Olga Tellis v. Bombay Municipal Corporation
Held that the right to livelihood is part of the right to life under Article 21 - pavement dwellers cannot be evicted arbitrarily.
The background
The Bombay Municipal Corporation moved to evict thousands of pavement and slum dwellers from the city's footpaths without notice. The residents argued that losing their place of shelter would also destroy their livelihood, and therefore their very right to life under Article 21.
The decision
The Supreme Court held that the right to livelihood is an integral part of the right to life - because no one can live without the means of living. While the Court allowed the removal of encroachments, it ruled that eviction must follow a fair and reasonable procedure, with proper notice and a humane approach, not arbitrary force.
What it changed
The judgment connected economic survival to the constitutional right to life, shaping decades of jurisprudence on housing, resettlement, and the dignity of the urban poor. It established that the State must act fairly before depriving the most vulnerable of their means of survival.