Cover the right column and recall the principle. For the objective paper you need the case name paired with the doctrine, not the full reasoning. CAPF tends to test the basic-structure line, the rights cases, and the police and human-rights cases. For doctrine see amendments and basic structure and judiciary.
| Case |
Principle |
| Shankari Prasad (1951) |
Parliament can amend Fundamental Rights under Article 368 |
| Golak Nath (1967) |
Parliament cannot abridge Fundamental Rights by amendment |
| Kesavananda Bharati (1973) |
Basic Structure doctrine: Parliament can amend any part but not destroy the essential framework |
| Indira Nehru Gandhi v. Raj Narain (1975) |
Free and fair elections held part of the basic structure |
| Minerva Mills (1980) |
Limited amending power and judicial review are part of the basic structure; struck down parts of the 42nd Amendment |
| Waman Rao (1981) |
Laws placed in the Ninth Schedule after Kesavananda are open to basic-structure review |
| Case |
Principle |
| A K Gopalan (1950) |
Early narrow reading of Article 21 (procedure need only be enacted) |
| Maneka Gandhi (1978) |
Article 21 procedure must be just, fair and reasonable; linked Articles 14, 19, 21 |
| Olga Tellis (1985) |
Right to livelihood read into the right to life |
| M C Mehta cases |
Absolute liability and environmental protection under Article 21 |
| Unni Krishnan (1993) |
Right to education flows from Article 21 (later Article 21A) |
| Puttaswamy (2017) |
Right to privacy is a fundamental right under Article 21 |
See fundamental rights.
| Case |
Principle |
| Champakam Dorairajan (1951) |
Led to the First Amendment enabling Article 15(4) |
| Indra Sawhney (1992) |
Upheld OBC reservation; capped total reservation at 50 per cent; creamy layer |
| M Nagaraj (2006) |
Conditions for reservation in promotions for SC/ST |
| Case |
Principle |
| D K Basu v. State of West Bengal (1997) |
Binding guidelines on arrest and custody to prevent custodial torture and deaths |
| Joginder Kumar (1994) |
Arrest must not be routine; rights on arrest reaffirmed |
| Prakash Singh (2006) |
Police reforms directions: State Security Commission, fixed tenures, separation of investigation and law-and-order |
| Vishaka (1997) |
Guidelines against sexual harassment at the workplace (until the 2013 Act) |
| Nilabati Behera (1993) |
Compensation as a public-law remedy for custodial death |
| PUCL v. Union of India |
Privacy of communication and limits on telephone tapping |
These cases recur in the human-rights dimension CAPF emphasises; cross-read human rights and internal security and last minute internal security.
| Case |
Principle |
| S R Bommai (1994) |
Limits on Article 356; floor test; secularism part of basic structure |
| Berubari (1960) |
Cession of territory needs a constitutional amendment |
| Kihoto Hollohan (1992) |
Anti-defection Speaker's decision subject to judicial review |
| I R Coelho (2007) |
Ninth Schedule laws after 1973 subject to basic-structure test |
See federalism and centre state relations.