Landmark court decisions in India substantially change the interpretation of existing

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

. Such a

landmark decision Landmark court decisions, in present-day common law legal systems, establish precedents that determine a significant new legal principle or concept, or otherwise substantially affect the interpretation of existing law. "Leading case" is commonly u ...

may settle the law in more than one way. In present-day

common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...

legal systems it may do so by:A. W. B. Simpson, ''Leading Cases in the Common Law'', Clarendon Press, 199

/ref> * Establishing a significant new Legal doctrine, legal principle or concept; * Overturning prior precedent based on its negative effects or flaws in its reasoning; *

Distinguishing The ruling made by the judge or panel of judges must be based on the evidence at hand and the standard binding precedents covering the subject-matter (they must be ''followed''). Definition In law, to distinguish a case means a court decides th ...

a new principle that refines a prior principle, thus departing from prior practice without violating the rule of ''

stare decisis A precedent is a principle or rule established in a previous legal case that is either binding on or persuasive for a court or other tribunal when deciding subsequent cases with similar issues or facts. Common-law legal systems place great valu ...

''; * Establishing a "test" (that is, a measurable standard that can be applied by courts in future decisions). In India, landmark court decisions come most frequently from the

Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme judicial authority of India and is the highest court of the Republic of India under the constitution. It is the most senior constitutional court, has the final decision in all legal matters ...

, which is the highest judicial body in India.

High courts of India The high courts of India are the highest courts of appellate jurisdiction in each state and union territory of India. However, a high court exercises its original civil and criminal jurisdiction only if the subordinate courts are not authorize ...

may also make such decisions, particularly if the Supreme Court chooses not to review the case or if it adopts the holding of the lower court.

Individual rights

National Legal Services Authority v. Union of India National Legal Services Authority v. Union of India (2014) is a landmark judgement of the Supreme Court of India, which declared transgender people the 'third gender', affirmed that the fundamental rights granted under the Constitution of India ...

, recognition of transgender as '

third gender Third gender is a concept in which individuals are categorized, either by themselves or by society, as neither man nor woman. It is also a social category present in societies that recognize three or more genders. The term ''third'' is usually ...

' in law *

Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India Secretary Ministry of Law and Justice (2018) is a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of India that decriminalised all consensual sex among adults, including homosexual sex. The court was asked to dete ...

, Decriminalisation of homosexuality * Deepika Singh v. Central Administrative Tribunal, where court held that atypical families and same-sex couples are deserving of equal protection under law and benefits available under social welfare legislation. * ADM Jabalpur v. Shivkant Shukla, a person's right to not be unlawfully detained (i.e. habeas corpus) can be suspended during emergency. *

Right to Privacy verdict Justice K. S. Puttaswamy () vs Union Of India (2017), also known as Right to Privacy verdict is a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of India, which holds that the right to privacy is protected as a fundamental right under Articles 14 ...

, Justice K. S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) & Anr. v. Union of India & Ors., wherein the Court held that

Right to privacy The right to privacy is an element of various legal traditions that intends to restrain governmental and private actions that threaten the privacy of individuals. Over 150 national constitutions mention the right to privacy. On 10 December 1948 ...

was a

fundamental right Fundamental rights are a group of rights that have been recognized by a high degree of protection from encroachment. These rights are specifically identified in a constitution, or have been found under due process of law. The United Nations' Sustai ...

under the

Constitution of India The Constitution of India (IAST: ) is the supreme law of India. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental ri ...

. ::The ''ADM Jabalpur case'' was overruled on the doctrinal grounds concerning the rights by the

Criminal law

* Arnesh Kumar Guidelines or ''Arnesh Kumar vs State of Bihar (2014)''

Constitutional jurisprudence

The

, which is the highest judicial body in India, has decided many leading cases of Constitutional jurisprudence, establishing Constitution Benches for hearing the same. Given below are a list of some leading cases: * I.C. Golaknath and Ors. vs State of Punjab and Anrs. * Kesavananda Bharati Sripadagalvaru & Ors. v. State of Kerala & Anr., (W.P. (C) 135 of 1970), was a case in which the Court formally adopted the

Basic structure doctrine The basic structure doctrine is a common law legal doctrine that the constitution of a sovereign state has certain characteristics that cannot be erased by its legislature. The doctrine is recognised in India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Pakistan, and ...

. *

Three Judges Cases The Indian Judicial collegium system, where existing judges appoint judges to the nation's constitutional courts, has its genesis in, and continued basis resting on, three of its own judgments made by Supreme Court judges which are collectively ...

(in which the Court established precedent regarding appointment of judges while ensuring absolute independence of the judiciary from the Legislature and the Executive): # S.P. Gupta v. Union of India & Anr. (Transfer Case (civil) 19 of 1981; 1982 2 SCR 365) # Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association & Anr. v. Union of India (W.P. (C) 1303 of 1987) # In re Special reference 1 of 1998 *

Minerva Mills v. Union of India ''Minerva Mills Ltd. and Ors. v. Union Of India and Ors.'' (case number: Writ Petition (Civil) 356 of 1977; case citation: AIR 1980 SC 1789) is a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of India that applied and evolved the basic structure doct ...

* Mohammad Salimullah v. Union of India * Mohini Jain v. State of Karnataka *

S. R. Bommai v. Union of India ''S. R. Bommai v. Union of India'' ( 9942 SCR 644 : AIR 1994 SC 1918 : (1994)3 SCC1) is a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of India, where the Court discussed at length provisions of Article 356 of the Constitution of India and related i ...

* State of Madras v. Champakam Dorairajan

List

Reference

{{reflist Indian case law Supreme Court of India cases

Individual rights

Criminal law

Constitutional jurisprudence

List

See also

Reference