WORKING OF THE INDIAN

JUDICIARY SYSTEM
SUMMER VACATIONS HOLIDAY HOMEWORK
POLITICAL SCIENCE

~ AAYUSHI KAMERIYA
XI-F
 Index
i. Introduction
ii. What is Indian judiciary
iii. How many organs
iv. Where is seat of supreme court
v. High court
vi. Supreme court
vii. Their jurisdictions – writ,original…
viii. Judicial activism
ix. Need for independent judiciary
x. Appointment of judges
xi. Removal of judges
 Introduction
 The judiciary is that branch of the government that interprets the law, settles
disputes and administers justice to all citizens.
 The judiciary is considered the watchdog of democracy, and also the
guardian of the Constitution.
 The principal role of the judiciary is to protect rule of law and ensure
supremacy of law.
 It safeguards rights of the individual, settles disputes in accordance with the
law and ensures that democracy does not give way to individual or group
dictatorship.
 Judiciary is one of the 3 important Branches of the Government .
 Indian Judiciary – Structure
 India has a single integrated judicial system.
 The judiciary in India has a pyramidal structure with the Supreme Court (SC) at the top.
 High Courts are below the SC, and
 below them are the District and Subordinate courts.
 The lower courts function under the direct superintendence of the higher courts.
 Apart from the above structure, there are also two branches of the legal system, which are:
• Criminal Law: These deal with the committing of a crime by any citizen/entity. A criminal
case starts when the local police file a crime report. The court finally decides on the matter.
• Civil Law: These deal with disputes over the violation of the Fundamental Rights of a citizen.
 Seat of supreme court
 Supreme Court of India came into existence on 26th
January, 1950.

 Located on Tilak Marg, New Delhi.

 As per Article 124, The Supreme Court of India had been

Constituted and Established

 The Supreme Court of India comprises the Chief Justice and

33 other Judges appointed by the President of India.
Supreme Court Judges retire upon attaining the age of 65
years.
 Supreme court
 The Supreme Court of India is the supreme judicial
authority.
 The highest court of the Republic of India.
 It is the final court of appeal for all civil and criminal cases
in India.
 It also has the power of judicial review.
 Supreme court is the Guarantor of Fundamental Rights of
citizens , and guardian of the constitution of India.
 It has extensive powers in the form
of original, appellate and advisory jurisdictions.
 Jurisdiction and Powers of the Supreme Court
And High Court
• The Supreme Court of India was constituted as per Chapter IV of the Part V of Constitution of India.
• Original Jurisdiction
• Writ Jurisdiction
• Appellate Jurisdiction
• Advisory Jurisdiction
• A Court of Record
• Power of Judicial Review
• Constitutional Interpretation
• Other Powers
• The Law making power of the Supreme Court is given under Article 141 of the Constitution. The law
declared by the Supreme Court is binding on all courts in the country.
 High court
 The high courts of India are the highest courts of appellate jurisdiction in each state and Union
territory of India.
 Judges in a high court are appointed by the president of India in consultation with the Chief justice of
India and the governor of the state - Article 217 of the Constitution .
 The Calcutta High Court is the oldest high court in the country, established on 2 July 1862.
 High courts that handle numerous cases of a particular region have permanent benches established
there.
 Benches are also present in states which come under the jurisdiction of a court outside its territorial
limits.
 Smaller states with few cases may have circuit benches established.
 Circuit benches (known as circuit courts in some parts of the world) are temporary courts which hold
proceedings for a few selected months in a year.
 District Court
• The court of district judges is the highest civil court in a district. It exercises both judicial and
administrative functions.
• The District Judge combines the powers of trying both civil and criminal cases. Hence, they are
designated the District and Sessions Judge.
• District court deals with the cases arising in the district, consider Appeals on decisions given by lower
courts and decides cases involving serious criminal offences.
• Subordinate courts to Supreme Court and high courts consider cases of civic and criminal nature.
• They administer justice in India at a district level. These courts are under administrative and judicial
control of the High Court of the State to which the district concerned belongs.
• This Court exercise jurisdiction both on original as well as appellate side in civil and criminal matters
arising in the District.
• On the criminal side, jurisdiction is almost exclusively derived from Code of Criminal Procedure.
 The functions of the judiciary in India
• Administration of justice: The chief function of the judiciary is to apply the law to specific cases or in settling
disputes. When a dispute is brought before the courts it ‘determines the facts’ involved through evidence
presented by the contestants. The law then proceeds to decide what law is applicable to the case and applies it. If
someone is found guilty of violating the law in the course of the trial, the court will impose a penalty on the guilty
person.
• Creation of judge-case law: In many cases, the judges are not able to, or find it difficult to select the appropriate
law for application. In such cases, the judges decide what the appropriate law is on the basis of their wisdom and
common sense. In doing so, judges have built up a great body of ‘judge-made law’ or ‘case law.’ As per the doctrine
of ‘stare decisis’, the previous decisions of judges are generally regarded as binding on later judges in similar cases.
• Guardian of the Constitution: The highest court in India, the SC, acts as the guardian of the Constitution. The
conflicts of jurisdiction between the central government and the state governments or between the legislature and
the executive are decided by the court. Any law or executive order which violates any provision of the constitution
is declared unconstitutional or null and void by the judiciary. This is called ‘judicial review.’ Judicial review has the
merit of guaranteeing the fundamental rights of individuals and ensuring a balance between the union and the
units in a federal state.
• Protector of Fundamental Rights: The judiciary ensures that people’s rights are not trampled upon by the
State or any other agency. The superior courts enforce Fundamental Rights by issuing writs.
• Supervisory functions: The higher courts also perform the function of supervising the subordinate courts
in India.
• Advisory functions: The SC in India performs an advisory function as well. It can give its advisory
opinions on constitutional questions. This is done in the absence of disputes and when the executive so
desires.
• Administrative functions: Some functions of the courts are non-judicial or administrative in nature. The
courts may grant certain licenses, administer the estates (property) of deceased persons and appoint
receivers. They register marriages, appoint guardians of minor children and lunatics.
• Special role in a federation: In a federal system like India’s, the judiciary also performs the important task
of settling disputes between the centre and states. It also acts as an arbiter of disputes between states.
• Conducting judicial enquiries: Judges normally are called to head commissions that enquire into cases of
errors or omissions on the part of public servants.
 Need of independent judiciary
India’s Independent Judiciary :

The Legislature, the Executive and the Judiciary are the three main pillars of the government. The
Parliament or the legislature performs the function of making laws.
The Executive implements the laws enacted by the Parliament and the Judiciary interprets these laws.
Thus the Indian judiciary serves as the interpreter of law as well as the watchdog of the Indian
Constitution which mandates an independent and integrated judiciary for the country.
The three pillars of Indian democracy do not work in isolation but are interdependent to ensure the
proper and systematic functioning of the government.
However, the judiciary has wide powers to review and strike down executive and legislative decisions and
actions, if they are found to breach the Constitution.
The power of “judicial review” of legislative and executive action is considered to be an essential tool for
An independent judiciary ensures a justice system that is not controlled by the other arms of the
government or any political authority, while having accountability to the Constitution.
Such independence also ensures that there is no misuse of power by any section of the
government.
Justice is delivered in India through a tiered system with the Supreme Court as the apex court in
the country.
 One level below are 24 High Courts, each with jurisdiction over a state or a group of States and
Union Territories.
Then come the District Courts, along with alternative platforms for dispute resolution as provided
by subordinate courts, which include village courts and people’s courts.
 Administrative tribunals are also in place to provide redressal efficiently. All judicial cases are
presided over and decided by a judge.
 The provision for jury trials in India was abolished in the early 1960s.
 civil courts
 Civil courts deal with civil cases. Civil law is referred to in almost all cases other than
criminal cases. Criminal law applies when a crime such as a robbery, murder, arson,
etc. is perpetrated.
 Civil law is applied in disputes when one person sues another person or entity.
Examples of civil cases include divorce, eviction, consumer problems, debt or
bankruptcy, etc.
 Judges in civil courts and criminal courts have different powers. While a judge in a
criminal court can punish the convicted person by sending him/her to jail, a judge
in a civil court can make the guilty pay fines, etc.
 District Judges sitting in District Courts and Magistrates of Second Class and Civil
• Civil courts provide remedies for civil wrongs committed by individuals against other individuals and
entities. Civil matters range from property disputes to breaches of contract to divorce cases.
• The Code of Civil Procedure (CPC) 1908 governs the procedures to be followed by civil courts in
administering civil cases in India.
• As a matter of fact, every suit must be instituted before the court of lowest jurisdiction (the Munsif court).
Upon institution, it is decided whether the respective court has competence to try the case.
 The Civil Court hierarchy in districts is as follows :
1. District Court: The court of district judges is the highest civil court in a district. It exercises both judicial
and administrative functions. The District Judge combines the powers of trying both civil and criminal
cases. Hence, they are designated the District and Sessions Judge.
2. Sub-judge Court: if the value of the subject-matter of the suit is worth more than Rs. 1 lakh, the Sub-judge
and Additional Sub-judge courts may try the suit.
3. Additional Sub-judge Court: this is created based on the case-load.
4. Munsif Court: if the value of the subject-matter of the suit is worth Rs. 1 lakh or below, the Munsif court is
competent to try the suit.
 Civil courts have four types of jurisdiction:
Subject Matter Jurisdiction : try cases of a particular type and relate to a
particular subject.
Territorial Jurisdiction : try cases within its geographical limit, and not
beyond the territory.
Pecuniary Jurisdiction : Cases related to money matters, suits of
monetary value.
Appellate Jurisdiction : The Supreme Court and the High Courts have
appellate jurisdiction to hear cases that were decided by a lower court.
 Criminal courts
The various classes of criminal courts in India are:
a) Supreme Court
b) High Courts
c) The Courts of Session
d) The Judicial Magistrates of the First Class, and, in any metropolitan area; the Metropolitan Magistrates.
e) The Judicial Magistrates of the Second Class
f ) The Executive Magistrates

 The Sessions Court headed by the Sessions Judge is the highest Criminal Court in the district.
 As the District Judge also functions as the Sessions Judge, he is known as the District and Sessions Judge. It may pass
any sentence authorized by provisions of law, but a death sentence, passed by it, has to be confirmed by the High Court.
 An Assistant Sessions Judge has the power to sentence a person to 10 years imprisonment..
Appointment of judges of supreme and high court
• Originally, the Supreme Court had eight judges (one chief justice and seven others).The Parliament
has increased the number of judges over time . The current strength of the Supreme Court is 34 judges (one chief
justice and 33 others).
• According to Article 124(3) of the Constitution, a person can be appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court if he
or she:
i. A person must be a citizen of India.
ii. Must have served as a judge of a High Court for at least five years or two such courts in succession.
iii. Must have been an advocate of a High Court for at least ten years or two or more such courts in succession.
iv. Must be a distinguished jurist in the opinion of the president.
• The Judges of the Supreme Court are appointed by the President under clause (2) of Article 124 of the
Constitution says that :
There shall be a Supreme Court of India consisting of a Chief Justice of India and, until Parliament by law
prescribes a larger number, of not more than seven other Judges in the opinion of the president.
 Removal of Judges of Supreme and High Court

• Article 124(4) mentions those Removal regulations of the Supreme court judge as follows : A
judge of the Supreme Court shall not be removed from his office except by an order of the
President passed after an address by each House of Parliament supported by a majority of
the total membership of that House and by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the
members of that House present and voting has been presented to the president in same
session for such removal on the ground of proved Misbehaviour or incapacity.
• Once appointed, the judges can hold office until the complete 65 years. They cannot be
removed during their tenure except on proved misbehaviour or incapacity.
• The procedure for removal is too difficult. The motion has to be passed by a majority of the
total members of both houses of Parliament and two-thirds of the members present and
voting.