Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India
AIR 1978 SC 597 · 7-judge bench
The government impounded journalist Maneka Gandhi's passport "in the public interest" without giving her a reason or a hearing. She challenged this as a violation of her personal liberty.
The Court held that the "procedure established by law" restricting personal liberty under Article 21 must itself be fair, just and reasonable — not just any procedure Parliament happens to enact. It also held that Articles 14 (equality), 19 (freedoms) and 21 (life and liberty) are interlinked, not watertight compartments — together known as the "Golden Triangle."
This single ruling transformed Article 21 from a narrow procedural guarantee into the foundation for almost every major personal-liberty right the Supreme Court has recognised since (privacy, dignity, livelihood, a clean environment, and more all trace back to this expanded reading).
Related law
The right to life and personal liberty this case fundamentally expanded
Keep exploring
Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala
This is arguably the single most important case in Indian constitutional history — the "Basic Structure Doctrine" it created is what stops Parliament from, say, amending away elections or the judiciary itself, even with the numbers to pass a constitutional amendment.
Justice K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India
This is the constitutional foundation later relied on in the decriminalisation of homosexuality (Navtej Johar) and the transgender self-identification ruling (NALSA had already touched on dignity, but Puttaswamy made privacy itself explicit) — one ruling that reshaped multiple areas of personal-autonomy law.
Olga Tellis v. Bombay Municipal Corporation
One of the earliest and most important cases expanding Article 21 beyond mere physical survival — the legal foundation for arguing that livelihood, not just biological life, is constitutionally protected.
This is a plain-English summary, not verbatim judgment text. Adhikar is an independent citizen-awareness platform, not a Government of India website. Always verify against the full judgment (indiankanoon.org, sci.gov.in) or a qualified advocate before relying on this for an actual legal situation.