Section 497 of the Indian Penal Code criminalized adultery, treating it as an offence committed by a man against another man (the husband of the woman). Women were seen as passive objects, with no agency, and could not be punished under the law. This archaic provision was widely criticized for being discriminatory and violative of fundamental rights. In 2018, the Supreme Court unanimously struck down Section 497, declaring it unconstitutional. The Court held that criminalizin

The Common Cause case tackled one of the most sensitive ethical and legal questions: Should individuals have the right to die with dignity when facing terminal illness and suffering? The Supreme Court, in a historic ruling, recognized the right to die with dignity as part of the right to life under Article 21. The Court legalized passive euthanasia, allowing withdrawal of life support in certain cases, and also upheld the validity of “living wills”—documents through which ind

The Puttaswamy judgment is a watershed in Indian constitutional law. For decades, the right to privacy was uncertain in India, often seen as a mere implied right rather than a guaranteed one. In 2017, a nine-judge Constitution Bench unanimously held that privacy is intrinsic to life and liberty under Article 21, thereby elevating it to the status of a fundamental right. The case arose in the backdrop of challenges to Aadhaar, the biometric-based identification system. While t

The decision in Indra Sawhney v. Union of India  remains one of the most significant constitutional pronouncements on the principle of...