Judicial System

AspectSupreme CourtHigh Court
Number of JudgesDetermined by Parliament by law.Determined by President’s discretion.
Common HC: Established by Parliament for two or more states.
Tenure of Judges1. Retirement Age: 65 years.
2. Any question on age: Decided by Parliament.
Note: Judges resign by submitting resignation to President (NOT CJI).		1. Retirement Age: 62 years.
2. Any question on age: Decided by President (after consulting CJI).
Fixed Tenure?❌ Constitution does not fix a tenure (e.g., 5 yrs, 6 yrs, etc.), but fixes retirement age (65 yrs for SC, 62 yrs for HC).
✅ Change in retirement age requires a Constitutional Amendment Act (CAA) with consent of half of state legislatures.
Qualifications1. High Court Judge for 5 years.
2. High Court Advocate for 10 years.		1. Judicial Office for 10 years.
2. High Court Advocate for 10 years.
AppointmentCollegium System: CJI + 2 senior-most judges.Collegium System.
Salaries & Allowances1. Cannot be changed, except during a Financial Emergency.
2. Salaries, Allowances & Pensions: Charged on Consolidated Fund of India (CFI).		1. Cannot be changed, except during a Financial Emergency.
2. Salaries & Allowances: Charged on Consolidated Fund of State (CFS).
Pension: Charged on CFI.
Additional & Acting Judges1. No Additional Judges.
2. Acting Judge as CJI (by President) in case of:
– Vacancy in CJI post.
– Temporary absence of CJI.
– Incapacity of CJI.
3. Ad Hoc Judges (for lack of quorum):
– Appointed temporarily from HC judges.
– Appointed by CJI after consulting CJ of HC + with President’s consent.
4. Retired Judge: Appointed by CJI with President’s consent.		1. Additional Judges: Maximum 2 years (by President) to handle temporary increase in workload or arrears of cases.
2. Acting Judge (by President) in case of:
– Absence of a judge (excluding CJ of HC).
– Temporary appointment as CJ of HC.
3. Retired Judge: Appointed by CJ of HC with President’s consent.
Seat of CourtCJI (not the President) can declare another seat with President’s approval.–
JurisdictionParliament can change jurisdiction (not curtail it).Parliament & State Legislature can change jurisdiction (not curtail it).
Territorial JurisdictionCo-terminus with territory of India.–
Transfer of JudgesArticle 222(1): By President, after consulting CJI.
1. SC (1977): Transfer should be exceptional & for public interest.
2. Third Judges Case (1998):
– CJI must consult 4 senior-most judges + CJ of both HCs involved.
– CJI consults CJ of HC, NOT President.
3. Conditions for Transfer:
– Not as a punitive measure.
– For “public interest” & “better administration of justice”.
– CJI’s concurrence after effective consultation is mandatory.		–

Jurisdiction of Courts

AspectSupreme Court (SC)High Court (HC)
Original JurisdictionArticle 131: Cases where SC directly hears disputes.
✅ Central Govt vs State Govt.
✅ Central & State(s) vs State(s).
✅ State vs State.
❌ NOT for:
– Inter-State Water Disputes (ISWD).
– Finance Commission matters.
– Commercial disputes involving Centre & State.
– Recovery of damages by a State against the Centre.
– Pre-Constitution treaties.
Conditions:
1. Must involve legal rights (Excludes political disputes).
2. Private citizens cannot file cases directly under this jurisdiction.		✅ Hears matters related to:
– Admiralty (maritime law).
– Wills, marriage, divorce.
– Company laws, contempt of court.
– Elections of MPs & MLAs.
– Revenue matters.
– Cases transferred from subordinate courts involving Constitutional interpretation.
– Civil cases (B, M, C, D – high-value cases).
– Enforcement of Fundamental Rights.
Writ Jurisdiction✅ Only for Fundamental Rights (FRs).✅ For both:
– Fundamental Rights (FRs).
– Ordinary legal rights (wider than SC).
🔹 Can issue writs even beyond its territorial jurisdiction if the cause of action arises within its jurisdiction.
Appellate Jurisdiction(Cases where SC hears appeals from HC)
1️⃣ Constitutional (Article 132):
– HC certifies that case requires Constitutional interpretation.
2️⃣ Civil (Article 133):
– HC certifies that case involves a substantial legal question.
3️⃣ Criminal (Article 134):
– HC reverses acquittal → imposes Death/Life Imprisonment (LI)/10+ years.
– HC confirms a death sentence given by a subordinate court.
4️⃣ Special Leave (Article 136):
– Appeals from any court or tribunal (except military tribunals).
🔹 Article 134(A): Parliament can confer power on SC to hear criminal appeals from HC judgments.		✅ Wider than SC’s original jurisdiction (includes both Civil & Criminal cases).
I. Civil Appeals:
1️⃣ First Appeals: Based on questions of law & fact.
2️⃣ Second Appeals: Based on questions of law only.
3️⃣ Intra-court appeals: For cases from single-judge benches (B, M, C).
4️⃣ Tribunal appeals: From administrative & other tribunals.
II. Criminal Appeals:
1️⃣ Sentence of 7+ years by Sessions or Additional Sessions Court.
2️⃣ Death penalty confirmation cases.
3️⃣ In CrPC-specific cases: Appeals from Assistant Sessions Judge & Magistrates.
Advisory (SC) / Supervisory (HC) Jurisdiction✅ Advisory Jurisdiction (Article 143):
– President refers questions of law/public importance.
– SC may refuse to tender opinion (except for pre-constitutional treaties, where it is mandatory).		✅ Supervisory Jurisdiction (Extensive):
– Over all courts & tribunals (except military tribunals).
– Administrative + Judicial Superintendence.
– Revisional jurisdiction.
– Can act Suo Motu.
Court of Record1️⃣ SC judgments cannot be questioned before ANY court.
2️⃣ Punishes contempt for ALL courts.		1️⃣ HC judgments cannot be questioned before subordinate courts.
2️⃣ Punishes contempt for own + subordinate courts.
❌ HC CANNOT review its own judgments (unlike SC).
Judicial Review✅ SC reviews:
– Laws & Executive Orders (EOs) of both Centre & States.
– Power conferred by Constitution itself (though term “Judicial Review” is not explicitly mentioned).		✅ HC reviews:
– Laws & Executive Orders (EOs) of both Centre & States.
– Power conferred by Constitution itself (though term “Judicial Review” is not explicitly mentioned).
Other Powers✅ Exclusive to SC:
1. Hears election disputes of President & Vice President.
2. Advises UPSC on Chairperson/Member inquiries (binding opinion).
3. Withdraws pending HC cases & disposes them itself.
4. Transfers cases between different HCs.
5. Ultimate interpreter of the Constitution.		✅ HC powers include:
– Judicial Superintendence over lower courts.
– Wider writ jurisdiction.

Review Jurisdiction of Supreme Court

Article 137: Power of SC to review its own judgment, subject to laws made by Parliament.

Grounds for Review:

  1. New matter of evidence.
  2. Error or mistake on the face of the record.

SC Rules, 1966:

  • Filing period: Within 30 days of judgment.
  • Review Process: Circulated without oral arguments to the same bench that gave the verdict.

Nature of Review Power:

  • Discretionary right of the Supreme Court.
  • No Review Jurisdiction for High Court.

Impeachment of Judges

Regulated by: Judges Inquiry Act, 1968.

Procedure:

  1. Motion signed by:
  • 100 Members (Lok Sabha) OR 50 Members (Rajya Sabha).
  1. If Speaker admits, then a committee is formed:
  • Chief Justice or Judge of SC.
  • Chief Justice of HC.
  • Distinguished Jurist.

Subordinate Courts

Appointments, Posting & Promotion:

  1. District Judge: By Governor in consultation with HC (NO role of State PSC).
  2. Other Judges: By Governor in consultation with State PSC & HC.

Control Over Subordinate Courts:

  • HC has control over district and subordinate courts, including posting & promotion (but not appointment) of judicial officers below District Judge.

Organization:

  • Not uniform across states.

Civil & Criminal Jurisdiction

CourtJurisdictionPowersQualification
District JudgeBoth original & appellate jurisdiction (Civil & Criminal)– Supervisory power over all subordinate courts in district.
– Holds both judicial & administrative powers.		– Advocate/Pleader with 7 years experience.
– Not in service of Centre/State.
– Recommended by HC.
Subordinate JudgeCivil Jurisdiction– Unlimited pecuniary jurisdiction over civil suits.
– Can be appointed as Assistant Sessions Judge, thus handling both civil & criminal cases.		– As per State rules.
Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM)Criminal Jurisdiction– Can award punishment up to 7 years.
– Cannot impose a death sentence.		– Appointed as per CrPC.
Munsiff’s CourtCivil Jurisdiction– Deals with small pecuniary civil cases.– As per State rules.
Judicial MagistrateCriminal Jurisdiction– Can sentence up to 3 years.– As per State rules.

Lok Adalat

Regulated by: Legal Services Authority Act, 1987.

Scope:

  • Handles pending court cases or pre-litigation disputes.
  • Organized by SLSA, DLSA, TLSA, SCLSA.

Composition:

  • Chairperson: Judicial Officer.
  • Members: Lawyers & Social Workers.

Key Features:

  1. No jurisdiction over non-compoundable offences.
  2. Pre-litigation cases: Can be taken up on request of even one party.
  3. Powers equal to a Civil Court under CrPC.
  4. Award is final & binding (No appeal in any court).
  5. No strict applicability of CrPC & Evidence Act.
  6. Major drawback: Awards are based on compromise, not on legal merit.

Permanent Lok Adalat (PLA)

Regulated by: Legal Services Authority Act, 1987 (Amended in 2002).

Key Features:

  1. Compulsory pre-litigation mechanism for public utility services.
  2. Chairperson: Serving/retired District or Higher Judge.
  • 2 members with expertise in Public Utility Services.
  1. Jurisdiction: Cases up to ₹10 lakh (Central Govt can increase limit).
  2. No jurisdiction over non-compoundable offences.
  3. Settlement attempts first → If no settlement, PLA passes an award on merit (Final & Binding).

Family Courts

Regulated by: Family Courts Act, 1984.

Establishment:

  • Set up by State Govt after consulting HC.
  • Mandatory in towns with a population > 1 million.

Key Features:

  1. No legal practitioner representation (Amicus curiae assistance allowed).
  2. Right to Appeal → High Court.
  3. Judge Qualification → Appointed by Central Govt after consulting CJI.

Gram Nyayalaya

Regulated by: Gram Nyayalaya Act, 2008.

Key Features:

  1. Gram Nyayalaya = Court of Judicial Magistrate First Class (Nyayadhikari).
  • Appointed by State Govt in consultation with HC.
  1. Established for every panchayat at intermediate level.
  • Seat: HQ of Intermediate Panchayat.
  1. Mobile courts for remote justice delivery.
  2. Jurisdiction:
  • Both civil & criminal cases (summary procedure in criminal cases).
  • Sch I & II of Act can be amended by both Centre & State.
  1. Not bound by Evidence Act, 1872 → Follows Natural Justice & HC Rules.
  2. Appeal → District Court (Sessions & District) (must be heard within 6 months).
  • Decisions of GN are not binding.

Plea Bargaining

Definition:

  • Accused pleads guilty in exchange for a more lenient sentence.

Offence Classification (Sec 320, CrPC):

TypeNatureCompromise Process
Compoundable OffenceLess serious crimesComplainant can enter into a ‘bona fide’ compromise → Charges are dropped. Court must approve → Same effect as acquittal.
Non-Compoundable OffenceGrave & serious crimesCannot be compromised as the offence affects society. State is the complainant, so no compromise possible.

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