Indian Polity Revision Test Part 5 in English

The judiciary is one of the three organs of the government, the other two being the Legislature and the Executive. The judiciary is engaged in the interpretation of law and serves as a protector of the constitution.

In Medieval India, the Sultan/Sultana was the supreme authority administering justice in his/her kingdom. He / She administered justice in the following capacities namely Diwan-e-Qaza (Arbitrator), Diwan-e-Mazalim (Head of Bureaucracy) and Diwan-e-Riyasat (Commander-in-Chief).

The Charter of 1687 authorized the Company to create the Corporation of Madras and the Mayor’s Court was attached to it. It functioned as a court of record for the Madras town.

The proclamation of 1672 introduced English Law in Bombay and the Court of Judicature and the new central court was established.

The first Governor General Warren Hasting caused the codification at Hindu Law, and Cornwallis code was another major contribution. Similarly, the Islamic law was also codified and adopted in courts.

Th e Regulating Act of 1773 empowered the Crown to establish the Supreme Court of Judicature in Calcutta and the Charter of 1774 expounded on the jurisdiction of the court.

Th e Supreme Courts were established in Madras and Bombay in the years 1801 and 1824 respectively.

Lord Cornwallis prepared “A Set of Regulations” popularly known as the Cornwallis Code and it dealt with both civil and criminal justice. He reorganized civil courts, abolished court fees and reformed criminal courts.

Lord Minto after being appointed as the Governor- General of Bengal in 1807 increased the powers and jurisdiction of the various courts.

Th e Indian High Courts Act of 1861 empowered the Crown to establish the High Courts of Judicature at Calcutta, Madras and Bombay and this also led to the abolition of Supreme Courts.

The Government of India Act of 1935 effected considerable changes in the nature and jurisdiction of the High Courts. Between independence and the enforcement of the Constitution, seven High Courts at Punjab, Assam, Orissa, Rajasthan, Travancore, Mysore and Jammu and Kashmir were established. Th e other High Courts were established later.

Th e 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1976 brought in drastic changes in the jurisdiction of the High Courts.

With respect to the establishment of the Supreme Court of India, the Government of India Act, 1935 is a landmark legislation. The Act attempted to change the structure of the Indian government. There was a shift from a ‘unitary’ to a ‘federal’ type of government necessitating the need of a Federal Court. Thus, the Act made specific provision in this regard and the Federal Court was inaugurated in the year 1937. It consisted of a Chief Justice and six judges. In 1950, the Federal Court of India was succeeded by the Supreme Court of India.

The Indian Independence Act, 1947 resulted in the transfer of political power and this necessitated the establishment of a separate and independent judicial body. With this objective, the jurisdiction of the Federal Court was enlarged and the Abolition of the Privy Council Jurisdiction Act, 1949 was passed making the Federal Court of India the highest judicial body in the country.

With the enforcement of the Constitution on 26 January 1950, Article 124 provided for the establishment of the Supreme Court of India.

The Constitution of India provides for a three - tier judicial system: (1) The supreme court of India (2) The High courts in the constituent states and (3) The District and Sessions Courts in the judicial districts in every state

The Supreme Court assumes a much bigger note as the guardian of the constitution, as an arbitrator in disputes between States and the union Government and in disputes among the States, and as the highest appellate Courts in all civil and criminal cases.

India has only a unitary judiciary system, with the Supreme Court as the apex Court, with authority over all other Courts if India.

The president can seek its advice on any legislative measure. However, the advice of the Supreme Court is not binding on the president (Article - 143). Article 143 of the Indian Constitution confers upon the Supreme Court advisory jurisdiction. The President may seek the opinion of the Supreme Court on any question of law or fact of public importance on which he thinks it expedient to obtain such an opinion.

The Supreme Court of India has been established by part V, Chapter IV of the Constitution of India. Articles 124 to 147 of the Constitution lays down the composition and jurisdiction of the supreme Court of India.

Originally the Constitution provided for the chief Justice and seven lower ranking Judges. The Constitution enables the Parliament to increase this number.

Originally the Constitution provided for the chief Justice and seven lower ranking Judges. The Constitution enables the Parliament to increase this number. By 2008 the number of judges has been increased (from eight) to 30.

As to the appointment of the Supreme Court judges, The Chief Jostle of India should consult a “Collegium” of four senior most judges of the Supreme court, The Collegium makes the decision in consensus.

Every Judge of the supreme Court is appointed by the President after consultation with the cabinet and the Judges of the Supreme court.

Article 124(2) a Judge of the Supreme Court shall hold office until he attains the age of sixty-five years.

To be considered for the office of Supreme court Judge, one must be a citizen of India and his qualification is per the Parliament’s decision, and they should have been judge of High court at least for a period of 5 years; or an advocates of a high court or of two or more such courts in succession for at least 10 years or the person must be, in the opinion of the president, a distinguished jurist.

The Supreme Court of India under the present Constitution commenced functioning on January 28, 1950.

The Supreme Court of India was moved to the present building in 1958.

The Supreme Court of India under the present Constitution was placed then in the Chamber of Princes in the Parliament.

Harilal J. Kania was the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. The other judges who assumed office along with him wise Justices Sayid Faze Ali, M. Patanjali Sastri, Mehar Chand Mahajan, Bijan Kumar, Mukherjea and S.R.Das.

The High Court is the head of a State’s judicial administration every constituent state in expected to have a high Court. However, at present four high courts have jurisdiction over more than one state.

Among the union territories Delhi alone has a high court of its own. Other six union Territories come under the Jurisdiction of nearby state high Courts.

The Chief Justice of the High court is appointed by the President in consultation with the Chief Justice of India and the Governor of the State. In appointing other judges, the Chief Justice of that High court is also consulted.

The Judges of the High court hold office until the age of 62 years and are removable in the same manner as a Judge of the Supreme court.

To be considered for appointment as a Judge one must be a citizen of India and have held a Judicial office in India for 10 years or must have practiced as an advocate of high court.

Th e High Court’s too have original and appellate jurisdictions, in cases arising within the territories of the State. Each High court has powers of Super intendant over all courts within its jurisdiction. Though the High courts are the party of single and integrated judicial system, yet they are completely independent judicial institutions The High Court too has the power to issue writ in cases involving ‘Fundamental Rights’.

Both the Supreme court and High court have the power to issue writs with a view to ensure quicker justice and early relief to persons whose rights are violated. There are five such writs.

Mandamus is a command to act law fully and to resist from penetrothing an unlawful act, It is meant to direct any authority to perform its legal duty. Mandamus may he issued against any authority, Officers, Government or even judicial bodies that tail or refuse to perform a public duty and discharge a legal obligation.

Habeas Corpus: Literally means a demand to produce the person in body. It applies in cases where a person is alleged to have been illegally detained. This writ safeguards personal liberty of every individual.

Prohibition is issued by a higher Court to a lower court or tribunal for prohibiting it from exceeding its jurisdiction. Writ of Prohibition is issued only against a judicial or quasi – judicial body.

Certiorari too lies against judicial or quasi – judicial authorities, and it means ‘to be informed’. The writ of certiorari is issued to quash illegal orders of judicial or quasi – judicial bodies.

Any citizen of India can approach the courts for public case (upon the interest of the public) by filing a petition under (a) the supreme court by article 32, (b) in the high court under article 226 and (c) in the magistrate court under section 133 of the CRPC.

Article 21 of the constitution has been called up frequently in the Supreme court. Judgments upon this article suggest the trends of judicial activism.

The Indian Penal Code is the criminal code of India. It is a comprehensive code intended to cover all substantive aspects of criminal law.

The IPC was drafted in 1860 on the recommendation of the first law commission of India established in 1834. It came into force in British India during the early British Raj period of 1862.

The Indian Penal Code has a basic format, it is a document that lists all the cases and punishments that a person committing any crimes is liable to be charged. It covers any person of Indian citizenship. The exceptions are the military and other armed forces, they cannot be charged based on the Indian Penal Code. They have a different set of laws under the Indian Penal Code as well.

Justice K.G. Balakrishnan in 2000 became the first judge from the depressed class. In 2007 he became the first Dalit Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

Part xv, Articles 324-329 deals with ElectionsThe constitution –makers had been anxious to safeguard this political right as an integral part of the constitution itself. It is for this important reason that the subject of elections has been accorded a constitutional recognition in our country

In the Parmanand Katara vs. Union of India case the supreme court held in the Public interest Litigation filed by a human rights activist fighting for general public interest, that it is a paramount obligation of every member of the medical profession to give medical aid to every injured citizen as soon as possible without waiting for any procedural formalities.

The present CJI is Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde, and is the 47th CJI since 26th January 1950, the year the Constitution came into effect and the supreme court came into being.

The current Chief Justice of the Chennai High Court is Amreshwar Pratap Sahi.

Guwahati High Court Government of India Act, 1935, Jurisdiction over Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Assam, Mizoram, seat at Guwahati, bench at Aizwal, Itanagar, Kohima.

Article 324 of the Constitution provides that the powers of superintendence, direction and control of elections to parliament, state legislatures, the office of president of India and the office of vice-president of India shall be vested in the election commission.

The constitution of India has 24 parts. Part xv, Articles 324-329 deals with Elections. Part XV of the Indian Constitution titled “Elections” is of great importance.

Article 326 of the Indian Constitution says that the elections to the Lok Sabha and to the Vidhan Sabha of every state shall be on the basis of Adult Suffrage.

Psephology is the study of results and other statistics relating to Elections and trends in voting.

There are totally 39 Lok Sabha constituencies in Tamil Nadu state and One Lok Sabha constituency from Puducherry. The average voters for each of the constituency is around 1.51 million in Tamil Nadu and 0.9 million in Puducherry.

For Lok Sabha elections, the country is divided into 543 constituencies. The representative elected from each constituency is called a member of Parliament or an MP.

First Delimitation Commission Act, 1952 Second Delimitation Commission Act, 1963 Third Delimitation Act,1973 Fourth Delimitation Act, 2002.

Every citizen has the right to vote, regardless of his or her caste, religion or gender. It is the responsibility of the government to get the names of all eligible voters put on the voters’ list. Names of those who move out of the place or those who are dead are deleted. A complete revision of list takes place every fi ve years. In the last few years, a new system of Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC) has been introduced.

The Sixty-first Amendment of the Constitution of India, officially known as The Constitution (Sixty-first Amendment) Act, 1988, lowered the voting age of elections to the Lok Sabha and to the Legislative Assemblies of States from 21 years to 18 years.

According to the direction of the Supreme Court, every candidate has to make a legal declaration, giving full details of: Serious criminal cases pending against the candidate, Details of the assets and liabilities of the candidate and his or her family, Educational qualifications of the candidate.

In our country such campaigns take place for a two week period between the announcement of the final list of candidates and the date of polling. During this period the candidates approach their voters, political leaders address election meetings and political parties mobilise their supporters.

The first general election of 1951-1952 elected the first Lok Sabha since India became independent. The Congress had won 364 out of 489 Lok Sabha seats. Its vote share was 45 percent.

The Election commission of India nominates or designates an officer of the government of the state / union territory as the chief electoral officer in consultation with the state government/ union territory administration.

The Election Commission of India nominates or designates an officer of the state government as the district election officer in consultation with the state government.

The returning officer of a Parliamentary or Assembly constituency is responsible for the conduct of elections in the Parliamentary or Assembly constituency concerned. The Election Commission of India nominates or designates an officer of the government or a local authority as the returning officer for each of the assembly or parliamentary constituencies in consultation with the state government/union territory administration.

The Electoral registration officer is responsible for the preparation of electoral rolls for a parliamentary/ assembly constituency.

The Presiding officer with the assistance of Polling officers conducts the poll at a polling station. The district election officer appoints the Presiding officers and the Polling officers. In the case of union territories, such appointments are made by the returning officers.

The Election Commission of India nominates officers of government as Election observers (general observers and election expenditure observers) for Parliamentary and Assembly constituencies. They perform such functions as are entrusted to them by the commission. They report directly to the commission.

In 1989, a provision was made to facilitate the use of electronic voting machines in elections. In 1989, a provision was made for adjournment of poll in case of booth capturing.

Based on the recommendations by the committee, Prohibition on the sale of liquor within a polling area during the period of 48 hours ending with the hour fixed for the conclusion of poll.

The 52nd Amendment Act of 1985 provided for the disqualification of the members of Parliament and the State legislatures on the ground of defection from one political party to another. This act is often referred to as “Anti-defection law”

The 91st Amendment Act of 2003 made one change in the provision of Anti-defection law i.e., disqualification on ground of defection not to apply in case of split.

An independent member of the house becomes disqualified to remain a member of the house if he joins any political party after such election.

A nominated member of the house gets disqualified if he joins any political party after the expiry of six months from the date on which he takes his seat in the house.

Any question regarding disqualification arising out of defection is to be decided by the Presiding officer of the house.

The Indrajit Gupta Committee on State Funding of Elections, 1998, backed the idea of state funding of elections on principle, stating that “The committee see full jurisdiction constitutional, legal as well as on the ground of public interest, for grant of state subvention to political parties, so as to establish such conditions where even the parties with modest financial resources may be able to compete with those who have superior financial resources.

The Indrajit committee has recommended the creation of a separate Election Fund with an annual contribution of Rs. 600 cores by the centre and a matching amount contributed by all state governments together.

NOTA is the option at the end of the Candidates’ List, on the EVMs. None Of The Above (NOTA)- A voter’s right to reject a step towards electoral reforms.

In line with the 73rd Amendment of the Constitution, Panchayati Raj institutions currently have 33 percent of all seats reserved for women.

Anti-defection law: Law passed in 1985 which disqualifies elected members on the grounds of defection to another party.

Th e voters are required to carry this card when they go out to vote. Not compulsory, for voting, the voters can show many other proofs like the Aadhar Card, Ration card or Driving License.

The 2019 Indian general election was held in seven phases from 11 April to 19 May 2019 to constitute the 17th Lok Sabha.

The President appoints Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners.

Chief Election Commissioner have tenure of six years, or up to the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier. They enjoy the same status and receive salary and perks as available to Judges of the Supreme Court of India.

Sunil Arora is the current 23rd Chief Election Commissioner and the two Election Commissioners are Ashok Lavasa and Sushil Chandra.

The Rajya Sabha or the Council of States is called as upper house. It has a total number of 250 members including 238 from all the states and union territories and 12 members nominated by the President.

The Rajya Sabha is an institution to protect the rights and interests of the states like the senate in USA. It was constituted on 3rd April, 1952.

Elections to Local Bodies in Tamil Nadu are conducted once in five years to elect the representatives to the Urban and Rural local bodies.

The State Election Commissions constituted under the Constitution (Seventy-third and Seventy-fourth) Amendments Act, 1992 for each State / Union Territory are vested with the powers of conduct of elections to the Corporations, Municipalities, Zilla Parishads, District Panchayats, Panchayat Samitis, Gram Panchayats.

The first election to the local bodies in Tamil Nadu were held in October 1996. Subsequent elections were conducted in October 2001 and October 2006.

In such an eventuality, the chief justice—or in his absence, the senior most judge of the Supreme Court of India available—discharges the functions of the president until a newly elected President enters upon his office or a newly elected Vice-president begins to act as President under Article 65 of the constitution.

Justice Hidayatullah was sworn in as the Acting President of India on 20th July 1969 and served in that capacity till late V.V. Giri was sworn in as the duly elected President of the Republic.

Under the Representation of the People Act, 1951, a person had to be an elector in a parliamentary constituency in the State from where he seeks election to Rajya Sabha.

Judicial activism as a dynamic process of judicial outlook in a changing society. Arthur Schlesinger Jr. introduced the term judicial activism in 1947,in America in an article titled ‘ The Supreme court;1947’. According to Black’s law dictionary judicial activism is a judicial philosophy which motivates judges to depart from the traditional precedents in favour of new progressive social policies.

Trial by Jury: It is a lawful proceeding in which a jury makes a decision or findings of fact. It is distinguished from a bench trial in which a judge or panel of judges makes all decisions.

Judicial Restraint: It is a theory of judicial interpretation that encourages judges to limit the exercise of their own power.

Original Jurisdiction: It is a court’s authority to hear a case for the first time. Appellate Jurisdiction: It is the power of an appellate court to review, amend and overrule decisions of a trial court or other lower tribunal.