In no particular order (click here for a summary of each case)

1. 2G spectrum case: The court ventured into hitherto little-known territory—the politicocorporate nexus—in the aftermath of the Radia tapes, which escalated attention on the telecom spectrum scandal… (Read more)

2. Vodafone-Hutch deal: Few foreign companies expected India’s tax department to pursue Vodafone’s $11 billion (around Rs. 56,980 crore today) acquisition of Hutchison Whampoa?’s Indian operations… (Read more)

3. CVC: The annulment of P.J. Thomas’ appointment as the chief vigilance commissioner (CVC) was viewed by some quarters as harsh, and they argued that Thomas was a victim of political rivalry in Kerala, his home cadre… (Read more)

4. Bellary mining ban: The clampdown on iron ore mining in Bellary (which later became mining of all kinds) was the first combative step taken by a public entity to curb illegalities in Karnataka for over a decade… (Read more)

5. Meghalaya mining: Multinational cement major Lafarge was allowed to resume limestone mining after 17 months in Meghalaya’s East Khasi Hills… (Read more)

6. Black money SIT: The black money petition simply demanded that the government should recover all the untaxed money stashed away in European bank accounts… (Read more)

7. Salwa Judum: A state-sponsored guerilla army that also allegedly engaged children in combat, was declared illegal and unconstitutional… (Read more)

8. Experiments in the classroom: The Right to Education case dealt with radically changing the composition of children in schools… (Read more)

9. Land acquisition in UP: The Uttar Pradesh land acquisition cases saw a strong statement from the court, which deemed those acquisitions in which the government took land for one purpose and used it for another… (Read more)

10. Right to Food: The decade-old Right to Food case saw the court face off against the government and the Planning Commission multiple times on where to draw the poverty line, and how to divide food subsidies between the Centre and the states… (Read more)

Click here for a summary and background of each case.

Which Supreme Court cases do you think were most important, significant or exciting in the last 12 months?