Integrated Judiciary in India: Adopted from the Government of India Act, 1935.
India has a single integrated judicial system with the Supreme Court at the apex, followed by
High Courts and subordinate courts. Both Central and State laws are enforced by the same
hierarchy of courts.
Dual System in USA: The USA follows a dual system where federal
courts enforce federal laws and state courts enforce state laws.
Supreme Court Inauguration: Inaugurated on January 28, 1950.
Succeeded the Federal Court of India (1935 Act) and replaced the British Privy Council as the
highest appellate body.
History of High Courts: Indian High Courts Act 1861. First 3 HCs established in
1862 (Calcutta, Bombay, Madras), 4th in 1866 (Allahabad).
Today there are 25 High Courts in India.
Legal System Roles Flowchart
⚖️ Legal Profession Classification & Advocate on Record (AOR)
graph LR
L1["🎓 Law Graduate / Lawyer (Degree in Law, not enrolled)"] --> L2["⚖️
Advocate (Enrolled with State Bar Council under Advocates Act 1961)"]
L2 --> L3["🎓 Barrister (Law Degree from UK)"]
L2 --> L4["💼 Solicitor / Attorney (Legal advisor; advises clients & briefs Senior
Advocates)"]
L2 --> L5["🏛️ Advocate on Record (AOR) (Entitled to file pleadings in Supreme Court)"]
2. Supreme Court vs. High Court Structural Comparison
Parameter
Supreme Court of India (Part V)
High Courts of India (Part VI)
Constitutional Articles
Articles 124 to 147
Articles 214 to 231
Qualifications
Citizen of India + • HC Judge for 5 years, OR • HC Advocate for 10 years, OR •
Distinguished Jurist in President's opinion
Citizen of India + • Judicial Office in India for 10 years, OR • HC Advocate for 10
years (NO Distinguished Jurist clause for HC!)
Age Criteria & Retirement
No minimum age; Retires at 65 years
No minimum age; Retires at 62 years(Raised from 60 by 15th CAA
1963)
HC Chief Justice: ₹2.50 Lakh / month HC Judges: ₹2.25 Lakh /
month (Pension = 50% last drawn)
Charged Expenses
Charged on Consolidated Fund of India (CFI)
Salaries charged on State Consolidated Fund; Pension charged on
Consolidated Fund of India
CJI Appointment Supersession Controversy:
By convention, the senior-most judge of the SC is appointed as CJI. This convention was broken twice:
in 1973 (A.N. Ray appointed superseding 3 senior judges) and in
1977 (M.U. Beg appointed superseding senior judge). In the Second Judges Case
(1993), the Supreme Court ruled that the senior-most judge must strictly be appointed CJI.
Transfer of High Court Judges (Article 222):
President can transfer a judge from one HC to another after consulting the CJI. On transfer, the
judge is entitled to a compensatory allowance determined by Parliament.
3. Collegium System Evolution & Special Judges
Evolution of the Collegium System (The 4 Judges Cases)
1st Judges Case (1981 - S.P. Gupta): Consultation does NOT mean
concurrence; executive primacy upheld.
3rd Judges Case (1998): Collegium expanded to CJI + 4 senior-most SC
judges. If 2 judges dissent, recommendation is not sent.
4th Judges Case (2015): SC struck down the 99th CAA 2014 & NJAC Act as
unconstitutional (violates judicial independence); restored the Collegium system.
Special Categories of Judges
Acting Chief Justice: Appointed by President when CJI/HC CJ post is vacant or CJ is
absent/unable to act.
Ad Hoc Judge (SC - Article 127): When there is a lack of quorum of permanent SC
judges, CJI can appoint a High Court judge as an ad hoc judge (requires HC CJ consultation &
President prior consent).
Additional Judges (HC - Article 224): President appoints qualified person for
temporary period (max 2 years) to clear pending arrears (max age limit 62).
Acting Judges (HC - Article 224): President appoints when a judge is absent or
acting as CJ.
Retired Judges (SC Art 128 / HC Art 224A): CJI or HC CJ requests a retired SC/HC
judge to sit and act (requires President consent and retired judge consent).
4. Removal / Impeachment of Judges (Judges Inquiry Act, 1968)
7-Step Removal Workflow:
Grounds:Proven Misbehaviour or Incapacity.
Notice: Motion signed by 100 members in Lok Sabha OR 50 members in Rajya Sabha.
Admission: Speaker/Chairman admits or rejects motion.
Inquiry Committee: 3-member committee formed: (1) CJI or SC Judge, (2) Chief
Justice of a High Court, (3) Distinguished Jurist.
Voting: Passed by each House by a Special Majority (Majority
of total membership + 2/3rd members present and voting).
President's Order: President issues removal order. (Case Study: Justice V.
Ramaswami 1991–1993 - first removal attempt, failed in LS due to abstention).
Independence of the Supreme Court
Security of Tenure: Judges do not hold office at the pleasure of the President;
can only be removed via impeachment.
Expenses Charged on CFI: Salaries and allowances are charged on the
Consolidated Fund of India and are non-votable.
Conduct Cannot Be Discussed: Parliament or State Legislatures cannot discuss
the judicial conduct of judges (except during impeachment).
Ban on Practice After Retirement: Retired SC judges cannot plead or appear
before any court or authority within the territory of India.
Power to Punish for its Contempt: Secures the authority, dignity, and honour of
the Supreme Court.
5. Powers, Jurisdictions & Contempt of Court Act 1971
Seat of SC (Article 130): Delhi is permanent seat. CJI can appoint other benches
ONLY with prior approval of President. No court can compel the establishment of an alternate bench.
Constitutional Bench: Minimum 5 judges required for deciding
constitutional matters & Art 143 Presidential references.
Original Jurisdiction (Art 131): Exclusive SC jurisdiction in inter-governmental
disputes (Centre vs State, State vs State). First case: West Bengal v. Union of India
(1961). Disputes must involve a legal right, not political. Private citizens CANNOT bring
cases under Art 131.
Appellate Jurisdiction: • Constitutional (Art 132): Substantial question of law requires interpretation of
constitution.
• Civil (Art 133): Involves general importance (Monetary limit of ₹20,000 removed by
30th CAA 1972).
• Criminal (Art 134): If HC reverses acquittal to death/life imprisonment (>10 yrs),
appeal lies as a matter of right.
Special Leave Petition (SLP - Article 136): Discretionary SC power to grant leave
to appeal from any court/tribunal (except court martial). Applies to any subject.
Advisory Jurisdiction (Article 143): President seeks SC opinion (Public importance
or Pre-1950 treaties). Opinion is non-binding but provides the Government with authoritative legal
opinion.
Review (Art 137) & Curative Petition: Review petition within 30 days. Curative
petition reconsidered after review dismissal on grounds of gross miscarriage of justice or bias.
Contempt of Court Act 1971: Article 129 (SC) & Article 215 (HC) empower superior courts to punish for contempt. The 1971 Act classifies contempt into:
• Civil Contempt: Wilful disobedience to any judgment, decree, direction, order, writ, or breach of an undertaking given to a court.
• Criminal Contempt: Publication of any matter or doing of any act that scandalises or lowers the authority of a court, prejudices or interferes with judicial proceedings, or obstructs the administration of justice.
• Punishment: Simple imprisonment up to 6 months or fine up to ₹2,000 or both. Limitation Period:1 year from date of alleged contempt. Exemptions: Truth as a valid defence (2006 Amendment), fair criticism, and reporting. Does NOT apply to Nyaya Panchayats.
Public Interest Litigation (PIL) & Relaxation of Locus Standi
Origin & Pioneer Judges: Originating in the USA (as Public Interest Law), PIL was introduced in India in the late 1970s / early 1980s by Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer (Fertilizer Corporation Kamgar Union case 1981) and Justice P.N. Bhagwati (SP Gupta case 1981 / Judges Transfer case).
Relaxation of Locus Standi: Under traditional law, only the aggrieved person whose legal right is violated could approach the court (Locus Standi). In PIL, the SC relaxed this rule to allow any public-spirited citizen or social organisation to approach the court (under Art 32 in SC or Art 226 in HC) for enforcement of rights of marginalized people who cannot approach the court due to poverty, ignorance, or disability.
Epistolary Jurisdiction: Courts can treat letters, postcards, or newspaper reports addressed to judges as writ petitions (e.g. Hussainara Khatoon v. Home Secretary, Bihar 1979 on undertrial prisoners, Bandhua Mukti Morcha 1984 on bonded labour).
6. Judicial Review & Subordinate Courts (Part VI, Arts 233–237)
Subordinate Judiciary Hierarchy & Appointments
Appointment of District Judges (Article 233): Appointed by the
Governor in consultation with the High Court. Candidate must have been an advocate
for at least 7 years. (20th CAA 1966 inserted Art 233A to validate past appointments).
Appointment of Other Judicial Officers (Article 234): Appointed by the Governor
after consulting the State Public Service Commission (SPSC) and High Court.
District & Sessions Judge Dual Role: Functions as District Judge on civil side and
Sessions Judge on criminal side. Sessions Judge can award death sentence,
but it MANDATORILY requires High Court confirmation!
Judicial Magistrate 1st Class — Imprisonment up to 3 Years
Other Courts:
City Civil Courts: Present in metropolitan areas (Civil side). They handle
high-value cases quickly with a final verdict (though HC can review).
Panchayat / Gram Nyayalayas: Handle petty civil and criminal cases at the
village level. Established under Gram Nyayalayas Act 2008.
7. Tribunals (Articles 323A & 323B)
Constitutional Origin: Added by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act,
1976 based on Swaran Singh Committee recommendations.
Article 323A: Administrative Tribunals ONLY (CAT & SAT). Can be created
only by Parliament.
Article 323B: Tribunals for other matters (Taxation, Foreign Exchange, NGT,
NCLAT). Created by Parliament or State Legislatures.
Chronological Case Law Timeline Flowchart (1969 – 2021)
📅 3-Phase Chronological Flowchart: Evolution of Tribunals (1969 – 2021)
graph TD
subgraph P1 ["Phase 1 (1969 - 1986): Origins & Sampath Kumar Era"]
direction LR
T69["1969: 1st ARC Proposal"] --> T74["1974: Law Commission"] --> T76["1976: 42nd CAA (Arts
323A & 323B)"] --> T86["1986: S.P. Sampath Kumar Case (Parallel to HCs)"]
end
subgraph P2 ["Phase 2 (1997 - 2019): High Court Review & Independence"]
direction LR
T97["1997: L. Chandra Kumar Case (Subordinate to HCs)"] --> T10["2010: R. Gandhi
Case (Judicial Majority)"] --> T17["2017: Finance Act (Govt Powers)"] -->
T19["2019: Rojer Mathew Case (Tenure Protections)"]
end
subgraph P3 ["Phase 3 (2021): Statutory Reforms & Supreme Court Strike Down"]
direction LR
T21["2021: Tribunal Reforms Act (50-Yr Age & 4-Yr Tenure)"] --> T21M["2021: Madras Bar
Association Case (SC Struck Down Clauses)"]
end
P1 ==> P2 ==> P3
8. Landmark Judicial Case Laws & Constitutional Articles
Landmark Case
Article Involved
Supreme Court Ruling
S.P. Gupta v. Union of India (1981)
Articles 124 & 217
First Judges Case: Executive primacy in judicial appointments; consultation did not
mean concurrence.
SCAORA v. Union of India (1993)
Articles 124 & 217
Second Judges Case: Restored Judicial Primacy; established Collegium
System (CJI + 2 senior SC judges).
In re Special Reference No. 1 (1998)
Article 143
Third Judges Case: Expanded Collegium to CJI + 4 senior SC judges;
consultation must be plurality of judges.
L. Chandra Kumar v. Union of India (1997)
Articles 323A, 323B, 226
Declared power of Judicial Review under Arts 226/227 part of Basic
Structure. Decisions of Administrative Tribunals subject to HC Division Bench
review.