CH-THE PARLIAMENTARY

GOVERNMENT-THE
JUDICIARY
 STRUCTURE OF COURTS IN INDIA
• There are three types of courts in India.
• The Supreme Court at the Centre, the High Courts in the States and the
Subordinate Courts at the District level.
 THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
COMPOSITION
• The Supreme Court consists of the Chief Justice of India and not
more than 30 other judges.
• Every judge of the Supreme Court is appointed by the President
after consultation with the judges of the Supreme Court and High
Courts as the President may deem necessary.
• But while appointing other judges, the Chief Justice of India shall
always be consulted. The criteria for the appointment of the
Chief Justice of India shall be seniority.
 Qualifications of the
Judges
To become a judge of the Supreme Court, a person should possess
the following qualifications :
• He/she should be a citizen of India.
• He/she should have worked as a judge in any of the High Courts
for not less than five years.
OR, He/she should have been an advocate of a High Court for at
least 10 years.
OR, He/she should have distinguished himself/herself as a jurist.
 TERMS OF OFFICE
• The Chief Justice and other judges of the Supreme Court are appointed
to work till they attain 65 years of age.
• They can resign from their post whenever they like.
• Death can be another cause of the end of their service before the age
of retirement.
• But if a judge of the Supreme Court is found guilty of misusing his
power or of acting against the provisions of the Constitution, he can be
impeached and relieved of his office.
• The procedure of impeachment of a judge is the same as that of the
President of India.
 PAY AND ALLOWANCES
• The Chief Justice and other judges are paid such
salaries as may be determined by the Parliament.
• Judges are entitled to rent-free residence and other
allowances.
• Their salaries are charged on the Consolidated Fund
of India and cannot be voted upon by the
Parliament.
POWERS AND FUNCTIONS OF THE
SUPREME COURT
a) Original Jurisdiction: It means the authority to hear certain cases
for the first time . The Supreme Court of India has original jurisdiction
over certain cases listed below :
• A dispute between Government of India and one or more states.
• A dispute between two or more states.
• A dispute between the union and any state on one side and one or
more states on the other.
• Supreme Court also entertains suit for the enforcement of fundamental
rights.
• Cases in which an interpretation of the Constitution is involved.
 b) Appellate Jurisdiction:
The Supreme Court has powers to grant special leave to
appeal against the judgments delivered by any court in the
country. The cases that can be brought before the Supreme
Court, through an appeal, form the appellate jurisdiction of
the court which are as under :
• Constitutional Cases:

On matters involving interpretation of the

Constitution, the Supreme Court has the last word.
An appeal lies to the Supreme Court against any
judgement of a High Court.
Civil Cases: Appeals in civil matters lie to the Supreme Court, if the
High Court certifies that the
• case involves a substantial question of law of general importance.
• question needs to be decided by the Supreme Court.
Appeals in Criminal Matters: There are two ways in which an
appealing criminal matters may be brought before the Supreme
Court
a) Without a certificate of the High Court
• Sessions judge has acquitted the accused but the High Court, on an
appeal from the government, reverses the decision of acquittal
and sentences the accused to death.
• High Court has withdrawn any case from a subordinate court and
has convicted the accused and sentenced him to death
b) With a certificate of the High Court
An appeal lies to the Supreme Court if the High
Court certifies that the case needs to be appealed
to the Supreme Court.
INDEPENDENCE OF THE SUPREME COURT
The Supreme Court has a very important role to play in a federal
political system. Its independence is essential for the functioning
of a democratic and a federal polity. The independence of the
judges of the Supreme Court is ensured by the following
provisions-
• Appointment of Judges In appointing the judges, the President
shall consult the Chief Justice of India. Neither the Executive
nor the Chief Justice of India acting on his own can have full
control over the judges’ appointment.
• Security of Tenure A judge can remain in office till he has
attained the age of 65 years. He can be removed by the
INDEPENDENCE OF THE SUPREME COURT
• Salaries are Charged on the Consolidated Fund of India
The salaries and allowances of the judges shall not be changed
to their disadvantage during the term of office and are charged
on the Consolidated Fund of India.
• No Discussion with respect to the Conduct of any Judge
No discussion shall take place in the Parliament with respect to
the conduct of any judge in the discharge of his duties.
• Punishment for the Contempt of Court
Genuine criticism of a judgment is allowed, but nothing should
be done to lower the dignity of the Court.
INDEPENDENCE OF THE SUPREME COURT
• Prohibition of Practice after Retirement
A retired judge of Supreme Court cannot plead any
case in any court or tribunal in India. This ensures
that the judges, while making decisions, would not
be unduly influenced by their former colleagues.
IMPORTANCE OF A SUPREME COURT
• In a federal system, the Supreme Court has to
interpret the Constitution. A federation involves
distribution of powers between the Central and
State governments. Therefore, the Central and
State government should act in accordance with
the provisions of the Constitution. If some dispute
is there, then it has to be settled by the Supreme
Court. That is why the Supreme Court is called the
final interpreter and guardian of the Constitution.
IMPORTANCE OF A SUPREME COURT
• The Supreme Court and the High Courts protect the
Fundamental Rights. For the purpose of protecting the
rights of the citizens, the Supreme Court and the High
Courts may issue the writs or directions to the concerned
authorities.
• The Supreme Court gives a new meaning to the
Constitution to meet the new situations. The Supreme
Court helps the Constitution to adapt itself to the
changing conditions of society.
JUSTICE
DELAYED
IS JUSTICE
DENIED
 THE HIGH COURTS
• The Constitution of India provides for one high court for every
state in the country.
• But the Parliament has been given the power to put even more
states under one High Court.
• It depends upon the area and the population which a High
Court has to serve and the amount of work it has to handle.
• For example, there is only one High Court for Haryana, Punjab
and Chandigarh while Delhi has a separate High Court.
 COMPOSITION OF HIGH COURT
• A High Court consists of one Chief Justice and as many
other judges as the Parliament may fix from time to time.
• The Chief Justice of the High Court is appointed by the
President in consultation with Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court and the Governor of the concerned state.
• Other judges are appointed in the same manner, except
that in their appointment, the Chief Justice of the
concerned state is also consulted.
 QUALIFICATIONS
In order to be appointed as a High Court judge, a
person:
• should be a citizen of India.
• should have at least ten years experience as a judicial
officer in the territory of India
OR, should have worked as an advocate in the High
Court in India continuously for 10 years.
TENURE & TRANSFER OF JUDGES
• The Chief Justice and the judges of High Court serve till they
reach 62 years of age.
• They may resign earlier by writing to the President.
• They cannot be removed from service unless they are
impeached according to the procedure laid down for the
impeachment of the President and the judges of the Supreme
Court.
• The judges of High Court can be transferred by the President
from one High Court to another after consultation with the Chief
Justice of India.
PAY AND ALLOWANCES
•The Chief Justice and other judges are paid
salaries as may be determined by the
Parliament and are also entitled to rent-free
residence and other allowances.
•Their salaries are charged on the Consolidated
Fund of State and are not put to vote in the
State Legislature.
JURISDICTION AND POWERS
ORIGINAL JURISDICTION:
• Every High Court has the power to interpret the Constitution.
The High Court has the power to issue writs and orders for the
enforcement of the Fundamental Rights.
APPELLATE JURISDICTION:
• All the decisions made by the subordinate courts in all
types of civil as well as criminal matters can be brought to
the high courts by an appeal. A sentence of death must be
confirmed by the High Court before it can be carried out.
JURISDICTION AND POWERS
ADMINISTRATIVE POWERS:
• The High Court has the authority to supervise and control the
affairs of all the tribunals and subordinate courts functioning
within its territorial jurisdiction.
• The High Court is also a Court of Record. Its judgments are
preserved as record.
• The High Court is also an interpreter of the Constitution. If it
finds that a particular law goes against the provisions of the
Constitution, it can declare it invalid.
 SUBORDINATE COURTS
• The courts at the district level and below it are known as the
Subordinate Courts.
• There are different courts in each district to decide the civil and
criminal cases.
• The highest civil court in a district is that of the District Judge.
• The civil courts hear the cases related to land, property and
money transactions.
• The highest Criminal Court of the district is the Court of Sessions
Judge which is presided over by the District Judge who is
therefore called the District and Sessions Judge.
 LOK ADALATS
• To save time and money, a system of Lok Adalats has
been set up in our country.
• Many cases are decided in a single day.
• The first Lok Adalat was held in Delhi on 6th October
1985 in which as many as 150 cases were decided in a
single day.
• Lok Adalats have proved very useful for the poor
people.
• They have also lightened the burden of other courts.
• The speed with which they conduct their business has
given much relief to the common man.
PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION(PIL)
• PIL means anybody or any organization can file a case in the High Court
or the Supreme Court on behalf of those who are unable to defend
themselves but whose rights have been violated.
• For most of the poor, the access to courts was quite difficult.
• The legal process requires a lot of money and securing the paper works
takes up a lot of time.
• In such circumstances, for a poor person who cannot read or write and
whose income is very meagre, it becomes quite impossible to go to
court and get justice.
• The court could recognize even a postcard or letter addressed to it as a
petition. The court has only to satisfy itself that the person is acting in
good faith and not out of revenge.
PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION(PIL)
PROCEDURE
• The Supreme Court and the High Courts usually appoint fact-
finding commissions and then pass necessary orders to give relief
to the concerned persons.
• Through PIL cases, the Supreme Court has emerged as the
defender and champion of the people who are poor and helpless.
• Today the bonded laborers, exploited women, under-trial
prisoners and victims of police torture have access to the courts
for securing their rights.
• It was because of PIL that children in government and
government-aided schools started getting mid-day meals.