# Citator — Niyam > Check whether an Indian judgment is still good law before you cite it. Niyam maps treatment — followed, distinguished, referred, overruled — across the Supreme Court and High Courts, with every signal linked to its source. One overruled citation can sink a submission. Niyam maps how later courts have treated a case — followed, distinguished, referred, or overruled — so you check good law before opposing counsel, or the bench, does. ## What you can do - Treatment history across the Supreme Court and High Courts - Clear good-law, caution, and overruled signals at a glance - When a case is overruled, see the authority that now governs ## Capabilities - **See how every later court treated the case** — A judgment's authority is written by the judgments that came after it. Niyam gathers that treatment — followed, distinguished, referred, overruled — into one view so you understand exactly where a precedent stands today. - **Never build on law that's moved on** — When a case has been overruled or doubted, the citator says so plainly — and points you to the authority that now governs. The catch happens at your desk, not across the courtroom. - **The good-law check, where you already work** — You shouldn't have to leave your answer to verify it. Niyam shows good-law signals on every cited case inside Research, so checking standing is part of reading the answer — not a separate chore. - **See the full web of authority around a case** — A judgment never stands alone. Niyam shows what a case relied on and which later cases rely on it, so you can trace the line of authority forward and backward. That context tells you whether you're citing a settled, much-followed proposition or a lone decision that later benches have quietly worked around — and points you to the leading case the chain keeps returning to. ## How it works 1. **Open the judgment** — Pull up a case from a Niyam answer or by searching for it. The citator view loads with it. 2. **Read the treatment** — See how later courts treated it — followed, distinguished, referred, or overruled — with the signal that matters surfaced first. 3. **Cite with confidence** — Confirm it's still good law, follow the link to any overruling authority, and rely on the case knowing where it stands. ## Frequently asked questions ### What does the citator actually check? Whether a judgment is still good law — by mapping how later courts have treated it. Niyam shows whether subsequent judgments followed, distinguished, referred to, or overruled the case, so you know its standing before you rely on it. ### Where does the treatment data come from? From the real subsequent judgments that cite a case, across the Supreme Court and High Courts. Every signal links to the judgment that set it, so you can open the later case and confirm the treatment yourself rather than taking it on faith. ### What happens when a case has been overruled? The citator flags it clearly and points you to the authority that now governs the point. You see both the overruling judgment and the case that states the current law, so you can re-cite to law that still holds. ### Do I need to use it separately from research? No. Good-law signals appear alongside every cited case inside Niyam Research, so the check happens where you already work. You can also open a judgment directly to see its full treatment view. ### Is this legal advice? No. The citator is a research tool that reports how courts have treated a precedent. It does not replace an advocate's judgment — you remain responsible for reading the authorities and deciding how to rely on them. ### Which courts are covered? Treatment is traced across the Supreme Court and High Courts, and coverage keeps expanding alongside Niyam's growing corpus of more than 72,000 judgments. ### How is this different from a printed digest or headnote? A digest tells you what a case decided; the citator tells you whether that decision still stands. It reads the later judgments that cite a case and surfaces how they treated it — followed, distinguished, or overruled — rather than leaving you to trace that history reporter by reporter. And because every signal links to the judgment behind it, you can confirm the treatment yourself instead of trusting an editor's note. ### Can I rely on the citator instead of reading the later judgments? No — and it isn't built to be relied on that way. The citator surfaces how later courts treated a case and points you straight to those judgments, so you spend your time reading the ones that matter instead of hunting for them. The signal tells you where to look; your own reading of the later judgment is what you rely on. Every signal links to its source for exactly that reason. ### Why does checking good law matter this much? Because a single overruled citation can undo an otherwise sound submission — and the side that catches it first controls the argument. Courts and opposing counsel will check whether your authority still holds; the citator lets you check first, at your desk, so you either rely on the case with confidence or re-cite to the law that now governs before it ever becomes a problem in the room. ## Get started Create your Niyam account in under a minute — ₹100 to start, 200 credits to try everything. Verify your next precedent's standing in seconds. Start your ₹100 trial at https://app.niyam.ai/register — 200 credits to begin, cancel anytime.