Civil Rights Protection — Landmark Judgments
Landmark Judgments
A.K. Gopalan v. State of Madras
1950This was one of the earliest Supreme Court judgments on Fundamental Rights, particularly Article 21. The Court adopted a narrow interpretation of 'personal liberty' and 'procedure…
Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India
1978This judgment revolutionized the interpretation of Fundamental Rights, particularly Article 21. The Supreme Court held that 'procedure established by law' must be fair, just, and…
Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala
1973This landmark judgment established the 'Basic Structure Doctrine,' holding that while Parliament has the power to amend the Constitution, it cannot alter its basic structure or…
Olga Tellis v. Bombay Municipal Corp.
1985This case recognized the 'right to livelihood' as an integral part of the 'right to life' under Article 21. The Supreme Court held that if a person is deprived of their…
Hussainara Khatoon v. State of Bihar
1979This was one of the earliest Public Interest Litigations (PILs) that brought to light the deplorable conditions of undertrial prisoners in Bihar, many of whom had been languishing…
Bandhua Mukti Morcha v. Union of India
1984This PIL exposed the prevalence of bonded labour in stone quarries. The Supreme Court held that the right to live with human dignity, free from exploitation, is a fundamental…
D.K. Basu v. State of West Bengal
1997Responding to increasing instances of custodial violence and deaths, the Supreme Court laid down detailed guidelines for arrest and detention by police. These guidelines, often…
Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India
2018This landmark judgment decriminalized consensual homosexual acts between adults by reading down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. The Court held that criminalizing such acts…
Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) v. Union of India
2017A nine-judge bench of the Supreme Court unanimously declared the 'Right to Privacy' as a Fundamental Right under Article 21 of the Constitution. The Court held that privacy is an…
NALSA v. Union of India
2014The Supreme Court recognized transgender persons as a 'third gender' and affirmed their right to self-identification of gender. It directed the government to provide reservations…
PUCL v. Union of India
2003In this case, the Supreme Court ruled that the right to know about the antecedents of electoral candidates is a part of the fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression…
Shreya Singhal v. Union of India
2015The Supreme Court struck down Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, which criminalized offensive online content. The Court found the section to be vague, overbroad,…
Indra Sawhney v. Union of India
1992Popularly known as the 'Mandal Commission case,' this judgment upheld the constitutional validity of reservations for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in public employment. However,…
Mohd. Ahmed Khan v. Shah Bano Begum
1985This case involved a divorced Muslim woman seeking maintenance from her former husband under Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code. The Supreme Court ruled in her favour,…
Joseph Shine v. Union of India
2018The Supreme Court unanimously struck down Section 497 of the Indian Penal Code, which criminalized adultery, holding it to be unconstitutional. The Court ruled that Section 497…
Indian Young Lawyers Association v. State of Kerala (Sabarimala Temple Entry Case)
2018The Supreme Court, in a 4:1 majority, held that the custom of prohibiting women of menstruating age (10-50 years) from entering the Sabarimala temple was unconstitutional. The…
Anuradha Bhasin v. Union of India
2020This case dealt with the legality of internet shutdowns in Jammu and Kashmir following the abrogation of Article 370. The Supreme Court declared that the right to freedom of…
Satender Kumar Antil v. CBI
2022The Supreme Court issued comprehensive guidelines for courts and investigative agencies regarding the grant of bail. Reiterating the principle 'bail is the rule, jail is an…