LANDMARK JUDGMENTS OF THE

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

Justice Ved Prakash

Chairman
Law Commission of Madhya Pradesh
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 The Organic Element of Law

“The inevitable truth is that law is not static and

immutable but ever increasingly dynamic and
grows with the ongoing passage of time.”
• S. Ratnavel Pandian, J.
in Supreme Court Advocates on Record
Association Vs. Union of India (1993) 4 SCC 441

2
 The Supreme Court of India
• The Supreme Court of India is the highest
Constitutional court of the Country which can
be accessed directly by a citizen under Article
32 of the Constitution for redress of
fundamental rights. Commencing with eight
judges, the sanctioned strength of the Court
presently stands at 34.

3
 Great judgment vs. Landmark judgment

• A great judgment is one that restores the constitutional

values of a polity from the waywardness into which it
may have fallen, while a landmark judgment is one
which opens up new directions in our constitutional
thinking and, in the process, adds new dimensions to
what are regarded as established constitutional
principles. If “great” restores the centrality of
constitutional values, “landmark” revitalises them.”-
Peter Ronald deSouza, Professor at the Centre for
the Study of Developing Societies, Delhi
4
 Landmark Judgments

• “...... When histories of nations are written

and critiqued, there are judicial decisions at
the forefront of liberty. Yet others have to be
consigned to the archives, reflective of what
was, but should never have been.”
D.Y Chandrachud J.
In Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (retd.) Vs. Union
of India and ors. , (2017) 10 SCC 1

5
1. Personal Liberty: Procedure Established by
Law:
• A.K.Gopalan VS. State of Madras ,[1950] SCR 88
• The petitioner, detained under the Preventive Detention
Act challenged the legality of detention under Art. 32 of
the Constitution on the ground that the said Act
contravened Arts. 13, 19, 21 and 22 of the Constitution
and was, therefore, ultra vires.
• The S.C. held- that Article 22 was a self-contained Code
and if personal liberty is taken away by the State in
accordance with the procedure established by law i.e. if
the detention was as per the procedure established by
law, then it cannot be said that the law was violative of
provisions contained in Articles 14 ,19 and 21 of the
Constitution.
6
 Personal Liberty: Procedure Established by Law:
Fair, Just and Reasonable
Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India (AIR 1978 SC 597) (1978).
• The view expressed in A. K. Gopalan’s case was revisited in
this case after about 28 years.
• The main issues were whether the right to go abroad is a
part of the right to personal liberty under Article 21 and
whether the Passport Act prescribes a ‘procedure’ as
required by Article 21 of the Constitution.
• The SC held that the right to go abroad is a part of the right
to personal liberty under Article 21.
• The SC also ruled that the mere existence of an enabling
law was not enough to restrain personal liberty. “The
procedure prescribed by law has to be fair, just and
reasonable, not fanciful, oppressive or arbitrary. ”
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 LIFE AND LIBERTY: ADM Jabalpur v. Shivakant
Shukla, (1976) 2 SCC 521
• A Constitution Bench by a majority of 4:1, ruled that while a
proclamation of emergency is in operation, the right to move
High Courts under Article 226 for Habeas Corpus challenging
illegal detention by State will stand suspended. The apex
Court said “ . .....If extraordinary powers are given, they are
given because the Emergency is extraordinary, and are limited
to the period of the Emergency.”
• The judgment is more recognised for the dissenting opinion
of Justice HR Khanna in which he said - "detention without
trial is an anathema to all those who love personal liberty... A
dissent is an appeal to the brooding spirit of the law, to the
intelligence of a future day, when a later decision may
possibly correct the error into which the dissenting Judge
believes the court to have been betrayed".

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 LIFE AND LIBERTY: ADM Jabalpur v. Shivakant
Shukla- OVERRULED
• In Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (retd.) Vs. Union of India and
ors. , (2017) 10 SCC 1 para 121 (Nine Judges), the apex
Court overruling the majority view expressed in ADM
Jabalpur v. Shivkant Shukla (1976) 2 SCC 521, held-
• “The view taken by Justice Khanna must be accepted,
and accepted in reverence for the strength of its thoughts
and the courage of its convictions...”
• Sanjay Kishan Kaul, J. in his concurring judgment said:
“...the ADM Jabalpur case which was an aberration in the
constitutional jurisprudence of our country and the
desirability of burying the majority opinion ten fathom
deep, with no chance of resurrection.”
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 2.Amendability of Fundamental Rights
Shankari Prasad v. Union of India , [1952] SCR 89 (1951): This
case dealt with the amendability of Fundamental Rights
(the First Amendment’s validity was challenged).
• The SC Court held that the power conferred on
Parliament by Art. 368 to amend is a very wide power and
includes the power to take away the fundamental rights
guaranteed by Part III. , and
• that in the context of Art. 13 (2), "law" must be taken to
mean rules or regulations made in exercise of ordinary
legislative power and not amendments to the
constitution made in the exercise of constituent power
with the result that Art. 13(2) does not affect
amendments made under Art. 368.
• This view was reiterated in Sajjan Singh vs State Of
Rajasthan, AIR 1965 SC 845 10
 Amendability of Fundamental Rights
The issues regarding power of the Parliament to amend Part
III of the Constitution was re-examined in I. C. Golak Nath
v. State of Punjab, AIR 1967 SC 1643
• The questions in this case were whether amendment is a
law within the meaning of Art.13(2) of the Constitution of
India, and
• whether Fundamental Rights can be amended by the
Parliament?
• Overruling Sajjan Singh by a majority of six to five the
Supreme Court held that amendment under Article 368 is
“law” within the meaning of Article 13(2);
• It further ruled that Legislature does not enjoy the power
to amend Part III of the Constitution to take away or abridge
fundamental rights .
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 3. The Doctrine of Basic Structure
His Holiness Kesavananda Bharati Sripadagalavaru v. State of
Kerala, AIR 1973 SC 1461 (decided by a Bench of 13 Judges)
• The most celebrated case in the history of Indian Constitutional
law in which the apex Court dealt with the issue - whether the
Parliament can amend any part of the Constitution and what was
the limit to that power?
• The Bench by a majority of 7-6 Overruled the proposition of law
propounded in I. C. Golak Nath v. State of Punjab, AIR 1967 SC
1643 and held that Constitutional amendment is not “law” within
the meaning of Article 13 and that although no part of the
Constitution, including Part III comprising of fundamental rights,
was beyond the Parliament’s amending power, the “basic
structure of the Constitution” could not be abrogated even by a
constitutional amendment.”
• As regards the basic structure, the Court held that it would be
decided from case to case . 12
 The Doctrine of Basic Structure-
Application
Indira Nehru Gandhi v. Raj Narain 1975 SC 2299
• The validity of 39th Constitution amendment
enacted in 1975 which (Article 39-A ) sought to
place the election of the President, the Vice
President, the Prime Minister and the Speaker of
the Lok Sabha beyond the scrutiny of the
constitutional courts was challenged in this case.
The S.C. resorting to the theory of basic
structure of the Constitution struck down Clause
(4) of Article 329-A on the grounds that it was
beyond the Parliament’s amending power as it
destroyed the basic structure of the Constitution.
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 The Doctrine of Basic Structure- Minerva Mills
case, (1980) AIR 1980 SC 1789
Validity of Constitution (42nd Amendment) Act, 1976
,which inter alia provided for exclusion of judicial review of
constitutional amendments and expressly conferred
unlimited amendment power to the Parliament, was
challenged on the ground that they are violative of the
‘basic structure’ of the Constitution.
• The Court by a majority of 4 to 1 struck down clauses (4)
and (5) of article 368 holding that they violated the basic
structure of the Constitution.
• The Court ruled that Parliament’s power to make
Constitutional amendments is limited which itself is a
basic feature of the Constitution. The judgement makes it
clear that the Constitution, and not the Parliament is
supreme.
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The Doctrine of Basic Structure: IR Coelho’s Case (2007) 2
SCC 1 (Known as 9th Schedule Case) (Nine Judge Bench)
• Basic Structure : A land mark judgment on the
interpretation of the doctrine of basic structure of
the constitution.
• The supremacy of the Constitution mandates all
constitutional bodies to comply with the provisions
of the Constitution.
• Judicial Review : A mechanism for testing the
validity of legislative acts through an independent
organ, viz. the judiciary is part of basic structure.
• The Court held that any law inserted in the Ninth
Schedule on or after April 24, 1973 (date on which
Keshavananda was pronounced) can be subject to
judicial review and will be struck down if it violates
the basic structure doctrine. 15
 4. Public Interest Litigation- The Beginning
Mumbai Kamgar Sabha, Bombay ,AIR 1976 SC 1455

This case is considered to be the foundation of public interest

litigation in India.
• In this case Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer speaking for the Court
held that- “Procedural prescriptions are handmaids, not
mistresses, of justice... . Our adjectival branch of
jurisprudence, by and large, deals not with sophisticated
litigants but the rural poor, the urban lay and the weaker
societal segments for whom law will be an added terror.
• Test litigations, representative actions, pro bono publico
and like broadened forms of legal proceedings are in
keeping with the current accent on justice to the common
man and a necessary disincentive to those who wish to
bypass the real issues on the merits by suspect reliance on
peripheral procedural, shortcomings.
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 Public Interest Litigation: Sunil Batra v. Delhi
Administration & Others, AIR 1978 SC 1675
A landmark decision on prison reforms , in this case the apex
Court held that a convict is entitled to the precious right
guaranteed by Art. 21 that he shall not be deprived of
his life or personal liberty except according to the
procedure established by law.
• The Court ruled that fundamental rights do not flee the
person as he enters the prison although they may suffer
shrinkage necessitated by incarceration. Our
Constitutional culture has now crystallised in favour of
prison justice and judicial jurisdiction.
• The intervention of social welfare organisations in litigative
processes pregnant with wider implications is a healthy
mediation between the people and the rule of law.
• The Court issued a number of direction for improving the
conditions of jail inmates. 17
 Public Interest Litigation: Bandhua Mukti Morcha
v. Union of India [(1984) 3 SCC 161
In a matter concerning release of bonded labour raised by
way of PIL the Supreme Court issued direction for their
release.
• Explaining the philosophy underlying PIL the Court ruled
that where a person or class of persons to whom legal injury
is caused by reason of violation of a fundamental right is
unable to approach the court of judicial redress on account
of poverty or disability or socially or economically
disadvantaged position, any member of the public acting
bona fide can move the court for relief under Article 32 and
a fortiorari also under Article 226, so that the fundamental
rights may be meaningful not only for the rich but also for
the deprived people who by reason of lack of awareness,
assertiveness and resources are unable to seek judicial
redress. 18
 5. Human Rights; Art.21- Right to Die With
Dignity
• In this case the victim of rape continued to be in persistent
vegetative state (PVS) for a period of 36 years. This case
triggered the debate on need to change euthanasia laws.
• In a writ petition under Article 32 it was prayed that the
hospital where she is laying for last 36 years be directed to stop
the life support system.
• The Supreme Court ruled that individuals had a right to die
with dignity.
• Issuing guidelines regarding passive euthanasia the court ruled
that a decision to discontinue life support can be taken either
by the parents or the spouse or other close relatives, or in the
absence of any of them, even by a person or a body of persons
acting as a next friend or in their absence by the doctors
attending the patient, subject to approval of the High Court.
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Human Rights : Common Cause (A Regd. Society) vs. Union
Of India on 9 March, 2018 -Right to Die With Dignity

• The apex Court held that right to life and liberty as

envisaged under Article 21 of the Constitution
encompasses within its sphere individual dignity and
that the right to live with dignity also includes the
smoothening of the process of dying in case of a
terminally ill patient or a person in PVS with no hope
of recovery, and
• that a competent person who has come of age has
the right to refuse specific treatment or all treatment
or opt for an alternative treatment, even if such
decision entails a risk of death.
• Detailed directions issued by the apex Court in this
regard. 20
Human Rights: Recognition of Transgender Persons
as a Third Gender
National Legal Services Authority vs Union Of India & Ors. (2014)
Held:
• Gender identity is integral to the dignity of an individual and is
at the core of “personal autonomy” and “self-determination”
and Article 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution within their sweep
include transgender and are not as such limited to male or
female gender.
• Eunuchs, therefore, have to be considered as Third Gender,
over and above binary genders under our Constitution and the
laws.
• The apex Court directed the Centre and the State Governments
to take steps to treat them as socially and educationally
backward classes of citizens and extend all kinds of reservation
in cases of admission in educational institutions and for public
appointments. ( W.P.(civil) no.400 of 2012 dt.15.04.14)
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 Human Rights: Right to Privacy a
Fundamental Right under Article 21
Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (retd.) Vs. Union of India
and ors. , (2017) 10 SCC 1 (2017) (Right To
Privacy )
• In this case , popularly known as Aadhaar Case,
the SC held that privacy is a constitutionally
protected right which emerges primarily from the
guarantee of life and personal liberty in Article 21
of the Constitution.
• Further held that elements of privacy also arise in
varying contexts from the other facets of
freedom and dignity recognised and guaranteed
by the fundamental rights contained in Part III .
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 Human Rights: Decriminalising
Homosexuality
Navtej Singh Johar vs. Union Of India , (2018) 10 SCC 1(2018)
• A five-judge SC bench gave a historic, unanimous decision on
Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, decriminalising
homosexuality.
• The S.C ruled that sexual orientation is an intrinsic element of
liberty, dignity, privacy, individual autonomy and equality and that
intimacy between consenting adults of the same-sex is beyond the
legitimate interests of the state.
• Section 377 was the product of the Victorian era, with its
attendant moral values. Victorian morality must give way to
constitutional morality.
• That insofar as Section 377 criminalises consensual sexual acts
of adults (i.e. persons above the age of 18 years who are
competent to consent) in private, is violative of Articles 14, 15, 19,
and 21 of the Constitution.
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 6. Gender Justice : Shah Bano’s Case [(1985) 2 SCC
556] A Milestone in the Journey of Gender Justice

• Petitioner Shah Bano Begum prayed for grant of

maintenance under Section 125 of Cr.P.C.
• The Constitution Bench of the apex Court considering
the provision of Section 125 of the Cr.P.C., opined that the
said provision is truly secular in character and is different
from the personal law of the parties.
• The Court further held that such provisions are
essentially of a prophylactic character and cut across the
barriers of religion.
• The Court also held that the liability imposed by Section
125 to maintain close relatives, who are indigent, is
founded upon the individual's obligation to the society to
prevent vagrancy and destitution.
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 Gender Justice-Preventing Sexual Harassment at
Workplace: Vishaka vs. State of Rajasthan,(1997) 6SCC 241

Bhanwari Devi, a social worker from Rajasthan, was brutally gang-

raped by five men for preventing a child marriage .
• The trial court acquitted all five accused.
• Vishaka, a Group for Women’s Education and Research, took up
the cause of Bhanwari Devi and filed a petition before the
Supreme Court on the issue of sexual harassment at the
workplace.
• On August 13, 1997, the apex Court issued guidelines that
defined sexual harassment and put the onus on the employers as
well as other responsible persons or institutions to provide a safe
working environment for women.
• These guidelines are called ‘Vishaka Guidelines’. These were to be
considered law until appropriate legislation was enacted.
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Gender Justice: Triple Talaq Unconstitutional

Shayara Bano vs Union Of India And Ors. Vs.

Union of India 22 August, 2017 (5 Judge)
• The Court held by a majority of 3:2 that triple
Talaq is manifestly arbitrary in the sense that
the marital tie can be broken capriciously and
whimsically by a Muslim man without any
attempt at reconciliation so as to save it. This
form of Talaq must, therefore, be held to be
violative of the fundamental right contained
under Article 14 of the Constitution of India.
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 Gender Justice: Entry of Females in
Sabrimala Temple
Indian Young Lawyers Association vs. The State Of Kerala on
28 September, 2018:
• In Sabrimala Temple- a Hindu pilgrimage centre in Kerala,
female devotees between the age group of 10 to 50 years
were denied entry on the basis of certain custom and usage.
• A Constitution bench of the apex Court led by CJI Dipak
Misra overruled the Kerala High Court’s 27-year-old decision
that had upheld the restriction on entry of women into the
temple.
• The court said, “The dualism that persists in religion by
glorifying and venerating women as goddesses on one hand
and by imposing rigorous sanctions on the other hand in
matters of devotion has to be abandoned. Such a dualistic
approach and an entrenched mindset results in indignity to
women and the degradation of their status.”
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Gender Justice :Sec.497 IPC Unconstitutional

Joseph Shine vs. Union Of India , (2019) 3 SCC 39

• The apex Court struck down Section 497 of IPC
which criminalised adultery holding that it is
violative of Articles 14, 15 and 21 of the
Constitution.
• The Supreme Court called the law unconstitutional
because it “treats a husband as the master”.
• The Court held- “Any provision of law affecting
individual dignity and equality of women invites the
wrath of the Constitution. It’s time to say that the
husband is not the master of the wife. Legal
sovereignty of one sex over other sex is wrong”.
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 7. Constitutional Democracy: Power Under Art.356-
Imposition of President's Rule in States.

• S. R. Bommai v. Union of India , AIR 1994 SC 1918

• In this judgement, the SC attempted to curb the blatant misuse
of Article 356 of the Constitution of India, which allowed
President's rule to be imposed in States.
• The first and most important question which the Supreme Court
had to determine was whether the Presidential Proclamation
under Article 356 was justifiable and if so to what extent.
• Answering the question the apex Court held , the Judicial
Review will involve three questions only:
– Is there any material behind the proclamation.
– Is the material relevant.
– Was there any mala fide use of power.
• The majority enjoyed by the Council of Ministers shall be tested
on the floor of the House.
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 Constitutional Democracy: Election Reforms
Right Not to Vote- NOTA Case
• The S.C. dealing with the issue of election reforms
held that democracy and free elections are part of
the basic structure of the Constitution.
• In a parliamentary democracy A positive ‘right not
to vote’ is a part of voter’s right to expression under
Article 19(1)(a) and it has to be recognized and given
effect to in the same manner as ‘right to vote’.
• The only way by which it can be made effectual is by
providing a button in the EVMs to express that right.
Therefore, the voter must be given an opportunity to
choose none of the above (NOTA) button, which will
indeed compel the political parties to nominate a
sound candidate. 30
 Constitutional Democracy: Election
Reforms
Lily Thomas vs Union Of India & Ors., (2013) 7 SCC 653:
• In this case the Supreme Court in a PIL declared sub-
section (4) of Section 8 of the Representation of the
People Act, 1951, which allowed convicted members of
legislative bodies a 3 month time period for appeal against
the conviction and sentencing, as ultra vires the
Constitution.
• The Court ruled that Members of Parliament, Legislative
Councils and Legislative Assemblies convicted of crimes
where they had been awarded a minimum sentence of 2
years imprisonment would cease to be members of the
house to which they were elected from the date of
sentencing. 31
 9. Independence Of Judiciary: First Judges Case -
‘in consultation’ – Interpretation
S P Gupta Vs. Union of India And Ors. AIR 1982 SC 149 (First Judges
Case( 1981):
• In this cast the S.C. was called upon to examine as to what does
the word “consultation” in Article 124(2) and in Article 217(1)
of the Constitution actually imply?
• The apex court held by a majority of 4-3 that in the
appointment of a judge of the Supreme Court or the High
Court, the word “consultation” in Article 124(2) and in Article
217(1) of the Constitution does not mean “concurrence”
however the “consultation” with the CJI must be full and
effective.
• The apex Court rejected the idea that the CJI’s opinion should
have primacy. and held that In the event of a disagreement, the
“ultimate power” would rest with the Union Government and
not the CJI.
• 32
Independence Of Judiciary: Second Judges Case-
Birth of Collegium System
• Supreme Court Advocates on Record Association Vs. Union of
India (1993) 4 SCC 441
• This verdict gave birth to the concept of Collegium System.
• A 9 Judges Bench of the apex Court re-examining the view
expressed in the First Judges case by a majority of 7:2 ruled that
Articles 124 and 217 of the Constitution had to be interpreted
in a “purposive and contextual” manner .
• The Court held that there should be a collegium consisting of
Chief Justice and two other senior most judges of the Supreme
Court for making proposal and appointment of judges.
• The apex Court held that in the event of conflict between the
President and the CJI with regard to appointments of Judges, it
was the Chief Justice of India whose opinion would not only have
primacy, but would be determinative in the matter..
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 Independence Of Judiciary: Third Judges Case-
Strengthening of Collegium
• In Re Special Reference Case AIR 1999 SC 1
• This case arose out of a reference made by the
President of India under Article 143 of the Constitution
for advisory opinion of the Supreme Court.
• A nine-Judge bench of the Supreme Court delivered a
unanimous opinion and reaffirmed its verdict
rendered in second Judges case (1993) .
• The only thing that this reference introduced from the
Second Judges case was to increase the number of the
judges in the collegium.
• The collegium was now to consist of the CJI and the
four other senior most judges of the Supreme Court.
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 Independence Of Judiciary: Fourth Judges Case

• Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association v. Union of

India, [(2016) 5 SCC 1] [‘NJAC Case’]
• The Constitution (Ninety-Ninth Amendment) Act, 2014 and the NJAC
Act, 2014 sought to replace the Collegium system with the National
Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC), a body comprising of the CJI,
two senior judges, the Law Minister and “two eminent personalities”
appointed by the Prime Minister, Leader of Opposition and CJI.
• The constitutional validity of the Ninety-Ninth Constitutional
amendment and NJAC Act, 2014, was challenged before the apex Court .
• A constitution bench of five Judges with a majority of 4:1 struck down
the Ninety-Ninth Constitutional Amendment Act and the NJAC Act as
unconstitutional holding that the constitution of the Commission will
amount to an infringement of judicial independence and a violation of
the separation of powers.

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 10. Environmental Protection:
• MC Mehta v. Union of India, AIR 1987 SC 1086 (1986)
• In this case , popularly known as the ‘Oleum gas leak
case’, the Supreme Court disapproved the ‘Strict
Liability’ test enunciated in the English case of Rylands v.
Fletcher for deciding the liability of an enterprise
engaged in a hazardous or inherently dangerous activity
and propounded the principle of ‘Absolute Liability’.
• The Court held that in the case of industries engaged in
hazardous or inherently dangerous activities, absolute
liability was to be followed.
• It also said that the amount of compensation must be
correlated to the magnitude and capacity of the industry
so that it will be a deterrent.
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 11. Social Justice: 50% Threshold in Reservations
and Exclusion of ‘Creamy Layer’.
• Indra Sawhney etc. Vs. Union of India and others, AIR
1993 SC 477 (1992) (9 Judges Bench)
• The apex Court examined the scope of Article 16(4) of
the Constitution, which provides for the reservation of
jobs in favour of backward classes and held that ‘backward
classes’ mentioned in Article 16(4) can be identified only
on the basis of caste and not economic conditions.
• It upheld the constitutional validity of 27% reservation for
the OBCs with certain conditions.
• The propositions of 50% threshold in reservations, the bar
against reservations in certain types of posts and the
exclusion of ‘creamy layer’ were propounded in this case.
37