Indian legal system – structure

&
features

Presented By:-
Amin Varun(09MBA01)
Lokesh Bhatiya(09MBA02)
Bhavsar Niyati(09MBA02)

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 Flow Of Presentation
• Indian Legal System
• What is Law? – Definition
• History of Indian law
• Source of Law
• Indian Legal Hierarchy
• New Trends In Judiciary

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 Indian Legal System
• Indian law refers to the system of law which operates in India.
• It is largely based on English common law.
• Various Acts introduced by the British are still in effect in
modified form today.
• Much of contemporary Indian law shows substantial European
and American influence.

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 Indian Legal System
• The three-tiered system of Indian judiciary comprises of Supreme
Court (New Delhi) at its helm;
• High Courts standing at the head of state judicial system;
• Followed by district and sessions courts in the judicial districts,
into which the states are divided.
• The lower rung of the system then comprises of courts of civil
(civil judges) & criminal (judicial/metropolitan magistrates)
jurisdiction.

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 What is Law? - Definition
• Rule Made By Authority For The Proper Regulation Of A
Community Or Society Or For Correct Conduct In Life.( Oxford
English Dictionary)
• A Law Is A Rule Of Conduct Imposed And Enforced By The
Sovereign.(Austin)
• Law Is The Body Of Principles Recognized And Applied By The
State In The Administration Of Justice.(Salmond)

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 History of Indian law
• The legal scenario prior to the advent of British
colonization was a mix of Hindu and Muslim laws.
• The Mughal period saw the Muslim law, Shariyat, co-
existing with the Hindu law. The arrival and subsequent
colonization by the British in India gave India a new
perspective to law.
• The Indian law has always taken care of every religious
sentiment and takes cognizance of the rituals followed
by them.

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 Source of Law
• Primary Source:
a. The primary source of law is in the enactments passed by the
Parliament or the State Legislatures.
b. The President and the Governor have limited powers to issue
ordinances.
c. These ordinances lapse six weeks from the re-assembly of the
Parliament or the State Legislature.

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 Source of Law Cont…

• Secondary Source:
a. Secondary source of law is the judgments of the Supreme Court,
High Courts and some of the specialized Tribunals.
b. The Constitution provides that the law declared by the Supreme
Court shall be binding on all courts within India.

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Indian Judiciary System

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 The Supreme Court
• The Supreme Court is the apex body, followed by 21 High
Courts, which in turn precede numerous District courts.
• The Supreme Court came into being on 28th January,
1950, two days after the Constitution of India was tabled.
• Articles 124 to 147 of the Constitution of India lay down the
composition and jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of India.
• The Supreme Court of India is the highest court of appeal. It
hears appeals from the High Courts and takes on the role of
a court of review over subordinate tribunals.

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• The Supreme Court of India comprises the Chief Justice and not
more than 25 (30) other Judges appointed by the President of
India.
• The proceedings of the Supreme Court are conducted in English
only.
• The Registry of the Supreme Court is headed by the Registrar
General.
• The Attorney General for India is appointed by the President of
India under Article 76 of the Constitution.
• Three types of Advocates: Senior Advocates, Advocates-on-
record &Other Advocates .
• The verdict of the Supreme Court is binding on all the
states within the Union Territory of India

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 The High Courts

• The 21 High Courts act as the principal civil courts for each
state. Such courts offer jurisdiction based on common and
binding Central Acts and individual State Acts. The High Courts
are generally the last court of regular appeal.
• Each High Court of India is headed by a Chief Justice and other
junior Judges as appointed by the President of India
• Besides, for invoking writ jurisdiction, the High Courts can be
approached for enforcement of other rights.
• It has the power to supervise the subordinate courts falling within its
territorial jurisdiction.
• The High Courts are Courts of Record.
• The High Courts also exercises original jurisdiction under the
Companies Act.
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• The High Court hears First Appeals from the decisions of the
District Courts.
• Section 100 of the Code of Civil Procedure provides for a Second
Appeal from Appellate decrees.
• Under Section 115 of the Code, the High Court is conferred wish
revisional jurisdiction.
• Under Article 227 of the Constitution also, the High Court in the
exercise of its powers of superintendence entertains revision
petitions to correct errors on the part of lower Courts and
Tribunals in Judicial & Quasi Judicial matters.

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 District Courts…
• The High Courts are followed by the District Courts. As the
name suggests, they adjudge the district level disputes.
• The Chief Judicial Magistrate, in criminal matters, and
Senior Sub-Judge, in civil matters, along with magistrates
and sub-judges of lower ranks, constitute the district level
judiciary under the superintendence of the District Court.

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Lok Adalats..

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Allahabad High Court Seated in Allahabad, this court was established in 1866

Andhra Pradesh High Court Seated in Hyderabad, this court was established in 1954

Bombay High Court Seated in Bombay (Mumbai), this court was established in 1862

Calcutta High Court Seated in Calcutta (Kolkatta), this court was the first to be established a month earlier than
Bombay High Court.
Chattisgarh High Court Seated in Bilaspur, this was established in 2000

Delhi High Court Seated in New Delhi, this was established 1966. It also houses the Supreme Court of India
(1950).
Guwahati High Court Seated in Guwahati, this was established in 1948. It covers all the 7 Northeastern States of
Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland, Tripura, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Assam
Gujarat High Court Seated in Ahmedabad, this was established in 1960

Himachal Pradesh High Court Seated in Shimla, this was established in 1971.

J&K High Court Seated in Srinagar and Jammu, this court was established in 1943.

Jharkhand High Court Seated in Ranchi, this court was established in 2000

Karnataka High Court Seated in Bangalore, this court was established in 1884

Kerala High Court Seated in Kochi, this court was established in 1956

Madhya Pradesh High Court Seated in Jabalpur, this court was established in 1936

Madras High Court Seated in Madras, this court was established in 1862, after the Bombay High Court was
established
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Orissa High Court Seated in Cuttack, this court was established in 1948
 The Subordinate Courts
• This subordinate Courts are:
• (a) District Courts, empowered to hear appeals from courts of
original civil jurisdiction besides having original civil jurisdiction
• (b) Sessions Court is courts of criminal jurisdiction, having the
similar scope of powers.
• The courts of specific original jurisdiction are courts of Civil
Judges, of Judicial Magistrates; Small Causes courts & Courts of
Metropolitan Magistrates.

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 Quasi - Judicial System
• This appendage to the Indian judicial system is a recent & sincere
attempt on the part of the government to expedite the judicial
process through dilution of procedural formalities & avoidance of
litigation.
• Tribunals form an indispensable part of this system, which are
appointed by the government and comprise of judges & experts
on the particular field, for which the tribunal has been constituted.

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 There are broadly two categories under
which the Indian law operates:
•Indian Civil Law
•Criminal Law
Criminal law
• Indian Penal Code (IPC) provides a penal code for all of India
including Jammu and Kashmir, where it was renamed the Ranbir
Penal Code (RPC).
• The code applies to any offence committed by an Indian Citizen
anywhere and on any Indian registered ship or aircraft.
• Indian Penal Code came into force in 1862 (during the British
Raj) and is regularly amended, such as to include section 498-A.
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 Civil Procedure Code
• The Civil Procedure Code (C.P.C.) regulate the functioning of Civil
courts.
• Civil case is such that its not criminal in nature. Its generally on
property, business, personal domestic problems, divorces and
such types where ones constitutional and personal rights are
breached.
• It lays down the:
-Procedure of filing the civil case.
- Powers of court to pass various orders.
- Court fees and stamps involved in filing of case.
- Rights of the parties to case (plaintiff & defendant)
- Jurisdiction & parameters of civil courts functioning.
- Specific rules for proceedings of a case.
- Right of Appeals, review or reference.
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 Family law
• Indian civil law is complex, with each religion having its own
specific laws which they adhere to.
• After independence Indian laws have adapted to the changing
world.
• The most recent being the Domestic Violence Act[2005].

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 Industrial and Labour Laws
• The most notable laws are as follows:
• Industrial Dispute Act, 1947
• Wages Act, 1948
• Employees State Insurance Act, 1948
• Employees Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions
Act, 1952
• Beedi and Cigar workers Act, 1974
• Equal Remuneration Act, 1976
• Contract Labour Act, 1970
• Child Labour Act, 1986
• Bonded Labour System Act, 1976
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 Recent Trends In Law
Civil Procedure Code, 1908

• Mediation & Conciliation Encouraged

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 New Trends In Judiciary
• Computerisation of Courts
• Scope of PIL is being limited
• Judiciary has become more open
• Concept of Justice at Door-Step encouraged
• Lok Adalats
• Special Courts to dispose off Petty Cases
• Evening Courts started in many States

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 Are you aware that...
• About two-thirds of our laws have not been used in
independent India.
• About 10 per cent of them can be scrapped right away.
• And most of the 10 per cent in use currently have so
many obsolete and conflicting provisions.
• The oldest law in the country has been in operation for
over a century and half. The one sentence 1836 Bengal
District Act empowers the Bengal government to
create as many zillas as it wants. The Act still exists.

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• Under the Indian Sarais Act, 1867, it is a
punishable offence for ‘inn-keepers’ not to offer
free drinking water to passer-by.
• Only about 40 per cent of our laws are in regular
use. Independent India has till now found no
conceivable use for the rest.
• Parliament spends less than 0.6 per cent of a Lok
Sabha day on law-making.

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• there are almost a quarter million under-trials languishing in
jails across the country. Of these, some 2,069 have been in
jail for more than five years, even as their guilt or innocence
is yet to be ascertained.
• Over three million cases are pending in India's 21 high
courts, and an astounding 26.3 million cases are pending in
subordinate courts across the country.
• Supreme Court of India and the USA are based on the
same motto, to ‘safeguard people's interests over the
states'.
• Panchayati Raj is a judicial system prevalent in Indian
villages since medieval times.
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