Addressing the practice of municipal authorities demolishing houses immediately after a family member was accused of a crime, the Supreme Court held that the Executive cannot replace the Judiciary. Even if one person in a household is an accused or convict, demolishing the family home punishes innocent spouses, children, and elderly parents and violates the Right to Shelter under Article 21.

A 5-Judge Constitution Bench unanimously struck down the Electoral Bonds Scheme, ruling that unlimited anonymous corporate donations to political parties violate a voter’s Fundamental Right to Information under Article 19(1)(a). To cast an informed vote, citizens have a constitutional right to know who is financing political parties.

Overruling decades-old judgments from the 1950s and 1960s, a historic 9-Judge Constitution Bench unanimously ruled that Privacy—covering your bodily autonomy, personal communications, home, and digital data—is an intrinsic part of the Right to Life and Personal Liberty under Article 21.

When citizens and students were arrested for peaceful Facebook posts criticizing politicians, the Supreme Court struck down Section 66A of the IT Act in its entirety. The Court drew a clear constitutional line between mere "Advocacy / Discussion" (protected speech) and "Incitement to Imminent Violence" (punishable speech).

Together, *Lalita Kumari (2013)* and *Arnesh Kumar (2014)* transformed how every police station in India operates: first, police MUST register an FIR whenever a cognizable offence is reported; second, for any offence punishable with up to 7 years in prison, police CANNOT automatically arrest the accused and must first serve an Appearance Notice.

When starvation deaths occurred in drought-hit states even while 50 million tonnes of grain sat rotting in government godowns, the Supreme Court used the innovative tool of "Continuing Mandamus" to convert the Right to Food into an enforceable Fundamental Right under Article 21—mandating hot cooked Mid-Day Meals in every government school and laying the foundation for the National Food Security Act.

For 47 years after the Constitution came into force, India had zero law against workplace sexual harassment. When social worker Bhanwari Devi was assaulted in Rajasthan for stopping a child marriage, the Supreme Court invoked Articles 32 and 141 to write the binding **Vishaka Guidelines**—mandating an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) in every workplace until Parliament passed the POSH Act in 2013.

Between 1950 and 1994, Article 356 (President’s Rule) was used over 100 times by Central Governments to dismiss opposition-ruled State Governments. A 9-Judge Constitution Bench put an end to this abuse, declaring **Federalism** and **Secularism** part of the Constitution’s Basic Structure and ruling that a Chief Minister’s majority can ONLY be tested through an open Floor Test in the Legislative Assembly.

Before 1978, Article 21 was interpreted narrowly: as long as Parliament passed *any* procedure by law, the State could take away a citizen’s liberty. A 7-Judge Constitution Bench revolutionized Indian constitutional law by linking Articles 14 (Equality), 19 (Freedoms), and 21 (Life & Liberty) into a **"Golden Triangle"**—ruling that any procedure affecting a citizen must be *just, fair, and reasonable*, never arbitrary.

Sitting for 68 historic days, the largest bench in Supreme Court history (13 Judges) resolved the ultimate constitutional question: Does a government with a two-thirds majority in Parliament have unlimited power under Article 368 to rewrite or abolish democracy, courts, and Fundamental Rights? By a razor-thin 7:6 majority, the Court established the **Basic Structure Doctrine**—ruling that "to amend" does not mean "to destroy."