Judgments, explained.
The cases that shaped the law — and the ones deciding it now.

Vishaka: The Rules That Became the POSH Act

Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan

With no law on the books, the Supreme Court wrote one: a definition of sexual harassment at work and a binding complaints mechanism that governed every Indian workplace for sixteen years.

D.K. Basu: What Police Must Do When Arresting

D. K. Basu v. State of West Bengal

Eleven binding requirements the police must follow every single time they arrest or detain someone — the arrest memo, the right to have someone informed, the medical examination. This is the checklist your rights are made of.

Maneka Gandhi: How Article 21 Grew Teeth

Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India

A law that takes away your liberty is no longer enough on its own — the procedure it lays down must itself be fair, just and reasonable. This is the case that turned Article 21 from a formality into a real protection.

Kesavananda Bharati: The Limits of Parliament

Kesavananda Bharati Sripadagalvaru v. State of Kerala

Parliament can amend any part of the Constitution — but it cannot damage or destroy the Constitution's basic structure. Every later challenge to an amendment starts here.

Supreme Court: A 25-Year Fight for Back Wages

A CRPF officer was removed from service in 1995 and spent a quarter of a century in court. The Supreme Court held that once a wrongful penalty is cut down it relates back to the original date — and ordered his promotion made real, his back wages and pension paid, and ₹10 lakh in costs for the ordeal.

Supreme Court: Early Release for Elderly, Ill Prisoners

The Supreme Court has given every State and Union Territory three months to create a proper system for releasing prisoners who are very old or dying — holding that keeping them locked up with no way out, and no real medical care, violates the Constitution.

Supreme Court: Fake AI Case Law Makes a Ruling Void

The Supreme Court threw out insolvency orders against a company after finding that the tribunal had leaned on six precedents that were fake, misquoted, or simply did not exist — and laid down a zero-tolerance rule for judges and lawyers alike.

When a bank's property auction can be set aside

A bank's SARFAESI auction can be cancelled if the rules are not followed - here the winning bidder paid the balance five days late, so the Supreme Court set the sale aside and let the owner's family redeem the property.