Can a state legislature imprison a critic and summon a high court judge to appear before it? Are religion-based personal laws above fundamental rights? Why did the Punjab Police organize a band to celebrate the defeat of the state in a case of sexual harassment? Is it legal for the government to arm untrained private citizens to participate in counter-insurgency operations? How did Parliament come to pass the First Amendment to the Constitution allowing for caste-based reservations? And why did the Supreme Court acquit a rape accused on the basis of the victims sexual history?

In this book, constitutional expert Chintan Chandrachud takes us behind the scenes and tells us the stories of ten extraordinary and dramatic legal cases from the 1950s to the present day that have all but faded from public memory. Written in a lively, riveting style, this book has a cast of characters that includes the whos who of the Indian legal system. It also paints an unexpected picture of the Indian judiciary: the courts are not always on the right side of history or justice, and they dont always have the last word on the matters before them. This entertaining book is an incisive look into the functioning of Indian institutions.