Supreme Court of India Maneka Gandhi vs Union Of India on 25 January,1978

Imagine the government took away your passport, gave you no reason, and no chance to say anything back — and told you it was all perfectly legal because a procedure existed somewhere on paper. That is exactly what happened to Maneka Gandhi in 1977, and the case she took to the Supreme Court changed what the word “procedure” means in Article 21 of the Constitution, for every person in India, ever since.

In two minutes

Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India (AIR 1978 SC 597) held that the “procedure established by law” that can deprive a person of personal liberty under Article 21 must itself be right, just and fair, not arbitrary or oppressive — and that Articles 14, 19 and 21 must be read together, not as separate compartments.

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