INDIAN JUDICIAL SYSTEM

GROUP MEMBER:
 ARYAN
 The Government of India has three different independent branches

 Executive
 Legislative
 Judiciary.

The Indian judicial system was formed by the British during their colonial rule in the
country. This system is known as the Common Law System in which the judges develop the
laws with their judgments, orders and decisions.

The different types of courts form the different levels of judiciary in the country.

 The apex court of India is the Supreme Court, located in New Delhi, followed by the high
courts in different states.

 The high courts are followed by the district courts and subordinate courts which are also
known as the lower courts.
 President

 The President is elected by members of an electoral college consisting of elected

members of both Houses of Parliament and Legislative Assemblies of the states
in accordance with the system of proportional representation, by means of single
transferable vote. To secure uniformity among state inter se, as well as parity
between the states as a whole, and the Union, suitable weightage is given to each
vote. The President must be a citizen of India, not less than 35 years of age, and
qualified for election as member of the Lok Sabha. His term of office is five
years, and he is eligible for re-election. His removal from office is to be in
accordance with procedure prescribed in Article 61 of the Constitution. He may,
by writing under his hand addressed to the Vice-President, resign his office.
 Executive power
 Executive power of the Union is vested in the President, and is exercised by him either
directly or through officers subordinate to him in accordance with the Constitution.
Supreme command of defence forces of the Union also vests in him. The President
summons, prorogues, addresses, sends messages to Parliament and dissolves the Lok
Sabha, promulgates Ordinances at any time, except when both Houses of Parliament are
in session, makes recommendations for introducing financial and money bills and gives
assent to bills, grants pardons, reprieves, respites or remission of punishment or suspends,
and remits or commutes sentences in certain cases. When there is a failure of the
constitutional machinery in a state, he can assume to himself all, or any of the functions
of the government of that state. The President can proclaim emergency in the country if
he is satisfied that a grave emergency exists, whereby security of India or any part of its
territory is threatened, whether by war or external aggression or armed rebellion.
 Vice-President

The Vice-President is elected by members of an electoral college consisting of
members of both Houses of Parliament in accordance with the system of proportional
representation by means of single transferable vote. He must be a citizen of India, not
less than 35 years of age, and eligible for election as a member of the Rajya Sabha.
His term of office is five years, and he is eligible for re-election. His removal from
office is to be in accordance with procedure prescribed in Article 67 b.
 The Vice-President is ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha and acts as President
when the latter is unable to discharge his functions due to absence, illness or any other
cause, or till the election of a new President (to be held within six months when a
vacancy is caused by death, resignation or removal or otherwise of President). While
so acting, he ceases to perform the function of the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
 Council of Ministers
 There is a Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister to aid and advise
the President in exercise of his functions. The Prime Minister is appointed by
the President, who also appoints other ministers on the advice of Prime
Minister. The Council is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha. It is the
duty of the Prime Minister to communicate to the President all decisions of
Council of Ministers relating to administration of affairs of the Union and
proposals for legislation and information relating to them.

The Council of Ministers comprises Ministers who are members of Cabinet,
Ministers of State (independent charge), Ministers of State and Deputy
Ministers.
 Rajya Sabha
 The Constitution provides that the Rajya Sabha shall consist of 250 members, of which 12
members shall be nominated by the President from amongst persons having special
knowledge or practical experience in respect of such matters as literature, science, art and
social service; and not more than 238 representatives of the States and of the Union
Territories.
 Elections to the Rajya Sabha are indirect; members representing States are elected by
elected members of legislative assemblies of the States in accordance with the system of
proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote, and those representing
Union Territories are chosen in such manner as Parliament may by law prescribe. The Rajya
Sabha is not subject to dissolution; one-third of its members retire every second year.
 Rajya Sabha, at present, has 245 seats. Of these, 233 members represent the States and the
Union Territories, and 12 members are nominated by the President.
 Lok Sabha
 The Lok Sabha is composed of representatives of people chosen by direct election on the basis of adult suffrage.
The maximum strength of the House envisaged by the Constitution is now 552 (530 members to represent States,
20 to represent Union Territories, and not more than two members of the Anglo-Indian community to be
nominated by the President, if, in his opinion, that community is not adequately represented in the House). The
total elective membership of the Lok Sabha is distributed among States in such a way that the ratio between the
number of seats allotted to each State and population of the State is, as far as practicable, the same for all States.
The Lok Sabha at present consists of 545 members. Of these, 530 members are directly elected from the States
and 13 from Union Territories, while two are nominated by the President to represent the Anglo-Indian
community. Following the Constitution 84th Amendment Act, the total number of existing seats as allocated to
various States in the Lok Sabha on the basis of the 1971 census, shall remain unaltered till the first census to be
taken after the year 2026.
 The term of the Lok Sabha, unless dissolved earlier, is five years from the date appointed for its first meeting.
However, while a proclamation of emergency is in operation, this period may be extended by Parliament by law
for a period not exceeding one year at a time, and not extending in any case, beyond a period of six months after
the proclamation has ceased to operate. Fourteen Lok Sabhas have been constituted so far.
 Powers of Judiciary System

 Judicial Functions: when a dispute is brought before a court, it is the responsibility of the
court to 'determine the facts' involved. The usual manner in which the courts determine the
facts is through evidence given by the contestants. Once the facts have been established, the
court proceeds to decide what law is applicable to a particular controversy or circumstance.
Herein the judiciary becomes the interpreter of laws, which is the prime function of the
judiciary. So the major task of the judiciary is to 'determine' the facts of laws and to apply
them to particular circumstance.

 Law-making Functions: judiciary also performs the role of lawmaker. It may sound
surprising, but 'judge-made' laws are common to all systems of jurisprudence. When the
provisions of the existing laws may be ambiguous, or sometimes two or more laws of a
particular government appear to be in conflict under a given circumstance. Here in the
judiciary plays an important role in determining what the law is and when two laws apparently
conflict, which shall prevail.
 Supreme Court of India
 The Supreme Court of India came into being on 28 January 1950 and substituted the Judicial
Committee of the Privy Council and the Federal Court of India which were the apex legal system
under the colonial rule in India.

 There is one Chief Justice and 30 other judges in the Supreme Court who are appointed by the
Indian President.

 These judges retire after the attainment of the age of 65 years. The apex court works
extensively for the protection of the fundamental rights of the Indian citizens.

 It is also a supreme authority as it settles the disputes within several governments of the
country.

 It also has an authority to review any judgement or order earlier passed by it and can also
transfer cases from one high court to another and from one district court to another.
 High Courts
The supreme judicial powers at the state level lie with the high courts of India.
 There are 24 high courts in the country which hold jurisdiction over a state, union territory or a
group of union territories or states. Being established in 1862, Calcutta High Court is the oldest
high court in India.

 Being the appellate authority of state or group of states, the high courts have similar authorities and
powers like that of the apex court, except for the difference of territorial jurisdiction of high courts
which is varied.

 The high courts may also have original jurisdiction in certain cases if permitted under the federal
law system.

 There are lower courts - civil or criminal, and tribunals which function under the high courts. All
the high courts come under the jurisdiction of Supreme Court of India
Following is the list of the 24 high courts of India:

High Court of Judicature at Hyderabad (Andhra Jammu and Kashmir High Court
Pradesh and Telangana) Jharkhand High Court
High Court of Judicature at Allahabad (Uttar Karnataka High Court
Pradesh) Kerala High Court (Kerala and Lakshadweep)
Bombay High Court (Maharashtra, Dadra and Madras High Court (Tamil Nadu and Puducherry)
Nagar Havel, Goa and Daman and Diu) Madhya Pradesh High Court
Calcutta High Court (West Bengal and Andaman Meghalaya High Court
and Nicobar Islands) Manipur High Court
Chhattisgarh High Court Orissa High Court (Odisha)
Delhi High Court (National Capital Territory of Patna High Court (Bihar)
Delhi) Punjab and Haryana High Court (Punjab, Haryana
Gujarat High Court and Chandigarh)
Gauhati High Court (Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram Rajasthan High Court
and Arunachal Pradesh) Sikkim High Court
Himachal Pradesh High Court Uttarakhand High Court
Tripura High Court
 District and Subordinate Courts

The district and the subordinate courts are the courts below the high courts. These courts administer
jurisdiction at the district level in India.
 The district courts are at the top of all the subordinate courts but fall under the administrative control
of the state high court to which that district belongs to. The jurisdiction in the districts of the states
is presided over by District and Sessions Judge.
 The judge is referred to as a District Judge when he presides over the civil cases and as a Sessions
Judge when he presides over criminal cases. He is addressed as a Metropolitan Sessions Judge when
he presides over a district court in a city which is recognized as a metropolitan city or area by the
state government. The District Judge is also the highest judicial authority after the High Court
Judge.
The district courts also hold jurisdiction over the subordinate courts. For handling civil cases, the
subordinate courts, in ascending order, are Junior Civil Judge Court, Principal Junior Civil Judge
Court, Senior Civil Judge Courts. For handling criminal cases the ascending order of the subordinate
courts is Second Class Judicial Magistrates Court, First Class Judicial magistrate Court and Chief
Judicial Magistrate Court.
(3) Guardianship of the Constitution: In federal States the judiciary is the guardian of the
Constitution. In federal States conflict in jurisdiction and authority frequently occurs, as there are
several law making and executive authorities, each showing its power to the Constitution. In the
circumstances, the judiciary becomes the umpire and regulates the legal actions of the States and
Central governments.

In case the laws made by any of these law-making bodies conflict with the constitutional
provisions, the judiciary in the above mentioned States is empowered to declare the relevant
legislation illegal.

(4) Advisory Jurisdiction:

Fourthly, some national judiciaries possess advisory jurisdiction. For instance, the President of
India may seek the advice of the Supreme Court of India on any proposed legislation.
Protector of the Fundamental Rights:
Judiciaries also act as the defenders of the individual's right. Such role of the judiciary is
important as it prevents the individual's rights from being violated. An individual need not wait
until harm is done to him. If he had, sufficient reasons to believe that attempts would be made to violate
his 'rights' he could approach the courts for protection. Judiciary is the watchdog of rights and
liberties of the people. In India, the Supreme Court is empowered to protect the Fundamental
Rights of the citizens.
Supervisory Function:
Higher courts are often assigned the task of supervision over the lower courts. The Indian High Conn
responsible for the supervision of their respective state judicial systems.
Non-Judicial Function:
Judiciary in some countries may perform a number of non-judicial functions.:-
 Courts may undertake the administration of property in cases where the ownership of property
in question is in dispute.
 Courts also assume responsibility for handling the affairs of minor children or lunatics. Courts may
be authorized to issue and cancel certain licenses.
 Courts also may be authorized to grant citizenship to aliens.
THANK YOU