LANDMARK CASE
State of Bombay v. F.N. Balsara
AIR 1951 SC 318 · Supreme Court of India · Constitutional law
At a glance
- Citation: AIR 1951 SC 318
- Court: Supreme Court of India
- Area of law: Constitutional law
- In one line: By pith and substance. The law was about intoxicating liquor, a state subject, and was largely upheld.
1 Facts
The Bombay Prohibition Act was challenged as touching on imports, a Union subject.
2 Issue
How is the legislature's competence decided?
3 What the court decided
By pith and substance. The law was about intoxicating liquor, a state subject, and was largely upheld.
4 Why it matters
A classic on pith and substance.
5 Think about it
What is 'incidental encroachment'?
6 Analyse it yourself
Read the full judgment from an official source or a law database, then brief it in seven steps: facts, issues, arguments, decision, ratio, obiter and significance. Always check the citation before you rely on it.
7 More cases on Constitutional law
- A.K. Gopalan v. State of Madras AIR 1950 SC 27
- ADM Jabalpur v. Shivkant Shukla (1976) 2 SCC 521
- Air India v. Nergesh Meerza (1981) 4 SCC 335
- Ajay Hasia v. Khalid Mujib Sehravardi (1981) 1 SCC 722
- Anuj Garg v. Hotel Association of India (2008) 3 SCC 1
- Anuradha Bhasin v. Union of India (2020) 3 SCC 637
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A short teaching summary for students. Educational content only, not legal advice.