INDIAN JUDICIARY SYSTEM

INTRODUCTION

TheIndian Judiciaryadministers acommon law systemof

legal jurisdiction, in which customs, precedents and
legislation, all codify the law of the land.

The Judiciary interprets the Constitution as its final arbiter.

It acts as its guardian by calling for scrutiny any act of the
legislature or the executive.

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. 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, including disputes

between individuals and the government. The judiciary is
independent of theexecutiveandlegislativebranches of
government according to theConstitution of India.

STRUCTURE OF INDIAN
JUDICIARY
SUPREME

COURT: The apex

court in jurisdiction all over

India
HIGH COURT: Hear cases that
arise in states
DISTRICT COURT: Hear cases
that arise in districts
SUB

COURTS,MUNSIFF COURTS
AND MAGISTRATE COURTS: Hear

taluk level cases

SUPREME COURT

SUPREME COURT
TheSupreme

Court of Indiais the highest judicial forum and final

court of appeal under theConstitution of India, the highest
constitutional court, with the power ofconstitutional review.

It

comprises theChief Justice of Indiaand 30 other judges. It

hasoriginal,appellateand advisory jurisdictions.

As

thefinal court of appealof the country, it takes up appeals

primarily against verdicts of theHigh Courts of various States of
the Unionand other courts and tribunals.

The

Supreme Court has extensive original jurisdiction for the

protection of fundamental rights of citizens. It also acts as the
court to settle disputes between various governments in the
country.

The

law declared by the Supreme Court becomes binding on all

courts within India.

SUPREME COURT
The jurisdiction of the Supreme Court may be divided into 3
categories;
(1)

Original: In itsoriginal jurisdictionthe Supreme Court

acts as the guardian and protector of the constitution

(2)

Appellate: Appellate jurisdictionof the Supreme Court

extends to both civil and criminal cases. As the highest court
of the country appeals in all such cases from the High Court
lie with the Supreme Court. In a civil case if the High Court
certifies that the case has constitutional significance or that
the case is fit for appeal to the Supreme Court, the court
hears appeal from the judgment of the High Court.

(3)

Advisory: Finally, the Supreme Court has anAdvisory

jurisdiction. Artcile 143 empower the President to seek the
Courts advisory opinion on any question of law or fact. Such
advice however is not binding on the President.

HIGH COURT

HIGH COURT

There

are 25 High Courts at the State level. These courts have

jurisdiction over a state, a union territory or a group of states and
union territories.

The

High Courts are the principal civil courts oforiginal

jurisdictionin the state along with District Courts which are
subordinate to the High courts.

Judges

in a high court are appointed by the President after

consultation with theChief Justice of India, Chief Justice of High
Court and the governor of the state.

TheCalcutta

High Courtis the oldest High Court in the country,

established on 2 July 1862, whereas theAllahabad High Courtis
the largest, having a sanctioned strength of judges at 160.

High

courts which handle a large number of cases of a particular

region, have permanentbenches(or a branch of the court)
established there.

HIGH COURT
Jurisdiction of High Courts:
Gives verdicts on cases relating
to violation of fundamental rights.
Hears civil and criminal appeal
cases from lower courts.
Interprets laws passed by the
state legislature.

DISTRICT COURTS

TheDistrict

Courts of Indiaare established by 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 the state to which the district
concerned belongs.

The

decisions of District court are subject to the appellate jurisdiction of

the concerned High court.

The

district court is presided over by one District Judge appointed by the

state Government.

The

district judge is also called "Metropolitan session judge" when he is

presiding over a district court in a city which is designated "Metropolitan
area" by the state Government.

The

district court has appellate jurisdiction over all subordinate courts

situated in the district on both civil and criminal matters.

SUBORDINATE COURTS
Subordinate courts, on the civil side (in ascending
order) are:
Junior Civil Judge Court,
Principal Junior Civil Judge Court,
Senior Civil Judge Court (also called sub-court).
Subordinate courts, on the criminal side (in ascending
order) are:
Second Class Judicial Magistrate Court,
First Class Judicial Magistrate Court,
Chief Judicial Magistrate Court.
In addition 'Family Courts" are established to deal with
matrimonial disputes alone. The Principal judge of
family court is equivalent to District Judge.

Chief Justice of India H L

Dattu

Indian Lawyers

A court session in proceedin

REVIEW QUESTIONS
Which

are the main organs of the

judiciary system?

Who

appoints the Chief Justice of

the Supreme Court?

Which

is the highest court of a

state?
Which

is the apex court in India?