Landmark Judgements on Constitutional Law- III

Ruchika Mohapatra

17 February 20231 min read

Here are a few landmark cases on Constitutional Law to help you prepare better for CLAT.

PUDR v UoI: SC held that a person who provides labor or service to another for less than the minimum wage will be said to be under forced labor.
Bachpan Bachaao Andolan v. UoI: SC held that sexual, physical and emotional abuse of children detained in circus is violation of Art. 21.
S.P Mittal v UoI: SC held that religious denominations must satisfy the following criteria: – It must a group of individuals with a collective system of belief about their spiritual well-being – It must have a common organization – It must be designated by a distinctive name
Daryao v. State of UP: When the matter has been heard and decided by the High Court under Article 226, the writ under Article 32 is barred by the principle of res judicata.
Nilabati Behera v. State of Odisha: SC dealt with custodial torture and death in this case and awarded compensation to the family of the deceased who died in police custody.
Indian Young Lawyers Association v. State of Kerala: Right to freedom of religion is not absolute and must be harmonized with other liberties and freedoms and is subject to constitutional morality.
A. K Gopalan v. State of Madras: Personal liberty in Art.21 means the liberty of the physical body and nothing else. Procedure established by law doesn’t mean due process of law.
Maneka Gandhi v. UoI: The procedure established by law should be just, fair and reasonable.
Joseph Shine v. UoI: Section 499 of the IPC was held to be unconstitutional as it violated Art.21 by violating women’s right to dignity.
Navtej Singh Johar v. UoI: SC declared Section 377 of the IPC (criminalized homosexual acts) unconstitutional.
Paramanand Katara v. UoI: SC held that all doctors are obliged to extend medical assistance immediately without asking for any legal formalities.
Murli S. Deora v. UoI: In this case, the SC directed Government to issue orders to ban smoking in public places.
Justice K.S. Puttaswamy v. UoI: SC held that right to privacy is a fundamental right and is protected under Art. 21. In this case, the SC also upheld the validity of Aadhar after striking down a few provisions.
Re-Ramlila Maidan Incident v. Home Secretary, UoI: SC held that the right to sleep is a fundamental right.
Gian Kaur v. State of Punjab: SC held that the ‘right to life’ does not include the ‘right to die’.
Aruna Ramchandra Shanbaug v. UoI: In this case, the SC held that in certain cases passive euthanasia is allowed.
National Legal Service Authority v. UoI: SC held that self-determination of gender is a part of personal liberty guaranteed under Art. 21.

You can go through the first part of the article here.

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Ruchika Mohapatra

Contributing author

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Here are a few landmark cases on Constitutional Law to help you prepare better for CLAT.

PUDR v UoI: SC held that a person who provides labor or service to another for less than the minimum wage will be said to be under forced labor.

Bachpan Bachaao Andolan v. UoI: SC held that sexual, physical and emotional abuse of children detained in circus is violation of Art. 21.

S.P Mittal v UoI: SC held that religious denominations must satisfy the following criteria: – It must a group of individuals with a collective system of belief about their spiritual well-being – It must have a common organization – It must be designated by a distinctive name

Daryao v. State of UP: When the matter has been heard and decided by the High Court under Article 226, the writ under Article 32 is barred by the principle of res judicata.

Nilabati Behera v. State of Odisha: SC dealt with custodial torture and death in this case and awarded compensation to the family of the deceased who died in police custody.

Indian Young Lawyers Association v. State of Kerala: Right to freedom of religion is not absolute and must be harmonized with other liberties and freedoms and is subject to constitutional morality.

A. K Gopalan v. State of Madras: Personal liberty in Art.21 means the liberty of the physical body and nothing else. Procedure established by law doesn’t mean due process of law.

Maneka Gandhi v. UoI: The procedure established by law should be just, fair and reasonable.

Joseph Shine v. UoI: Section 499 of the IPC was held to be unconstitutional as it violated Art.21 by violating women’s right to dignity.

Navtej Singh Johar v. UoI: SC declared Section 377 of the IPC (criminalized homosexual acts) unconstitutional.

Paramanand Katara v. UoI: SC held that all doctors are obliged to extend medical assistance immediately without asking for any legal formalities.

Murli S. Deora v. UoI: In this case, the SC directed Government to issue orders to ban smoking in public places.

Justice K.S. Puttaswamy v. UoI: SC held that right to privacy is a fundamental right and is protected under Art. 21. In this case, the SC also upheld the validity of Aadhar after striking down a few provisions.

Re-Ramlila Maidan Incident v. Home Secretary, UoI: SC held that the right to sleep is a fundamental right.

Gian Kaur v. State of Punjab: SC held that the ‘right to life’ does not include the ‘right to die’.

Aruna Ramchandra Shanbaug v. UoI: In this case, the SC held that in certain cases passive euthanasia is allowed.

National Legal Service Authority v. UoI: SC held that self-determination of gender is a part of personal liberty guaranteed under Art. 21.

You can go through the first part of the article here.