Law Faculty

PUCL v. UOI [AIR 2003 SC 2363] The Supreme Court reiterated its position, holding that voters have a right to obtain information regarding political candidates as per the provisions of Article 19(1)(a) of the Indian Constitution. Bench – K.G. Balakrishnan,…

I.R. Coelho v. State of Tamil Nadu [AIR 2007 SC 861] Any legislation that infringes on fundamental rights or violates the Basic Structure of the Constitution shall be subjected to judicial review and Schedule 9 does not save it from…

Lily Thomas v. UOI [AIR 2000 SC 1650] The court held that conversion to another religion merely for the purpose of Bigamy is illegal and the second marriage will be considered as void. Bench – Saiyed Saghir Ahmad and R.P.…

Vishakha v. State of Rajasthan [AIR 1997 SC 3011] The Supreme Court issued the well-known Vishakha guidelines, requiring both the private and public industries to develop frameworks to address sexual harassment complaints. Bench – J.S. Verma, Sujata V. Manohar and…

SR Bommai v. UOI [(1994) 3 SCC 1] The decision sought to limit political abuse of Article 356 as well as deciding that it falls under the purview of Judicial Review. Bench – Yogeshwar Dayal, S. Ratnavel Pandian, Kuldip Singh,…

Unnikrishnan v. State of Andhra Pradesh [1993 AIR 217] The Supreme Court declared Right to Education as a part of right to life as under Article 21. Bench – M. Sharma, S.R. Pandian, P. Jeevan Reddy, S. Mohan and P.…

Indra Sawhney v. UOI [AIR 1993 SC 477] The case dealt with multiple important aspects of reservation provisions in the Constitution such as reservation cap of 50%, reservation for economically backward class, division of backward class into more backward class…

Minerva Mills v. UOI [AIR 1980 SC 1789] Parliamentary power to amend the Constitution is restricted by the Basic Structure and hence 42nd Amendment Act was held unconstitutional. Bench – A.C. Gupta, PS Kailasam, PN Bhagwati, NL Untwalia and Y.V.…

Sheela Barse v. State of Maharashtra [1983 SC 378] The right to live with dignity under Article 21 was extended to female prisoners and the State was directed to make provisions for the protection of their rights via free legal…

Hussainaira Khatoon v. State of Bihar [1979 AIR 1369] It discusses a broader interpretation of Article 21 and holds that a speedy trial is a fundamental right of all citizens. The case also addressed the human rights of prisoners, stating…

Maneka Gandhi v. UOI [AIR 1978 SC 597] Right to Travel Abroad comes under the scope of Right to Personal Liberty under Article 21. Bench – PS Kailasam, SM Fazalali,  VR Krishnaiyer, PN Bhagwati, NL Untwalia , M.H. Beg, and…

Indira Nehru Gandhi v. Raj Narain [AIR 1975 SC 2299] Free and Fair election is the Basic Structure of the Constitution. It comes under the authority of the courts to have judicial review over elections. Bench – A.N. Ray, M.H.…

Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala [AIR 1973 SC 1461] Parliament cannot amend Articles enshrining Fundamental Rights as well as Concept of Basic Structure of the Constitution. Bench – S.M. Sikri, A.K. Mukherjea, A.N. Grover, H.R. Khanna, A.N. Ray, K.K.…

Golaknath v. State of Punjab [1967 AIR 1643] Parliament cannot make legislative amendments in contravention of Fundamental Rights as well as cannot amend Articles enshrining Fundamental Rights. Bench – K. Subba Rao, V. Ramaswami, K. Wanchoo, CA Vaidyalingam, M. Hidayatullah,…

AK Gopalan v. State of Madras [AIR 1950 SC 27] Case Summary Bench – Hiralal Kania, Saiyid Fazl Ali, M. P. Shastri, Meher Chand Mahajan, B. K. Mukherjee, S.R. Das. Facts – In this case, the petitioner had been detained…