In December 1981 a seven-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court delivered the First Judges Case. Justice Bhagwati's opinion opened the courthouse door to public-spirited litigants and gave India its doctrine of Public Interest Litigation, while the majority held that 'consultation' of the Chief Justice in judicial appointments did not mean concurrence. A digest of the facts, the two holdings, and their divergent later fortunes.
In July 2025 a Bombay High Court Division Bench dismissed a public interest litigation alleging that Prada's Milan runway sandals copied the Kolhapuri Chappal geographical indication. The Court held that the right to sue for GI infringement belongs to registered proprietors and authorised users, not to advocates filing a PIL under Article 226. A digest of the facts, the locus and forum holding, and what it settles about GI enforcement.
Justice Neerja K. Kalson held that a maternal grandmother in actual care and custody of her granddaughter has sufficient eligibility to maintain a section 125 CrPC application on the minor's behalf where the parental relationship has broken down; the minor's statutory right to maintenance cannot be defeated by a technical objection to who instituted the petition.
On 18 September 1982, a two-judge bench held that payment below minimum wage is 'forced labour' under Article 23, opening Article 32 to construction workers at the Delhi Asian Games sites.