THE JUDICIARY

Created by: Rohan Karmakar VIII A

THEJUDICIARY

Emblem of Law in India

INTRODUCTION

TheIndian Judiciaryis partly a continuation of the British legal system established by the British in the mid-19th century based on a typical hybrid legal system known as theCommon Law System, in which customs, precedents and legislative are all components of the law. TheConstitution of Indiais the supreme legal document of the country.

There are various levels of judiciary in India different types of courts, each with varying powers depending on the tier and jurisdiction bestowed upon them. The Indian judiciary is independent of theexecutiveandlegislativebranches of government according to the Constitution.

They form a strict hierarchy of importance, in line with the order of the courts in which they sit, with theSupreme Court of Indiaat the top, followed byHigh Courtsof respective states with district judges sitting inDistrict Courtsand Magistrates of Second Class and Civil Judge (Junior Division) at the bottom. Courts hear criminal and civil cases.

TYPES OF CASES

Civil CasesCivil cases relate to disputes over money, property and social matters like inheritance, marriage disputes etc. Sentences awarded in civil cases include payment to damages to party concerned. This type of cases generally relates to a dispute between two private individuals.

Criminal CasesCriminal cases involve offences like thefts, robberies, murders, cheating, physical injury, etc. The sentences awarded in criminal cases are fines and short term prison sentences or death sentences on the gravity of crime. In criminal cases the state itself is the complainant because a crime is seen as an offence against the society at large and not against an individual.

SUPREME COURTOF INDIA

Supreme Court Of India

INTRO :TheSupreme Court of Indiawhich is located in New Delhi is the highest judicial forum and final court of appeal under theConstitution of India, the highest constitutional court, with the power of constitutional review. It comprises theChief Justice of Indiaand 25 other judges. The law declared by the Supreme Court becomes binding on all courts within India.

Composition of Supreme CourtTheConstitution of Indiaprovided for a Supreme Court with a Chief Justice and 25 judges. The chief justice is appointed by the President of India. Other judges of the Supreme court are also appointed by the president in consultation with the Chief justice of India.

Eligibility Acitizen of Indiawho has been:(i) a judge of one high court or more (continuously), for at least five years,or(ii) an advocate there, for at least ten years,or(iii) a distinguishedjurist,in the opinion of the president,

is eligible to be recommended for appointment, a judge of the supreme court.

TenureSupreme Court judges retire at the age of 65 which is 3 years more than the retirement age of a judge of the High Court. Hence a judge at the Supreme Court who have been elevated from a High Court serves at the Supreme Court for at least more than 3 years.

RemovalA judge of the Supreme Court can be removed under the Constitution only on grounds of proven misconduct or incapacity and by an order of the President of India, after a notice signed by at least 100 members of theLok Sabha (House of the People)or 50 members of theRajya Sabha (Council of the States)is passed by a two-third majority in each House of the Parliament. This is called impeachment

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Powers of Supreme Court

Original Jurisdiction :The Supreme Court has originally jurisdiction i.e. cases which can originate with the Supreme Court alone over disputes between (a) the Government of India and one or more states (b) the Government of India and any stat and states on one side and one or more state on the other (c) two or more states. No other court in India shall have the power to entertain any such suit. Thus the Supreme Court is a Federal Court.

Appellate Jurisdiction :The Supreme Court is the highest Court appeal from all courts in India. It hears appeals in cases involving interpretation of the constitution- civil, Criminal or otherwise Civil cases irrespective of any constitutional issue Criminal matters irrespective of any constitutional issue.Criminal cases in which a high court changes the decision of a lower court and gives a death sentence.Review of its earlier decisions

Advisory Jurisdiction :The Supreme Court renders advice on any question of law or fact of public importance as may be referred to it for consideration by the President. These are no litigation involved and the opinion given by the Supreme Court is not to be considered as a judgment. The advice is not binding on the President who may or not accept it. The main use of this provision is to enable the Government to get an authoritative opinion as to the legal validity of a matter before action is taken upon it.

Supervisory Jurisdiction :Under Supervisory Jurisdiction, the Supreme Court supervises the functioning of all courts below it and sees whether it is following the procedures or not.

Other Powers :The Supreme Court is a court of record thus its proceedings are recorded for perpetual verification and testimony its records are admitted in evidence.

The decision of the Supreme Court is binding on all courts within India. However the Supreme Court is not bound by its earlier decision it can come to a different decision if it is convinced that it had made an error or harmed public interest.

The Supreme Court can make rules regarding the practice and procedure of the court with the approval of the President.

HIGH COURT

Bombay High Court

Kolkata High Court

INTRO :

The High Courts are the principal civil courts oforiginal jurisdictionin each state and union territory. There are 24 High Courts at thestate and union territorylevel ofIndiawhich, together with theSupreme Court of Indiaat the national level, comprisethe country's judicial system. Each High Court has jurisdiction over astate, aunion territoryor a group of states and union territories.

Composition and appointment of judgesIn every High Court, there is a Chief Justice and many other judges whose number is defined by the President of India.The Chief Justice of a High Court is appointed by the President with the consultation of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and the Governor of the State. The other judges are appointed by the will of President, Governor and the Chief Justice of High Court

EligibilityTo be eligible to be a judge of the high court a person must be : a citizen of Indiaan advocate in one or more High Courts in India or a judge for at least 10 years in subordinate courts in India.

TenureOriginally the age of the retirement of the judges of the High Courts was fixed at 60 but it was raised to 62 in 1963 according to the 15th amendment of the Constitution.

RemovalA judge may leave his office by resigning. He will have to send his letter of resignation to the President. A judge of a High Court may also be removed like a judge of the Supreme Court. A judge of High Court may be removed by the President if the Parliament passes a motion against him by an absolute majority and 2/3rd majority of the members present and voting, both the Houses sitting separately

Powers of High Court

Original JurisdictionAll matters relating to revenues are included in the original jurisdiction of the High court.Besides, civil and criminal cases are also supposed to belong to the original jurisdiction. But only the High Courts at Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai can have the first trial in civil and criminal cases. The original criminal jurisdiction of the High Court has, however, been abolished by the Criminal Procedure code, 1973. At present the criminal cases are tried in the city sessions Courts in Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai.

Appellate JurisdictionThe High Court is the highest court of appeal in the state. It has appellate jurisdiction in civil and criminal cases.a. In civil cases, appeal can be made to the High Court against the decisionsof the District Judges and the Subordinate Judges.b. When any court subordinate to the High Court decides an appeal from the decision of an inferior court, a second appeal can be made to the High Court only on question of law and procedure.c. Besides, appeal from the decision of a single Judge of the High Court itself also lies to the High Court.

Supervisory JurisdictionAs a part of supervisory jurisdiction, it supervises the functioning of all the courts below it. The High Court can also control the subordinate courts in the State. It is to be consulted by the Governor in the matter of appointing, posting and promoting district judges.

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Other PowersBesides the above powers, the High Court performs some other functions:Like the Supreme Court, the High Court also acts as a Court of Record.It has the power to punish for contempt of itself.The High Court can frame the required rules to carry out its judicial functions

SUBORDINATE COURTS

Subordinate Courts

District CourtsTheDistrict Courts ofIndiaare thedistrict courtsof theState governments in Indiafor every district or for one or more districts together taking into account the number of cases, population distribution in the district. They administer justice in India at adistrictlevel. These courts are under administrative control of theHigh Courtof theStateto which the district concerned belongs. The decisions of District court is subject to theappellate jurisdictionof the High court

District court of Haridwar

District Court Of Bharuch

Revenue CourtsRevenue courts deal with cases of land revenue in the State. The highest revenue court in the district is the Board of Revenue. Under it are the Courts of Commissioners, Collectors, Tehsildars and Assistant Tehsildars. The Board of Revenue hears the final appeals against all the lower revenue courts under it.

Revenue Court of Vadodara

Nyaya PanchayatsANyayaPanchayatis a system of dispute resolution at village level inIndia. nyaya panchayats can be endowed with functions based on broadprinciples of natural justiceand can tend to remain proceedurally as simple as possible. They can be given civil and minor criminal jurisdiction. But they should never follow civil and criminal procedure code.

A session of Nyaya Panchayat in Uttar Pradesh

Lok AdalatsLok Adalatis a system ofalternative dispute resolutiondeveloped in India. It roughly means "People's court". India has had a long history of resolving disputes through the mediation of village elders. The system of Lok Adalats is based on the principles of the Panch Parmeshwar of Gram Panchayats which were proposed byMahatma Gandhi . These are usually presided over by retired judges, social activists, or other members of the legal profession. The Lok Adalats can deal with all Civil Cases, Matrimonial Disputes, Land Disputes, Partition/Property Disputes, Labour Disputes etc., and compoundable criminal Cases. The first Lok Adalat was held on March 14, 1982 in Gujarat.

A session of Lok Adalat in Kerala

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All Good ThingsMust come to an End !

C ROHAN KARMAKAR

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