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Judiciary & The Indian Constitution – Know How Well Has Judiciary Served The Constitutional Ideals
Supreme Court

Judiciary & The Indian Constitution – Know How Well Has Judiciary Served The Constitutional Ideals

The constitution shares an inextricable relationship with the judiciary. While the other two parts of the government system, legislature & executive promulgate & executive the laws respectively, it is the judiciary which ensures that the laws – whose crux is none other than fundamental rights –are not being violated and are happening correctly and appropriately.  Judiciary is the broad avenue where anyone from everyone can come to seek help for the violation of their fundamental rights, It is the recourse which anyone & anyone can avail and get their basic dues restored or even compensated. Without a proper, free and fair judiciary, the democratic polity risks digressing into the orders of chaos and despotism.

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Well, the Indian judicial system is hierarchical, composite and well-integrated which the two divergent aspects of federalism & unitary characteristics, both of which are prevalent in the Indian politico-legal system. The apex court in the Indian Judicial System is the Supreme Court of India. It is effectively called the custodian of the Constitution. Justice should be easily accessible to the people, this forms the fundamental basis of an effective judiciary, which in turn forms the core purpose of a modern welfare state, which judiciously blends the two different of freedom (let live alone) and social responsibility (the temporary patronization of weaker sections until we achieve equality).  

Some special features of the Indian Judiciary:

1. Amongst the Prominent Judicial Systems in the World

The judicial system of India is amongst the most important judicial systems in the world. India’s judicial structure is utilized to understand and apply the laws of the land. Judiciary acts in the amicable settlement of disputes between the parties. The Doctrine of Separation of powers empowers the judiciary to interpret laws. Judiciary does not actually make laws but interprets and applies them in the country.

2. A Unified And Cohesive Judicial System

India has an integrated and unique judicial system which is broadly chartered in the Constitution. Supreme Court lies at the top of the integrated hierarchy. Below the Supreme Court, there are the High Courts at the provincial or state level. Below the High Court\, there is a very well-integrated hierarchy which is made up of district courts and lower courts. Also, there is a single structure that galvanises both the Central and the State laws. India is a federation of provinces & union territories with a strong centre. India’s legal system tries to address that equation amicably. As per the characteristics of an integrated judicial system, an individual can appeal to a higher court when he/she is not comfortable with the decision of the lower court.

3. An Autonomous Judiciary

The United States has the system of separation of powers to ensure the independence of the judiciary. But ours is a constitutional system that is set up on the basis of Parliamentary sovereignty. Herein, the separation of powers is ruled out. This is what happens in England. This is also happening partly in India as here the Parliamentary and constitutional sovereignty doctrines are blended together. The independence of the judiciary here implies the freedom of the judges to make judgements in an unbiased manner, free from any control and influence. An independent judiciary is needed to serve the following factors:

  • To check the functioning of the organs.
  • Interpreting the provisions of the constitution.
  • To act in a fair and unbiased manner.

4. Importance of Independence of the Judiciary

As per some observers, it is amazing that the independence of the judiciary is still not quite distinct even after so many years of its unfolding. Even our Constitution speaks about the independence of the judiciary without clearly spelling out what it means. The main talk is about the separation of powers that is establishing a system wherein judiciary is not under any undue influence of legislature (and extendedly the executive).  

5. The Emergence Of Judicial Activism

This term, Judicial Activism has its origin in the USA. This term had a positive connotation in the mid-20th century s courts were seen as upholder of the democratic rights of the people. The concept of judicial activism evolved and developed fast over the years and it came to attain a lot of legitimacy among the Indians with special reference to the unruly behaviour of the legislative and executive organs.

Various observers have praised lauded the efforts of judges in the protection of civil rights. Judicial activists came to be hailed as civil rights activists. However lately, some experts have derided judicial activism as an instance where the judge is misusing the authority as democracies meant to thrive on the separation of powers among the judiciary, executive and legislature. Lots of activism in the hands of the judiciary is at times seen as infringing on the rights of the other sections of the government.

In the gospel of promoting democratic ideals, there is a special requirement for people’s involvement in influencing government actions and programmes in the desire of good governance. The Indian Judiciary by pursuing judicial activism has facilitated the emergence of protection & promotion of social interests.

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The Hierarchy Of The Indian Judiciary Or The Indian Judicial System
Supreme Court

The Hierarchy Of The Indian Judiciary Or The Indian Judicial System

Judiciary – The Paramount Pillar Of A Vibrant Democracy

Most democratic governments across the world consist of three parts, namely Legislature, Executive, and Judiciary.  The same is true about our own country, the Republic of India. While the legislature and executive are concerned with the promulgation and implementation of law respectively, it is the judiciary that invokes the spirit of the Constitution and ensures that laws are being properly implemented and there is no gross or subtle lapse in the implementation of laws.

Judiciary sees to it that if someone is being denied his/her fundamental rights, then the perpetrators are brought to book and free flow of equality and freedom are restored. If perfect democracy is the most sublime dream of the idealistic human, then that dream is totally unattainable without the active involvement of a free and fair democracy.  

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The Importance Of The Indian Judiciary

A formidable structure like the judiciary and that too of a vast country like India – which is all set to take over China in terms of population – should be well-built and well-structured, in order to serve such a huge mass of people. So, the Indian judiciary consists of a well-built hierarchical order, to serve the interests of the people and to create a harmonious equation between the center and the states as India is neither purely unitary nor purely federal in its statecraft structure.

The Hierarchy Of The Indian Judiciary  

The Indian Judicial system is in part the continuation of the British legal which was established around the mid-19th century by the English government.

The Indian Judicial system is an organized combination of various types of courts that exist and operate herein. Broadly speaking,  they are divided into 3 levels. Below is the chronological order of the Indian legal system means we begin with the topmost level court in the hierarchy and end with the lowest one:

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The Supreme Court

The Supreme Court occupies the highest level of the Indian court system. It is the highest authority court system with the maximum overriding influence in India, its decision can not be challenged by any other court in India. In case, somebody wants to challenge it, he/she will have to write a letter to the President or the Prime Minister of India to do so.

The Indian judiciary has a single Supreme Court, which is situated in the Indian national capital Delhi. The Supreme Court came was set up in the year 1950 on January 28,  just two days after the constitution of India came into existence.

State Courts / High Court

The State Courts are placed directly under the Supreme Court of India. Most Indian states have a court that has maximum judicial authority in the respective state. This is the High Court of the state which is usually located in the capital city of that particular state. The High Courts judge the cases of their state while the Supreme Court wields the authority to challenge the verdicts that happen in the High Courts.

District Court

Then there are the lower courts in all the states that are lesser in matters of power and authority than the High Court. They are called district courts because they have authority in that district. The district court is further divided into 3 parts as under –

Session Courts – They form part of District Court, they have highest power in the district.

Lower Courts – They are courts of the lower level and mostly, all the cases of close-by localities are sent to these courts.

Panchayat – They are sort of courts. But they are in villages where a jury consisting of five (or more) people of that village selects a head. They look after the local issues. If some issues are beyond their power, those are sent to Lower Court then.

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