STATE OF KERALA vs C.K. DEVADATHAN

The Supreme Court held that a judgment pronounced in open court becomes operative even without the judges' signatures, as per Order 20, Rule 3 of the Code of Civil Procedure. The Court emphasized that parties act on the basis of such judgments, and any alteration should be made judiciously and for valid reasons. In this case, the appellant's writ petition was initially allowed but later dismissed without justification, leading the Court to direct the university to admit the appellant based on the earlier judgment.