Judiciary of India

·        The Indian Judicial System is one of the oldest legal systems in the world today.

·        It is partly a continuation of the British legal system established by the British in the mid-19th century based on a typical hybrid legal system known as the Common Law System.

·        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 the Supreme Court of India at the top, followed by High Courts of respective states with district judges sitting in District Courts and 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 Indian judiciary is independent of the executive and legislative branches of government according to the Constitution.

Supreme Court of India

·        On 26 January 1950, the day India's constitution came into force, the Supreme Court of India was formed in Delhi.

·        The Supreme Court of India comprises the Chief Justice and 30 other Judges appointed by the President of India.

·        In order to be appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court, a person must be

·        a citizen of India and must have been, for at least five years, a Judge of a high court or of two or more such Courts in succession, or an advocate of a high court or of two or more such Courts in succession for at least 10 years or he must be, in the opinion of the president, a distinguished jurist. Provisions exist for the appointment of a Judge of a high court as an ad hoc judge of the Supreme Court and for retired judges of the Supreme Court or High Courts to sit and act as Judges of that Court.

Points to Remember:

·        Supreme Court judges retire at the age of 65 which is 3 years more than the retirement age of a judge of the High Court.

·        A judge gets  90,000 and the Chief Justice gets a sum of  100,000.

·        A judge of the Supreme Court can be removed by Impeachment  under the Constitution only on grounds of proven misconduct or incapacity and by an order of the President of India, after a notice signed by at least 100 members of the Lok Sabha (House of the People) or 50 members of the Rajya Sabha (Council of the States) is passed by a two-third majority in each House of the Parliament.

·        A person who has retired being a Judge of the Supreme Court is debarred from practising in any court of law or before any other authority in India.

High courts

·        There are 24 High Courts at the State level.

·        Article 141 of the Constitution of India mandates that they are bound by the judgments and orders of the Supreme Court of India by precedence.

·        Each High Court has jurisdiction over a state, a union territory or a group of states and union territories.

·        In order to be appointed as a Judge of the High Court, a person must be

·        a citizen of India

·        Not above 62 years of age.

·        Must have at 10 years of judicial office in the territory of India or experience of at least 10 years as advocate of a High Court, or of two or more such courts in succession in India.

Points to Remember:

·        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. 

·        The number of judges in a court is decided by dividing the average institution of main cases during the last five years by the national average, or the average rate of disposal of main cases per judge per year in that High Court, whichever is higher

·        The Calcutta High Court is the oldest High Court in the country, established on 2 July 1862.

·        A judge of High Courtcan hold office until the age of 62 years.

·        Removal of any Judge of High Court is same as of judge of Supreme Court.

High-Court : Seats & Jurisdiction

List of High-Courts in India

State or UT	Court	Seat
Andaman and Nicobar Islands	Calcutta	Kolkata (Bench at Port Blair)
Arunachal Pradesh	Gauhati	Guwahati (Bench at Itanagar)
Andhra Pradesh	of Judicature at Hyderabad	Hyderabad
Assam	Gauhati	Guwahati
Bihar	Patna	Patna
Chhattisgarh	Chhattisgarh	Bilaspur
Chandigarh	Punjab and Haryana	Chandigarh
Dadra and Nagar Haveli	Bombay	Mumbai
Daman and Diu	Bombay	Mumbai
National Capital Territory of Delhi	Delhi	New Delhi
Goa	Bombay	Mumbai (Bench at Panaji)
Gujarat	Gujarat	Ahmedabad
Haryana	Punjab and Haryana	Chandigarh
Himachal Pradesh	Himachal Pradesh	Shimla
Jammu and Kashmir	Jammu and Kashmir	Srinagar/Jammu
Jharkhand	Jharkhand	Ranchi
Karnataka	Karnataka	Bengaluru (Bench at Dharwad andGulbarga)
Kerala	Kerala	Kochi
Lakshadweep	Kerala	Kochi
Madhya Pradesh	Madhya Pradesh	Jabalpur (Bench at Gwalior andIndore)
Maharashtra	Bombay	Mumbai (Bench at Aurangabad andNagpur)
Manipur	Manipur	Imphal
Meghalaya	Meghalaya	Shillong
Mizoram	Gauhati	Guwahati (Bench at Aizawl)
Nagaland	Gauhati	Guwahati (Bench at Kohima)
Odisha	Orissa	Cuttack
Puducherry	Madras	Chennai
Punjab	Punjab and Haryana	Chandigarh
Rajasthan	Rajasthan	Jodhpur (Bench at Jaipur)
Sikkim	Sikkim	Gangtok
Tamil Nadu	Madras	Chennai (Bench at Madurai)
Telangana	of Judicature at Hyderabad	Hyderabad
Tripura	Tripura	Agartala
Uttarakhand	Uttarakhand	Nainital
Uttar Pradesh	Allahabad	Allahabad (Bench at Lucknow)
West Bengal	Calcutta	Kolkata