At AI-Timeline, every tale unfolds like a journey, captured beautifully through timelines and vivid storytelling.
India's political history is also a history of cases: scandals that forced resignations, court rulings that decided who could govern, crimes that moved elections, and riots and movements that brought governments down. This hub indexes 177 of them since 1948, each tagged with the party in power at the Centre and, where confirmed, in the state, and links to our full timeline for each case.
Anniversaries of cases on this page that fall this week.
These cases already have a complete AiTimeline story, with the court record, the political angle and what changed. The rest of the map fills in as each one is published.
Bhopal Medical Appeal, Martin Stott · CC BY-SA 2.0
Bhopal Gas Tragedy
One night in 1984, a gas leak, and decades of arguments about who pays.
Centre Congress
Mick from Northamptonshire, England · CC BY 2.0
Bofors Scandal
Which parts of the Bofors case were proved, and which never were.
Centre Congress
Read the full timeline →
Appaiah · CC BY-SA 2.0
Harshad Mehta Securities Scam
How one broker moved a market, and which rules his scam forced.
Centre Congress
Read the full timeline →
Nicholas (Nichalp) · CC BY-SA 3.0
26/11 Mumbai Attacks
Sixty hours in November 2008 that changed India's security set-up.
Centre Congress-led UPA
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Biswarup Ganguly · CC BY 3.0
Demonetisation
Two notes withdrawn at eight in the evening, and a verdict six years later.
Centre BJP-led NDA
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Legaleagle86 · CC BY-SA 3.0
Electoral Bonds Case
How anonymous political donations worked, and why the Supreme Court struck them down.
Centre BJP-led NDA
Read the full timeline →
Ramchandra9 · CC BY 3.0
Article 370 Abrogation
How Jammu and Kashmir's special status ended, and what the Supreme Court held.
Centre BJP-led NDA
Read the full timeline →
Ankita Bhandari Case
Murder, verdict and the search for justice in the Ankita Bhandari case.
Centre BJP-led NDA
Biswarup Ganguly · CC BY 3.0
Exam Paper Leak Scams in India
Exam paper leaks across India: the pattern, and the law that followed.
Centre BJP-led NDA
Read the full timeline →
Ministry of Education · GODL-India
NEET-UG Paper Leak Controversy
The NEET-UG 2024 row, from leak allegations to student protests.
Centre BJP-led NDA
Read the full timeline →
Images via Wikimedia Commons: Bhopal Gas Tragedy — Bhopal Medical Appeal, Martin Stott, CC BY-SA 2.0; Bofors Scandal — Mick from Northamptonshire, England, CC BY 2.0; Harshad Mehta Securities Scam — Appaiah, CC BY-SA 2.0; 26/11 Mumbai Attacks — Nicholas (Nichalp), CC BY-SA 3.0; Demonetisation — Biswarup Ganguly, CC BY 3.0; Electoral Bonds Case — Legaleagle86, CC BY-SA 3.0; Article 370 Abrogation — Ramchandra9, CC BY 3.0; Exam Paper Leak Scams in India — Biswarup Ganguly, CC BY 3.0; NEET-UG Paper Leak Controversy — Ministry of Education, GODL-India.
Every dot is a case, placed in the year it began, above the government in office at the Centre. Green dots have a full timeline. Hover or tap a dot to see the case and jump to it.
Bands show the government and Prime Minister in office, including short acting terms. On a phone, scroll the strip sideways.
Every entry below led to a resignation, a dismissal, a lost election, a new law or a court ruling on who governs. Jump to any of them in the full timeline.
Darker teal means more cases in that state. Tap a state to highlight it in pink and see its cases. The gold pin on Delhi marks the cases decided or driven at the Centre.
Counts are by where a case happened or was decided; cases handled nationally sit under the Centre. Illustrative map, not to scale. Map shapes: SVG Maps (@svg-maps/india), CC BY 4.0.
Filter by type, level of government or year, or search by name, state or party. Cases without a link are in production; they are listed now so this map stays complete.
Four hours' notice, a nationwide lockdown and workers walking home.
The nationwide lockdown from 25 March 2020 left millions of migrant workers stranded, many walking home; the Supreme Court took suo motu notice in May 2020.
Days in February 2020, and a conspiracy case still in court.
Communal violence in north-east Delhi in February 2020 amid the CAA protests killed more than 50 people; conspiracy cases and bail litigation continue.
A year at Delhi's borders that ended with three laws repealed.
A year-long protest at Delhi's borders against three farm laws, which were repealed in November 2021.
A death, a night-time cremation and a CBI probe.
Death of a Dalit woman after an alleged gang-rape in Hathras in 2020 and a disputed night-time cremation; in March 2023 a special court convicted one accused of culpable homicide and acquitted three.
Timeline in productionFather and son, a Tamil Nadu police station and a CBI case.
Father and son P. Jayaraj and J. Bennix died after police custody in June 2020; the CBI took over the case.
Eight policemen killed, and a gangster dead days later.
Eight policemen were killed in Kanpur in July 2020; the gangster was killed days later in a police encounter, and a Supreme Court-appointed commission found no evidence to doubt the police account.
Timeline in productionA farmers' protest turned deadly, and the Supreme Court watched the probe.
Eight people, including four farmers, were killed in October 2021; a Union minister's son was named the main accused, the Supreme Court monitored the probe, and the trial is ongoing.
Spyware on phones, and a Supreme Court committee.
Reports in July 2021 that Pegasus spyware was used on Indian phones; a Supreme Court-appointed technical committee found malware on five of 29 phones in 2022 but no conclusive evidence of Pegasus.
Timeline in productionMurder, verdict and the search for justice in the Ankita Bhandari case.
Murder of a 19-year-old resort receptionist in Pauri Garhwal in September 2022, and the long fight over accountability, the political links of the resort owner's family, and the trial.
A policy withdrawn, arrests of senior leaders and a long bail fight.
CBI and ED investigations into Delhi's 2021–22 excise policy led to arrests of senior AAP leaders and extended bail litigation; the accused deny wrongdoing and the cases are pending.
How a party split brought down a government.
A rebellion led by Eknath Shinde brought down the Uddhav Thackeray government in June 2022; the Supreme Court's May 2023 ruling examined the Governor's actions.
About 25,000 school jobs cancelled after a recruitment scandal.
Irregularities in teacher and staff recruitment by the West Bengal School Service Commission; minister Partha Chatterjee was arrested in 2022, and the Supreme Court in April 2025 upheld the cancellation of about 25,000 appointments.
A hundred and thirty-five lives lost on a bridge, weeks before an election.
A suspension bridge collapsed on 30 October 2022, killing 135 people, weeks before the Gujarat Assembly election.
A short-seller report, a denial and a regulator's ruling.
A short-seller report in January 2023 alleged stock manipulation at the Adani Group, which denied it; the Supreme Court declined a fresh probe in 2024, and SEBI dismissed key allegations in September 2025.
Timeline in productionEthnic violence, a viral video and, in 2025, President's Rule.
Ethnic violence between Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities from May 2023; a viral video prompted Supreme Court intervention, and President's Rule was imposed in February 2025.
India's deadliest rail crash in decades, and the signalling questions behind it.
Three trains collided near Bahanaga Bazar station in Odisha on 2 June 2023, killing nearly 300 people; the CBI arrested three railway employees.
Who runs Delhi's officers? The Supreme Court answered, then Parliament did.
The Supreme Court ruled in May 2023 that Delhi's elected government controls services; Parliament later passed a law restoring the Centre's control.
A conviction, a disqualification and a Supreme Court stay.
A March 2023 conviction led to his disqualification from the Lok Sabha; the Supreme Court stayed the conviction in August 2023.
The court said no to same-sex marriage, and passed the question to Parliament.
The Supreme Court declined in October 2023 to recognise same-sex marriage, leaving the question to Parliament.
Seventeen days underground, and all 41 workers came out alive.
A collapse in an under-construction highway tunnel trapped 41 workers in November 2023; all were rescued after 17 days, with rat-hole miners clearing the final stretch.
Medallists on the streets over harassment allegations against the federation chief.
Olympic medallists protested from January 2023 over sexual-harassment allegations against the Wrestling Federation of India chief; FIRs were registered after Supreme Court intervention, and a Delhi court framed charges in May 2024. He denies the allegations.
Shot dead on live television while in police custody.
A gangster-politician and his brother were shot dead on live television while in police custody in Prayagraj in April 2023.
The ruling that said a house cannot be punished for a crime.
The Supreme Court ruled in November 2024 that homes cannot be demolished as punishment for alleged crimes and set due-process rules for demolitions.
Exam paper leaks across India: the pattern, and the law that followed.
A recurring pattern of leaks across state and central recruitment and entrance exams, and the central anti-paper-leak legislation that followed.
The NEET-UG 2024 row, from leak allegations to student protests.
Allegations of a leak and grace-mark irregularities in NEET-UG 2024 led to protests and the removal of the NTA chief; the Supreme Court declined to order a re-test, finding no evidence of a systemic breach.
Videos in an election season, a suspended MP and a life sentence.
Sexual-abuse cases against the then Hassan MP after explicit videos circulated in April 2024; the JD(S) suspended him, and a special court sentenced him to life imprisonment in one rape case in August 2025.
Timeline in productionA trainee doctor's murder that brought doctors onto the streets across India.
Rape and murder of a trainee doctor at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College in August 2024 triggered doctors' protests across India; a civic volunteer was convicted in January 2025.
A religious gathering, 121 deaths and questions about crowd control.
A crush at a religious congregation in Hathras district on 2 July 2024 killed 121 people; a judicial commission examined the role of the organisers and the administration.
A voter-list revision in Bihar before the election, and the Supreme Court challenge.
The Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision of Bihar's electoral rolls before the 2025 Assembly election was challenged in the Supreme Court; the NDA won 202 of 243 seats in November 2025.
Related timeline →An attack on tourists, Operation Sindoor and four days of conflict.
Militants killed 26 people, most of them tourists, at Pahalgam on 22 April 2025; India struck targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on 7 May, and the two sides agreed to stop military action on 10 May.
Who decides when a bill becomes law? Two Supreme Court answers in one year.
The Supreme Court ruled in April 2025 that the Governor erred in withholding assent to 10 bills and set timelines; on a Presidential Reference in November 2025, a Constitution Bench said courts cannot fix such timelines.
Timeline in productionA victory celebration that ended with 11 deaths outside a stadium.
Eleven people died in a crush outside Chinnaswamy Stadium on 4 June 2025 during celebrations of Royal Challengers Bengaluru's IPL title; senior police officers were suspended.
A fire at a judge's home, a cash discovery and a resignation.
Cash was reported found at the Delhi residence of Justice Yashwant Varma after a fire in March 2025; he denied it was his, an in-house panel and a committee set up by the Lok Sabha Speaker examined the matter, and he resigned in April 2026.
Timeline in productionA night of crowds at the Maha Kumbh, and 30 lives lost by the official count.
A crush at the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj on 29 January 2025 killed 30 people by official figures; a judicial commission was set up.
A new waqf law, petitions in the Supreme Court and a partial stay.
Parliament passed the Waqf (Amendment) Act in April 2025; in September 2025 the Supreme Court declined to stay the whole law but stayed some provisions pending a final hearing.
Timeline in productionA housing society, a war-widows row and a Chief Minister's resignation.
Allegations that flats in a Mumbai housing society, linked in public debate to Kargil war widows, went to politicians, officers and relatives; Chief Minister Ashok Chavan resigned in November 2010.
The Games India hosted, and the contracts that followed.
Irregularities alleged in contracts for the 2010 Delhi Games; organising committee chief Suresh Kalmadi was arrested in 2011, and in 2025 a Delhi court accepted the Enforcement Directorate's closure report in its money-laundering case.
Timeline in productionOne of the deadliest Maoist attacks on India's security forces.
Maoists killed 76 security personnel near Chintalnar in Dantewada district in April 2010, one of the deadliest attacks on security forces in the conflict.
Leaked calls, big names and a privacy question for the Supreme Court.
Leaked phone intercepts of lobbyist Niira Radia with politicians, businessmen and journalists; the Supreme Court examined privacy and use of the tapes.
A hunger fast, a mass movement and a law called the Lokpal.
The 2011 India Against Corruption agitation demanded a Lokpal; the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act was passed in 2013.
A satellite spectrum deal, its annulment and a fraud ruling 11 years later.
The government annulled a 2005 satellite-spectrum agreement between ISRO's commercial arm Antrix and Devas Multimedia in 2011; in January 2022 the Supreme Court upheld the winding up of Devas on grounds of fraud.
Timeline in productionIron ore, a Lokayukta report and a Chief Minister's exit.
A Lokayukta report on illegal iron-ore mining in Bellary named Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, who resigned in July 2011; a CBI court acquitted him in a related case in 2016.
The ruling that ordered a state-backed militia disbanded.
In Nandini Sundar v. State of Chhattisgarh (July 2011), the Supreme Court held the use of armed tribal 'special police officers' against Maoists unconstitutional and ordered the Salwa Judum militia disbanded.
Health-mission funds, killings of medical officers and ministers out of office.
Alleged misuse of National Rural Health Mission funds in Uttar Pradesh; two chief medical officers were murdered, a deputy CMO died in jail, two state ministers resigned, and the CBI took over the investigation.
214 coal blocks cancelled after one audit report.
A CAG report on allocation of coal blocks without auction; the Supreme Court cancelled 214 blocks in 2014.
A December night that changed the law and the national debate.
The December 2012 gang-rape and death of a young woman in Delhi led to nationwide protests, the Justice Verma Committee and the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013.
Costly projects, little irrigation and a Deputy Chief Minister's resignation.
Allegations of cost overruns and irregular approvals in irrigation projects led Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar to resign in September 2012; he returned to office that December, and the state's anti-corruption bureau later closed several inquiries.
A newspaper, a company and a case that is still running.
A complaint alleging irregularities in Young Indian Pvt Ltd's takeover of Associated Journals Ltd's assets; the Congress leaders named deny wrongdoing, and proceedings continue.
A June cloudburst, thousands lost and a Chief Minister replaced.
Cloudbursts and floods in June 2013 killed thousands of people in Uttarakhand, most around Kedarnath; Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna was replaced in early 2014.
An exam scam, deaths that raised questions and a CBI takeover.
Fraud in recruitment and admission examinations in Madhya Pradesh; unusual deaths of accused and witnesses; the Supreme Court transferred cases to the CBI in 2015.
The ruling that ended a safe harbour for convicted lawmakers.
The Supreme Court ruled in July 2013 that MPs and MLAs convicted with a sentence of two years or more are disqualified immediately.
Weeks of violence that displaced tens of thousands.
Communal violence in western Uttar Pradesh in August–September 2013 displaced tens of thousands.
A rationalist's murder, a law days later and a verdict 11 years on.
The rationalist was shot dead in Pune in August 2013; Maharashtra brought in its anti-superstition law days later, and a Pune court convicted two men and acquitted three in May 2024.
Timeline in productionA Railway Board post, a nephew's arrest and a minister's resignation.
The CBI arrested Railway Minister Pawan Bansal's nephew over an alleged bribe for a Railway Board post; Bansal resigned in May 2013, and the CBI later said it found no evidence of his involvement.
Timeline in productionSmall savers, a collapsed chit fund and a CBI probe.
Collapse of the Saradha group wiped out the deposits of lakhs of small investors; the Supreme Court directed a CBI probe in 2014.
A helicopter contract cancelled over bribery allegations.
Allegations of bribery in India's contract for 12 VVIP helicopters; the contract was cancelled in January 2014.
A movement, a fast and a new state carved out in 2014.
After a long statehood movement, including K. Chandrashekar Rao's 2009 fast, Parliament passed the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act and Telangana became a state on 2 June 2014.
A rumour, a mob and a national debate on lynching.
Mohammad Akhlaq was killed by a mob in Bisara village in September 2015 over rumours of beef; the Supreme Court later issued anti-lynching guidelines in 2018.
The law that tried to change how judges are chosen, and the court that struck it down.
The Supreme Court struck down the National Judicial Appointments Commission Act in October 2015, keeping the collegium system.
The 2015 ruling that struck down India's online-speech arrest law.
The Supreme Court struck down Section 66A of the IT Act in March 2015, ending arrests for 'offensive' online posts under that provision.
The court that brought a dismissed government back.
The Supreme Court's July 2016 ruling in Nabam Rebia held the Governor's action unconstitutional and restored the Nabam Tuki government.
Two notes withdrawn at eight in the evening, and a verdict six years later.
Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes were withdrawn on 8 November 2016; the Supreme Court upheld the decision by a 4–1 majority in January 2023.
Thirty-six jets, a political storm and two Supreme Court rulings.
A political row over India's purchase of 36 Rafale jets from France; the Supreme Court dismissed pleas for a probe in December 2018 and review petitions in November 2019.
A government dismissed, restored and tested on the floor.
The Centre imposed President's Rule in March 2016; the Supreme Court restored the Harish Rawat government and ordered a floor test.
Days of arson and blockades over a quota demand.
A violent agitation for OBC status in February 2016 left about 30 people dead and paralysed parts of Haryana.
A scholar's death that started a national debate on caste on campus.
The death by suicide of the Dalit PhD scholar at the University of Hyderabad in January 2016 led to campus protests across India over caste discrimination.
A video from Una and a Dalit protest movement across Gujarat.
Self-styled cow vigilantes flogged Dalit men in Una in July 2016; videos of the assault set off Dalit protests across Gujarat.
An airline's collapse and an extradition fight.
The Kingfisher Airlines founder left India in March 2016 owing banks large dues; extradition proceedings in the UK followed.
One Supreme Court verdict on instant divorce, then a law.
The Supreme Court struck down instant triple talaq in August 2017; Parliament criminalised it in 2019.
A survivor's long fight against a sitting MLA.
Rape allegation against then BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar and the later death of the survivor's father in custody; Sengar was convicted in December 2019 and expelled from the BJP.
A journalist shot dead at her gate, and a trial still under way.
The journalist was shot dead outside her Bengaluru home in September 2017; a special investigation team charge-sheeted 18 accused, and the trial is ongoing.
Timeline in productionChildren's deaths at a hospital, and a dispute over oxygen supply.
More than 60 children died over several days in August 2017 at BRD Medical College, Gorakhpur; whether a lapse in oxygen supply caused deaths was disputed, and the state government denied it.
The ruling that made privacy a fundamental right.
A nine-judge bench held privacy a fundamental right in August 2017.
A clash at a war memorial, and an anti-terror case that held activists for years.
Violence at Bhima Koregaon on 1 January 2018 was followed by arrests of activists, lawyers and academics under anti-terror law; the NIA took over in 2020, several accused were granted bail, and Father Stan Swamy died in custody in 2021.
How anonymous political donations worked, and why the Supreme Court struck them down.
An anonymous political donation instrument introduced in 2018 and struck down by the Supreme Court in February 2024.
A midnight Supreme Court hearing decided who would govern Karnataka.
The Supreme Court heard a midnight petition in May 2018; B.S. Yeddyurappa resigned before a floor test and H.D. Kumaraswamy formed a Congress–JD(S) government.
An audit report, abuse at a state-funded shelter home and 19 convictions.
A social audit exposed sexual abuse of girls at a state-funded shelter home in Muzaffarpur; Bihar's social welfare minister resigned, and in January 2020 a Delhi court convicted 19 people, including the home's owner.
Timeline in productionAadhaar survived the Supreme Court, with limits.
A five-judge bench upheld Aadhaar in September 2018 but struck down its compulsory use by private companies.
An infrastructure lender's default that shook the market.
Defaults by Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services in 2018 shook India's non-bank lending market; the government took over its board.
A child's murder that became a political flashpoint.
Abduction, rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Kathua in 2018; the trial moved to Pathankot, and three men were sentenced to life imprisonment in June 2019.
A quota law passed after mass marches, and struck down by the Supreme Court.
Maharashtra's 2018 quota law for Marathas was struck down by the Supreme Court in May 2021 for breaching the 50% ceiling on reservations.
A bank fraud of over Rs 13,000 crore, discovered in 2018.
Fraudulent letters of undertaking at Punjab National Bank worth over Rs 13,000 crore came to light in 2018.
A temple-entry ruling that became an election issue.
The Supreme Court allowed women of all ages into Kerala's Sabarimala temple in September 2018; protests and electoral politics followed.
The 2018 ruling that decriminalised same-sex relations.
The Supreme Court decriminalised consensual same-sex relations in September 2018.
A protest against a copper plant and 13 deaths in police firing.
Police firing on protesters demanding closure of Vedanta's Sterlite copper plant killed 13 people in May 2018.
The day four Supreme Court judges went public.
Four senior judges publicly questioned the allocation of cases in January 2018.
How Jammu and Kashmir's special status ended, and what the Supreme Court held.
The Centre revoked Jammu and Kashmir's special status in August 2019; the Supreme Court upheld the move in December 2023.
A new citizenship law and months of protests, from Shaheen Bagh to campuses.
Protests from December 2019 against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, including the Shaheen Bagh sit-in.
A pre-dawn swearing-in and a court-ordered floor test.
A pre-dawn swearing-in on 23 November 2019 was followed by a Supreme Court-ordered floor test; Uddhav Thackeray became Chief Minister.
A February attack, a Balakot strike and a general election weeks away.
A suicide bombing killed 40 CRPF personnel on 14 February 2019; India struck Balakot on 26 February, weeks before the general election.
A case that ended in a police encounter and a commission.
The rape and murder of a veterinarian in November 2019; the four accused were killed in a police encounter, and a Supreme Court-appointed commission recommended that the police officers involved be tried.
A hidden camera, a defence deal and resignations at the top.
A hidden-camera sting on alleged defence deals; Defence Minister George Fernandes and BJP president Bangaru Laxman resigned in 2001.
13 December 2001, and the long road to Afzal Guru's execution.
Attack on Parliament on 13 December 2001; Afzal Guru was executed in February 2013.
A train fire, statewide riots and two decades of inquiries.
The Sabarmati Express fire at Godhra on 27 February 2002 was followed by statewide riots; 31 people were convicted over the train fire in 2011, and in 2022 the Supreme Court upheld its SIT's closure report on larger-conspiracy allegations.
Remission granted, remission cancelled: the Bilkis Bano case in the Supreme Court.
Gang-rape and killings during the 2002 riots; the convicts' 2022 remission was set aside by the Supreme Court in January 2024.
A relationship opposed by a politician's family, a murder and 25-year sentences.
Executive Nitish Katara was abducted and killed in February 2002; Vikas Yadav, son of politician D.P. Yadav, and his cousin were convicted, and the Supreme Court fixed a 25-year sentence without remission in 2016.
A corridor near the Taj Mahal, a CBI case and a Governor's refusal.
A project to develop the area near the Taj Mahal was halted amid allegations of irregularities; the CBI registered a case against Chief Minister Mayawati, and in 2007 the Governor refused sanction to prosecute her.
A poet's murder in Lucknow and a minister's conviction.
Poet Madhumita Shukla was shot dead in Lucknow in May 2003; former Uttar Pradesh minister Amarmani Tripathi and his wife were convicted in 2007 and released on remission in 2023.
A fake stamp-paper racket that ran across states.
A counterfeit stamp-paper racket run by Abdul Karim Telgi across several states, reported to run into thousands of crores.
A 2004 encounter, and the question of whether it was staged.
Four people were killed in a Gujarat Police encounter in 2004; the CBI alleged it was staged, and a CBI court discharged the last of the accused police officers in 2021.
Timeline in productionEleven MPs expelled after a hidden camera.
A hidden-camera sting showed MPs accepting money to ask questions in Parliament; eleven MPs were expelled in December 2005.
A UN oil programme and a Foreign Minister's resignation.
The Volcker inquiry named Natwar Singh and the Congress party as non-contractual beneficiaries of Iraq's UN oil-for-food programme; he resigned as External Affairs Minister in December 2005.
An encounter, a trial moved out of Gujarat and 22 acquittals.
Alleged fake encounter in Gujarat; the Supreme Court moved the trial to Mumbai and a CBI court acquitted all 22 accused in 2018.
Four members of a Dalit family killed in a village, and protests across Maharashtra.
Four members of a Dalit family were killed in Khairlanji, Bhandara district, in September 2006; six men were convicted, and the Bombay High Court commuted their death sentences to life in 2010.
A car plant, a police firing and the road to the Left Front's 2011 defeat.
Land-acquisition protests including the March 2007 police firing at Nandigram weakened the Left Front ahead of its 2011 defeat.
Seven directions to free the police from political pressure, and slow compliance.
The Supreme Court in September 2006 directed states to shield police from political interference, including fixed tenures and police establishment boards; compliance has been uneven.
Missing children, a Noida house and acquittals that left the question open.
Remains of missing children were found near a house in Noida in December 2006; the Allahabad High Court acquitted both accused in 2023, and the Supreme Court upheld the acquittals in 2025.
Timeline in productionSixty hours in November 2008 that changed India's security set-up.
Ten gunmen attacked Mumbai in November 2008; Ajmal Kasab was executed in 2012 and the National Investigation Agency was created.
122 licences cancelled, and a verdict that cleared every accused.
Allocation of 2G licences in 2008; the Supreme Court cancelled 122 licences in 2012 and a CBI special court acquitted all accused in December 2017.
A confidence vote, and bundles of cash shown in Parliament.
Allegations of bribes to MPs during the UPA government's July 2008 confidence vote over the India–US nuclear deal.
A double murder and an investigation that changed hands, theories and verdicts.
Double murder in Noida in 2008 with contested CBI investigations; the Allahabad High Court acquitted the parents in 2017.
One killing in 2008, then weeks of violence in Odisha.
Violence against Christians in Kandhamal after the August 2008 killing of VHP leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati.
A blast, a 17-year trial and the acquittal of all seven accused.
A bomb blast in Malegaon in September 2008; after a 17-year trial, a special NIA court acquitted all seven accused, including Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Purohit, in July 2025.
Timeline in productionAn independent who became Chief Minister, and a coal-block conviction.
Investigations into mining allocations and money laundering during Madhu Koda's tenure as Chief Minister; a special CBI court convicted him in a coal block allocation case in December 2017.
Timeline in productionThe founder's letter that admitted the books were false.
Satyam Computer Services' founder B. Ramalinga Raju admitted in January 2009 to inflating the company's accounts.
A homeland left within months, and a return that is still unresolved.
Mass departure of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley from January 1990 amid militancy; return and resettlement remain political issues.
The 27% decision that triggered protests across north India and remade caste politics.
The 1990 decision to implement 27% OBC reservation in central jobs sparked protests; the Supreme Court upheld it in Indra Sawhney (1992).
A diary of initials that led to the Supreme Court's rules on CBI independence.
CBI inquiry into the Jain diaries alleging payments to politicians across parties; it led to the Supreme Court's 1997 Vineet Narain judgment on CBI independence.
A Sriperumbudur rally, a bomb, and a case that stayed in court for three decades.
Killed by a suicide bomber at Sriperumbudur in May 1991; the Supreme Court ordered convict A.G. Perarivalan's release in May 2022.
One day in December 1992, four state governments dismissed, and a verdict 27 years later.
The mosque was demolished on 6 December 1992 and four BJP state governments were dismissed; the Supreme Court's November 2019 verdict gave the disputed land for a Ram temple.
How one broker moved a market, and which rules his scam forced.
A stock-market and banking-system fraud exposed in 1992 that forced new securities rules.
A village worker's fight that gave Indian women workplace-harassment guidelines.
A village worker was gang-raped after trying to stop a child marriage; the case led to the Supreme Court's 1997 Vishaka guidelines on workplace sexual harassment.
Riots, then bomb blasts: Mumbai in 1992–93.
Riots in December 1992–January 1993 and serial bomb blasts in March 1993; the Srikrishna Commission examined the riots.
Bribery allegations over a 1993 vote, and an immunity ruling revisited in 2024.
Allegations that MPs took bribes to vote against the 1993 no-confidence motion against the Narasimha Rao government; the Supreme Court revisited parliamentary immunity in 2024.
The 1993 ruling that let judges choose judges.
The Supreme Court's 1993 ruling gave the Chief Justice and senior judges primacy in appointing judges, creating the collegium system.
The ruling that stopped the Centre from dismissing state governments at will.
The Supreme Court's 1994 ruling limited the Centre's use of Article 356 to dismiss state governments and made it reviewable by courts.
Rifles falling from the sky over a Bengal district.
Weapons were airdropped over Purulia district in December 1995; the alleged organiser Kim Davy escaped, and British arms dealer Peter Bleach was convicted and later pardoned.
A murder in Delhi that became one of India's most notorious crime cases.
Youth Congress leader Sushil Sharma killed his wife Naina Sahni in Delhi in July 1995; he was convicted, and the Supreme Court commuted his death sentence to life imprisonment in 2013.
The activist who counted Punjab's secret cremations.
A human-rights activist who documented unidentified cremations in Punjab was abducted in 1995; six Punjab Police officers were convicted of his abduction and murder in 2005.
A cattle-feed scam that cost a Chief Minister his office.
Embezzlement from Bihar's animal husbandry department through the 1990s; Chief Minister Lalu Prasad resigned in 1997 after a charge-sheet and was later convicted in several cases.
Convicted, acquitted, then a Supreme Court ruling after her death: one case, 21 years.
Prosecution over wealth beyond known income; she was convicted in 2014 and acquitted by the Karnataka High Court in 2015. In 2017 the Supreme Court restored the conviction of her co-accused; the appeal against her had abated after her death in December 2016.
Cash found at a former telecom minister's homes, and convictions years later.
CBI raids in 1996 recovered large amounts of cash linked to former Union Telecom Minister Sukh Ram; he was later convicted in corruption cases, including a five-year sentence in 2011.
Timeline in productionFifty-nine lives, a Delhi cinema and a two-decade legal fight.
Fire at Delhi's Uphaar cinema in June 1997 killed 59 people; the case against the Ansal brothers ran for two decades.
A week on a Kandahar runway, and the three militants released to end it.
Indian Airlines flight IC 814 was hijacked in December 1999 and flown to Kandahar; the government released three militants, including Masood Azhar, to free the passengers.
A government that fell by a single vote.
The Vajpayee government lost a confidence vote by a single vote in April 1999, leading to fresh elections.
Everyone saw it, and the first verdict still freed the accused.
A model was shot dead at a Delhi bar in 1999; the 2006 trial court acquittals were reversed by the High Court after public outcry.
Eid prayers, police firing, weeks of violence and a report tabled 43 years later.
Violence began after police firing at an Eid gathering in Moradabad in August 1980 and continued for weeks; the inquiry commission's report was tabled in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly only in August 2023.
Timeline in productionCement quotas, charitable trusts and a Chief Minister's exit.
Allegations that Chief Minister A.R. Antulay extracted donations to trusts from cement quota holders; he resigned in January 1982 after a Bombay High Court ruling.
One February morning in Assam, and the Tewary Commission inquiry that followed.
Killing of Bengali-origin Muslims in Nellie, Assam, in February 1983 during the anti-foreigner agitation; the official toll is about 1,800, unofficial estimates are higher.
Days of violence in 1984, then decades of commissions, cases and verdicts.
Violence against Sikhs after Indira Gandhi's assassination, concentrated in Delhi; several commissions and prosecutions followed over decades.
One night in 1984, a gas leak, and decades of arguments about who pays.
Gas leak at the Union Carbide plant on 2–3 December 1984; liability and compensation were fought out over decades.
Five months between a military operation and a Prime Minister's assassination.
Army operation at the Golden Temple, Amritsar, in June 1984; Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated in October 1984.
A Chief Minister dismissed while abroad for surgery, and reinstated within a month.
Governor Ram Lal dismissed Chief Minister N.T. Rama Rao in August 1984; he was restored about a month later after a public and political backlash.
A divorced woman's maintenance claim reached the Supreme Court, and Parliament overturned the verdict.
The Supreme Court's 1985 maintenance ruling for a divorced Muslim woman led Parliament to pass the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986.
An election alleged to be rigged, and the insurgency that followed.
The National Conference–Congress alliance won an election that the opposition Muslim United Front alleged was rigged; several of its candidates and workers later joined militant groups as insurgency grew.
Which parts of the Bofors case were proved, and which never were.
Kickback allegations over the purchase of Swedish Bofors howitzers for the Army became a central issue in the 1989 election; the Delhi High Court later quashed charges against Rajiv Gandhi (2004) and the Hinduja brothers (2005).
Thirty-one years from the killings to a High Court verdict.
Provincial Armed Constabulary personnel took 42 Muslim men from Hashimpura, Meerut, and shot them; the Delhi High Court convicted 16 PAC men in 2018.
A 1987 death that forced a new law against sati.
The 1987 death of an 18-year-old widow on her husband's pyre at Deorala led to the Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act, 1987.
The 1989 riots, and the 1990 election that followed in Bihar.
Communal violence in Bhagalpur from October 1989; Congress lost power in Bihar in the 1990 Assembly election.
Fourteen banks nationalised overnight, a court setback and a quick rewrite.
Fourteen major banks were nationalised in July 1969; the Supreme Court struck down the law in February 1970 over compensation, and the government re-enacted it with changes.
Former maharajas won in court, and then lost to a constitutional amendment.
The Supreme Court in 1970 struck down the presidential order derecognising former princely rulers; the 26th Amendment abolished privy purses in 1971.
A phone call in the Prime Minister's voice, Rs 60 lakh gone, and a mystery that never closed.
A caller imitating the Prime Minister's voice obtained Rs 60 lakh from a State Bank of India branch in Delhi; Rustom Sohrab Nagarwala was convicted and died in custody in 1972, and the case is still debated.
A court acquittal that sparked a protest movement and rewrote India's rape law.
Two policemen were accused of raping a young tribal girl in a police station in 1972; the Supreme Court's 1979 acquittal sparked national protests.
The 1973 ruling that told Parliament there are things it cannot change.
The Supreme Court held in 1973 that Parliament cannot alter the basic structure of the Constitution.
The 1974 call for 'total revolution' that set the stage for the Emergency.
Jayaprakash Narayan's 1974 movement against corruption and misgovernance, which began in Bihar and spread nationally ahead of the Emergency.
A hostel food-bill protest grew into a movement that toppled a Chief Minister.
Student-led agitation over prices and corruption; Chief Minister Chimanbhai Patel resigned in February 1974 and the Assembly was dissolved.
One court order on 12 June 1975, and thirteen days later the Emergency.
The Allahabad High Court set aside Indira Gandhi's 1971 Lok Sabha election on 12 June 1975; the Emergency was declared on 25 June.
Twenty-one months without press freedom, and the election that ended it.
Twenty-one months of suspended civil liberties and press censorship, ended by the 1977 general election.
The Supreme Court ruling that the court itself later called wrong.
During the Emergency the Supreme Court held that detainees could not move courts against detention; the 2017 Puttaswamy judgment called it wrongly decided.
A student vanished in custody, and a Chief Minister lost his job.
Engineering student P. Rajan disappeared in police custody in Kerala during the Emergency; Chief Minister K. Karunakaran resigned in 1977 after the High Court's ruling.
The official inquiry into the Emergency, and how little came of it in court.
The Janata government appointed Justice J.C. Shah to inquire into excesses during the Emergency; his 1978 reports detailed arrests, demolitions and sterilisation drives, but few prosecutions followed.
A seized passport that widened the meaning of the right to life.
After her passport was impounded in 1977, the Supreme Court held in 1978 that any law restricting personal liberty must be fair, just and reasonable.
Six years of agitation, one accord, and student leaders who became a government.
A six-year movement led by the All Assam Students' Union against illegal immigration ended with the Assam Accord of August 1985; the newly formed Asom Gana Parishad won the state election that December.
When police blinded suspects, the Supreme Court had to spell out their rights.
Police blinded dozens of suspected criminals in Bhagalpur in 1979–80; the Supreme Court ordered compensation in a landmark custodial-rights case.
The 1962 ruling that kept the sedition law alive, and narrowed it, for 60 years.
The Supreme Court upheld the sedition law in 1962 but limited it to speech inciting violence or public disorder; in 2022 the court put sedition cases on hold, and the 2023 criminal codes dropped the offence by that name.
A Chief Minister, a commission and a resignation in Punjab.
Das Commission inquiry into allegations against Punjab Chief Minister Pratap Singh Kairon; he resigned in 1964.
A language deadline that set Madras alight and changed who ruled the state.
Protests and violence in Madras State as Hindi became the sole official language on 26 January 1965; the Official Languages (Amendment) Act, 1967 kept English in use, and the DMK won the 1967 state election.
An uprising, air strikes on Aizawl and a peace accord 20 years later.
The Mizo National Front declared independence in March 1966 and the Indian Air Force carried out air strikes on Aizawl; the insurgency ended with the Mizo Accord of 1986, and Mizoram became a state in 1987.
A village uprising in 1967 that named a movement still active decades later.
A peasant uprising in Naxalbari, Darjeeling district, in May 1967 gave its name to the Naxalite movement, which later spread to several states.
One MLA's party-hopping gave Indian politics its most famous phrase, and eventually a law.
MLA Gaya Lal changed parties several times in a day in 1967, giving India the phrase 'Aaya Ram, Gaya Ram' and driving the case for an anti-defection law.
The 1967 ruling that put fundamental rights beyond Parliament's reach, for six years.
The Supreme Court held in 1967 that Parliament could not amend fundamental rights; Parliament responded with the 24th Amendment, and the question went on to Kesavananda Bharati.
A 58-day fast that redrew India's map along the lines of language.
Potti Sriramulu died on 15 December 1952 after a 58-day fast demanding a Telugu-speaking state; Andhra State was formed in October 1953 and the States Reorganisation Act followed in 1956.
A state insurer bet on one man's shares. A Finance Minister paid with his job.
Life Insurance Corporation's investment in shares of Haridas Mundhra's companies; Finance Minister T.T. Krishnamachari resigned in February 1958.
An elected government dismissed in 1959, using a tool that would be used again and again.
The Centre used Article 356 in July 1959 to dismiss Kerala's elected Communist government amid agitation.
A jury said not guilty, the higher courts disagreed, and jury trials faded away.
Naval commander K.M. Nanavati shot Prem Ahuja in Bombay in 1959; a jury acquitted him, the Bombay High Court overturned the verdict and the Supreme Court upheld his murder conviction in 1961.
Three shots at a prayer meeting, a nation in shock, and a ban that reshaped politics.
Gandhi was shot dead in Delhi on 30 January 1948; Nathuram Godse and Narayan Apte were hanged in 1949, and the RSS was banned until July 1949.
Independent India's first scandal was about jeeps, and it reached the High Commissioner in London.
Purchase of jeeps for the Army in 1948, arranged while V.K. Krishna Menon was High Commissioner in London; the government closed the inquiry in 1955. Often called independent India's first major scandal.
Ten questions drawn at random from the cases on this page. Pick the Prime Minister in office when each case happened, then share your score.
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On 12 June 1975 the Allahabad High Court set aside Indira Gandhi's 1971 Lok Sabha election in the Raj Narain case. The Emergency was declared on 25 June 1975 and lasted until March 1977; Congress lost the 1977 general election.
The Mundhra scandal, over Life Insurance Corporation's investment in Haridas Mundhra's companies, led Finance Minister T.T. Krishnamachari to resign in February 1958.
S.R. Bommai v. Union of India (1994). The Supreme Court held that a President's Rule proclamation under Article 356 is subject to judicial review and that a majority must be tested on the floor of the House.
Among others: the 1972 custodial rape case decided in Tukaram v. State of Maharashtra (1983 rape-law amendments), Bhanwari Devi (1997 Vishaka guidelines), Shah Bano (1986 Act), Nirbhaya (Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013) and the Jain Hawala case (1997 Vineet Narain judgment on CBI independence).
The Centre column is computed from the year the case began, and where a government changed mid-year it shows both. The state government is added only where we have confirmed it from the record. Party names appear as colour tags on each card, using the same style for every party, and you can filter by party in power. Every case page then states who held office at each step.
No. The index records cases of public importance, not verdicts. Each entry states the outcome exactly as the record shows it, including acquittals, discharges and closure reports, and anyone not convicted is presumed innocent.
Court judgments and orders, commission and regulator reports, Parliament and Election Commission records, government releases and attributed reporting from major outlets. Every case card links to at least one public reference.
Each case card links to a public reference, and to the latest court or regulator coverage where an outcome changed recently. These are the primary records we check against: