the central and state governments to kickstart reforms. The goal was to make the police…