Bluebook Citation Guide for Indian Sources (with Examples)

To cite Indian sources in Bluebook, you follow Bluebook’s general rules for footnotes and add the country in brackets, “(India)”, for Indian cases and statutes, because Bluebook was built for American law. A Supreme Court case therefore looks like this: Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India, (1978) 1 SCC 248 (India). This guide walks through cases, statutes, the Constitution, articles, books and websites with Indian examples.

How Bluebook differs from OSCOLA

Many Indian students switch between the two styles, so it helps to see the differences side by side.

If your journal prescribes OSCOLA, use our OSCOLA citation guide for Indian law students instead. Never mix the two in one paper.

Citing Indian cases in Bluebook

Pattern: Case Name, (year) volume Reporter first page, pinpoint (India).

Supreme Court Cases (SCC)

• Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India, (1978) 1 SCC 248 (India).
• Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala, (1973) 4 SCC 225 (India).
• K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India, (2017) 10 SCC 1 (India).

Note the comma after the case name and the “v.” with a full stop. In law review footnotes, case names in full citations are traditionally set in roman type, while short forms and textual references are italicised. Many Indian journals simply italicise all case names. Follow the journal’s house rule and be consistent.

All India Reporter (AIR)

Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India, AIR 1978 SC 597 (India). There are no brackets around the year because the year is part of the AIR series. If a judgment is reported in both, choose one reporter and use it consistently.

SCC OnLine and neutral citations

For recent unreported judgments, use the SCC OnLine citation exactly as it appears in the database, for example: Case Name, 2024 SCC OnLine SC [number] (India).

Since 6 July 2023 the Supreme Court of India has issued neutral citations in the format year, “INSC”, running number (for example 2023 INSC 1). The citation is printed on the judgment, and Phase I covered judgments from 1 January 2014 onward. A clean way to give both neutral and reported citations:

• Ass’n for Democratic Reforms v. Union of India, 2024 INSC 113, (2024) 5 SCC 1 (India).

Bluebook abbreviates certain words in case names in footnotes (Association becomes Ass’n), but many Indian journals let you keep names as reported. Check the guidelines.

Pinpoints

Bluebook pinpoints follow the first page after a comma: (2017) 10 SCC 1, ¶ [number] (India) for a paragraph, or the page number for a page. Indian judgments are paragraph numbered, so paragraph pinpoints are more useful to readers.

Citing the Constitution and statutes

Constitution of India

Bluebook form: INDIA CONST. art. 21. Small capitals are traditional for constitutions in law review footnotes. If your word processor or journal does not use small capitals, write India Const. art. 21.

Central Acts

The common Indian Bluebook form gives the short title, the Act number and year, the section and the country:

• Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, No. 45 of 2023, § 103 (India).
• The Indian Penal Code, No. 45 of 1860, § 302 (India).
• The Copyright Act, No. 14 of 1957, § 17 (India).

Act numbers can be checked on India Code (indiacode.nic.in), the government’s official database of central and state Acts. Do not guess an Act number: if you cannot confirm it, ask whether the journal accepts the short title and year alone.

Secondary sources

Journal articles

Pattern: Author, Title, volume Journal Abbreviation first page, pinpoint (year).

Template: Firstname Lastname, Title of the Article, 12 J. Name 45, 52 (2025).

The year comes at the end in round brackets. The journal name is abbreviated and, in law review footnotes, set in small capitals.

Books

Pattern: Author, Title page (edition, year). Publisher is often omitted in Bluebook unless the journal asks for it.

Example: Granville Austin, The Indian Constitution: Cornerstone of a Nation 50 (1966).

In law review footnotes, author and title are set in small capitals.

Websites

Pattern: Author, Title, Website Name (date), URL.

Template: Firstname Lastname, Title of the Post, Website Name (Jan. 10, 2026), https://www.example.com/page.

If the page has no date, give the date you last visited it: (last visited Jan. 15, 2026).

Reports

Template: Law Commission of India, Report No. [number], Title of Report [page or para] ([year]). Confirm the report number and year on the Law Commission’s website.

Short forms: Id., supra and hereinafter

• Id. refers to the immediately preceding authority. Add a pinpoint if it changes: Id. at 75 or Id. ¶ 62.
• supra is used for secondary sources cited earlier: Austin, supra note 4, at 75. It is not used for cases or statutes.
• Short case names: for a case cited earlier, use a short name and pinpoint: Maneka Gandhi, (1978) 1 SCC at [page].
• hereinafter introduces a short name for a long title: [hereinafter Puttaswamy].

Worked footnote sequence

1. Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India, (1978) 1 SCC 248 (India).
2. Id.
3. INDIA CONST. art. 21.
4. Granville Austin, The Indian Constitution: Cornerstone of a Nation 50 (1966).
5. Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, No. 45 of 2023, § 103 (India).
6. Austin, supra note 4, at 75.

Signals

Bluebook uses introductory signals to show how a source supports your text. The ones you will use most:

• No signal: the source directly states the proposition.
• See: the source supports the proposition indirectly or by inference.
• See also: additional support.
• Cf.: supports by analogy.
• But see: contradicts the proposition.

Checklist before you submit

• “v.” with a full stop in every case name.
• “(India)” added to Indian cases and statutes, unless the journal waives it.
• Act numbers and years checked on India Code.
• Every SCC, SCC OnLine and INSC number checked against the source.
• Id. only for the immediately preceding source; supra only for secondary sources.
• Typeface rules (italics, small capitals) applied the same way throughout.

For broader structure, see our guides on how to write a legal research paper and how to cite Indian cases.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to write (India) after every Indian case?

Bluebook adds the country for non-US sources, so strictly yes. Many Indian journals using a Bluebook based house style drop it because all their readers know the sources are Indian. Check the author guidelines.

What is the difference between Id. and supra?

Id. points to the source in the immediately preceding footnote. Supra points back to a secondary source cited in an earlier footnote, with the note number.

How do I cite the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita in Bluebook?

A common form is: Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, No. 45 of 2023, § [section] (India). Use the section number you are relying on.

Can I cite an INSC neutral citation alone?

Yes, a neutral citation identifies the judgment on its own. Adding a law report citation as a parallel citation helps readers who use SCC or AIR.