Article 143, Constitution

57 Landmark Constitutional Cases: Complete Notes

About this topic ▶ Watch this part of the lecture (0:00) These notes cover the 57 most important cases of Indian Constitutional Law . They are the cases that keep coming up in LL.B. examinations, in judiciary examinations and in every serious discussion of constitutional law. Every case is studied…

411 min read 16 Oct 2026

Constitutional Law II: Complete Notes

Constitutional Law II deals with civil liberties. It is studied in eight units, from the question of who is a citizen of India to how the Constitution enforces the rights it gives. These rights are at work in ordinary life: when a person speaks his mind online, prays in his own way, or is stopped b…

130 min read 16 Oct 2026

In this 1960 advisory opinion on a Presidential reference under Article 143(1), the Supreme Court held that dividing Berubari Union and exchanging enclaves under the Nehru-Noon Agreement was a cession of Indian territory. Such a cession cannot be done by an executive agreement or by an ordinary law under Article 3. It needs a constitutional amendment under Article 368 that amends Article 1 and the First Schedule by special majority. The case matters because it fixed the constitutional route for giving away territory, which was later followed in the Ninth Amendment (1960) and the Hundredth Amendment (2015).

In S. P. Gupta v. Union of India (1981), a seven-judge bench of the Supreme Court held that 'consultation' with the judiciary in appointing judges does not mean 'concurrence'. Consultation is mandatory and must be full and effective, but the final decision rests with the President acting on the advice of the Council of Ministers. The case also widened locus standi, laying a foundation for public interest litigation, and linked the right to know to Article 19(1)(a). It was later overruled by the Second Judges Case of 1993.