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Legal Library
Supreme Court and High Court judgments, bare acts, and commentary — searchable, correctly cited, and explained in plain language. Search and full text are on the way; below is what the library will hold.
Central Acts and Rules as they stand — the Constitution, CPC, Contract Act, and the criminal codes as replaced on 1 July 2024 by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and Sakshya Adhiniyam.
Landmark cases
Subject and subsequent history, flagged where a judgment is no longer good law — not a substitute for reading the full report.
Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala
(1973) 4 SCC 225
Supreme Court
Basic structure — limits on Parliament's amending power
Minerva Mills v. Union of India
(1980) 3 SCC 625
Supreme Court
Basic structure — balance between Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles
Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India
(1978) 1 SCC 248
Supreme Court
Article 21 — procedure must be fair, just and reasonable
ADM Jabalpur v. Shivkant Shukla
(1976) 2 SCC 521
Supreme Court
Habeas corpus during the Emergency — expressly overruled in Puttaswamy (2017)
S.R. Bommai v. Union of India
(1994) 3 SCC 1
Supreme Court
Article 356 — judicial review of President's Rule; federalism and secularism
Indra Sawhney v. Union of India
1992 Supp (3) SCC 217
Supreme Court
Reservation — OBC quota, creamy layer, and the 50% ceiling
K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India
(2017) 10 SCC 1
Supreme Court
Privacy as a fundamental right under Articles 14, 19 and 21
Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan
(1997) 6 SCC 241
Supreme Court
Workplace harassment — guidelines under Article 141
Shayara Bano v. Union of India
(2017) 9 SCC 1
Supreme Court
Talaq-e-biddat — instant triple talaq set aside
National Legal Services Authority v. Union of India
(2014) 5 SCC 438
Supreme Court
Gender identity — legal recognition of transgender persons
Naz Foundation v. Govt. of NCT of Delhi
160 (2009) DLT 277
Delhi High Court
Section 377 IPC read down — reversed in 2013, vindicated by Navtej (2018)
Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India
(2018) 10 SCC 1
Supreme Court
Section 377 IPC — dignity and sexual autonomy
Joseph Shine v. Union of India
(2019) 3 SCC 39
Supreme Court
Section 497 IPC — adultery decriminalised
Indian Young Lawyers Assn. v. State of Kerala
(2019) 11 SCC 1
Supreme Court
Sabarimala — temple entry, Article 25 and essential religious practice
Supriyo v. Union of India
2023 INSC 920
Supreme Court
Marriage equality — right to marry held statutory, not constitutional
Vineeta Sharma v. Rakesh Sharma
(2020) 9 SCC 1
Supreme Court
Hindu Succession Act, Section 6 — daughters are coparceners by birth
Common Cause v. Union of India
(2018) 5 SCC 1
Supreme Court
Living will and passive euthanasia under Article 21
Shreya Singhal v. Union of India
(2015) 5 SCC 1
Supreme Court
Section 66A, IT Act — vagueness and the limits on online speech
Anuradha Bhasin v. Union of India
(2020) 3 SCC 637
Supreme Court
Internet shutdowns — proportionality and publication of orders
Association for Democratic Reforms v. Union of India
(2024) 5 SCC 1
Supreme Court
Electoral bonds struck down — the voter's right to information
Bachan Singh v. State of Punjab
(1980) 2 SCC 684
Supreme Court
Death penalty — the 'rarest of rare' test
D.K. Basu v. State of West Bengal
(1997) 1 SCC 416
Supreme Court
Arrest and custodial safeguards; compensation for custodial violence
Lalita Kumari v. Govt. of Uttar Pradesh
(2014) 2 SCC 1
Supreme Court
Registration of FIR is mandatory for a cognizable offence
Selvi v. State of Karnataka
(2010) 7 SCC 263
Supreme Court
Narcoanalysis and polygraph testing against Article 20(3)
M.C. Mehta v. Union of India
(1987) 1 SCC 395
Supreme Court
Article 21 — absolute liability for hazardous industry
Vellore Citizens' Welfare Forum v. Union of India
(1996) 5 SCC 647
Supreme Court
Precautionary principle and polluter pays as part of Indian law
Olga Tellis v. Bombay Municipal Corporation
(1985) 3 SCC 545
Supreme Court
Right to livelihood as part of Article 21
Vidya Drolia v. Durga Trading Corporation
(2021) 2 SCC 1
Supreme Court
Arbitrability — the fourfold test for when a dispute is incapable of resolution by arbitration
Rangappa v. Sri Mohan
(2010) 11 SCC 441
Supreme Court
Section 139, Negotiable Instruments Act — the presumption of a legally enforceable debt is rebuttable, not a dispensation from proof
Shilpa Sailesh v. Varun Sreenivasan
2023 SCC OnLine SC 544
Supreme Court
Article 142 — Supreme Court's power to grant divorce on irretrievable breakdown of marriage without both parties' consent
Chandra Kishore Chaurasia v. R.A. Perfumery Works Pvt. Ltd.
2022 SCC OnLine Del 3529
Delhi High Court
Section 12A, Commercial Courts Act, 2015 — a plaint that genuinely contemplates urgent interim relief need not go through pre-institution mediation first
Try Shisho on a sample writ petition, or start a course track — both cite the same authorities the library will index.
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