The UDHR is the foundational document of international human rights law. Drafted by a committee chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt, it was the first global expression of rights to which all human beings are entitled. Though not a binding treaty, it has acquired the status of customary international law and is considered the cornerstone of all subsequent human rights instruments.
The Supreme Court has referred to the UDHR in numerous landmark cases. In Maneka Gandhi v. UOI (1978), Justice Bhagwati cited the UDHR to expand Article 21 beyond mere animal existence. In Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan (1997), the Court held that international conventions, including the spirit of UDHR, must be read into domestic law to fill legislative gaps. In National Legal Services Authority v. UOI (2014) (NALSA), the Court invoked UDHR’s equality provisions to recognize transgender rights.
The UDHR serves as the moral foundation for all human rights advocacy. Indian courts treat it as an interpretive guide — while not directly enforceable, its principles inform the expansive reading of fundamental rights under Part III of the Constitution.