Landmark Indian Judgments
Case summaries of important Supreme Court and High Court judgments that shaped Indian law
Family Law
Vineeta Sharma v Rakesh Sharma
(2020) 9 SCC 1; AIR 2020 SC 3717 | Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court held that daughters have equal coparcenary rights in ancestral Hindu property from birth, regardless of whether their father was alive when the 2005 amendment came into force.
Shayara Bano v Union of India
(2017) 9 SCC 1; AIR 2017 SC 4609 | Supreme Court of India
By a 3:2 majority, the Supreme Court declared instantaneous triple talaq (talaq-e-biddat) unconstitutional and void, as it was arbitrary and violated Article 14 of the Constitution.
Githa Hariharan v Reserve Bank of India
AIR 1999 SC 1149; (1999) 2 SCC 228 | Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court held that a mother can act as natural guardian of her minor children during the father's lifetime, reading down Section 6(a) of the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act 1956.
Mohd. Ahmed Khan v Shah Bano Begum
AIR 1985 SC 945; (1985) 2 SCC 556 | Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court held that a divorced Muslim woman is entitled to maintenance under Section 125 CrPC beyond the iddat period, overriding personal law.
Constitutional Law
Joseph Shine v Union of India
(2019) 3 SCC 39; AIR 2018 SC 4898 | Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court unanimously struck down Section 497 IPC (adultery) as unconstitutional, holding that it violated women's dignity, equality, and autonomy.
Navtej Singh Johar v Union of India
(2018) 10 SCC 1; AIR 2018 SC 4321 | Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court unanimously decriminalised consensual same-sex relations between adults by reading down Section 377 IPC, overruling the 2013 Suresh Kumar Koushal judgment.
Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) v Union of India
(2017) 10 SCC 1; AIR 2017 SC 4161 | Supreme Court of India
A unanimous 9-judge Bench held that the right to privacy is a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution, overruling M.P. Sharma and Kharak Singh.
Shreya Singhal v Union of India
(2015) 5 SCC 1; AIR 2015 SC 1523 | Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court struck down Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 as unconstitutional for being vague and overbroad, violating the constitutional right to free speech.
National Legal Services Authority v Union of India
(2014) 5 SCC 438; AIR 2014 SC 1863 | Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court recognised transgender persons as a 'third gender', affirmed their fundamental rights, and directed the government to provide reservations and social welfare measures for them.
Vishaka v State of Rajasthan
AIR 1997 SC 3011; (1997) 6 SCC 241 | Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court laid down binding guidelines on sexual harassment at the workplace, recognising it as a violation of fundamental rights, in the absence of legislation.
Vellore Citizens Welfare Forum v Union of India
AIR 1996 SC 2715; (1996) 5 SCC 647 | Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court held that the precautionary principle and the polluter pays principle are essential features of Indian environmental law, as part of the concept of sustainable development.
S.R. Bommai v Union of India
AIR 1994 SC 1918; (1994) 3 SCC 1 | Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court held that President's Rule under Article 356 is subject to judicial review and that the floor of the legislature, not the Governor, must test a government's majority.
Indra Sawhney v Union of India
AIR 1993 SC 477; 1992 Supp (3) SCC 217 | Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court upheld 27% OBC reservation in government jobs while imposing a 50% ceiling on total reservations and excluding the creamy layer from OBC benefits.
M.C. Mehta v Union of India (Oleum Gas Leak Case)
AIR 1987 SC 1086; (1987) 1 SCC 395 | Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court introduced the 'absolute liability' doctrine — holding that enterprises engaged in hazardous activities are absolutely liable for harm caused, with no exceptions.
Minerva Mills Ltd v Union of India
AIR 1980 SC 1789; (1980) 3 SCC 625 | Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court struck down clauses of the 42nd Amendment that had sought to give Directive Principles supremacy over Fundamental Rights and to immunise constitutional amendments from judicial review.
Maneka Gandhi v Union of India
AIR 1978 SC 597; (1978) 1 SCC 248 | Supreme Court of India
A transformative ruling that expanded Article 21 to require that any procedure depriving a person of life or personal liberty must be fair, just, and reasonable.
His Holiness Kesavananda Bharati Sripadagalvaru v State of Kerala
AIR 1973 SC 1461; (1973) 4 SCC 225 | Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court's most consequential ruling, holding that Parliament cannot amend the Constitution to destroy its basic structure.
I.C. Golaknath v State of Punjab
AIR 1967 SC 1643; 1967 SCR (2) 762 | Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court held by a 6:5 majority that Parliament has no power to amend fundamental rights — a ruling later overruled by Kesavananda Bharati (1973).
Shankari Prasad Singh Deo v Union of India
AIR 1951 SC 458; 1952 SCR 89 | Supreme Court of India
The first case on constitutional amendment power, where the Supreme Court held that Parliament can amend fundamental rights under Article 368.
Romesh Thappar v State of Madras
AIR 1950 SC 124; 1950 SCR 594 | Supreme Court of India
One of India's earliest free speech cases, where the Supreme Court struck down a law banning circulation of a journal as violating freedom of press under Article 19(1)(a).
Criminal Law
Arnesh Kumar v State of Bihar
(2014) 8 SCC 273; AIR 2014 SC 2756 | Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court directed that arrest under Section 498A IPC and Section 4 Dowry Prohibition Act should not be automatic and laid down mandatory requirements before arrest.
Lalita Kumari v Government of UP
(2014) 2 SCC 1; AIR 2014 SC 187 | Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court held that registration of an FIR is mandatory when the information discloses a cognisable offence — police cannot conduct a preliminary inquiry before registering.
Sakshi v Union of India
AIR 2004 SC 3566; (2004) 5 SCC 518 | Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court issued guidelines for the recording of evidence of child victims of sexual abuse and directed that trial courts adopt special procedures to protect children during testimony.
D.K. Basu v State of West Bengal
AIR 1997 SC 610; (1997) 1 SCC 416 | Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court laid down binding guidelines on arrest, detention, and custodial rights to prevent custodial torture and deaths.
Bachan Singh v State of Punjab
AIR 1980 SC 898; (1980) 2 SCC 684 | Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of the death penalty and established the 'rarest of rare' doctrine, limiting capital punishment to extraordinary cases.
25 landmark judgments