Question

Explain India has a continuous judicial system

Answer 1

The Indian Judiciary administers a common law system of legal jurisdiction, in which customs, precedents and legislation, all codify the law of the land. It has in fact, inherited the legacy of the legal system established by the then colonial powers and the princely states since the mid-19th century, and has partly retained characteristics of practices from the ancient[1] and medieval times.[2]

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.

Answer 2

In India we have a single unified pyramidical judicial structure. Unlike countries like the USA, where there are separate Federal Courts and State Courts to adjudicate on the respective Federal and state laws, in India we have an integrated judicial system. All the courts adjudicate on the laws, irrespective of them being passed by either the state of the Union.

At the bottom the courts are basically of two kinds civil courts and criminals courts. However, there are sometimes courts like Small Causes Courts which take up even much smaller cases. The structure of courts at the lowest levels vary among states and depends usually on the colonial history or the structure decided upon by the state government.

In some states there are three levels of judicial magistrates and munsif courts. Yet in other states there are only two levels of magistrates. These levels are structured according to the maximum punishment they can award or the amount (money) involved in the cases.

Above these courts come the Sessions Court and District Court for criminal and civil matters respectively.

Then come the High Court, which are at the state level, but some times two or more states/UTs may have a common high court.

Ultimately we have the Supreme Court of India.

However, in studying this structure we have to keep in mind the concept of jurisdiction . It basically means the limits of power of a court. It is of several types:-

Pecuniary: Related to the monetary alue involved in a case.
Territorial: Related to the territory withing which power shall be exercised.
Special: Related to some specific kinds of matter. E.g. cases related to recovery of debt, insolvency, tax matters, etc.
Appellate: To take appeals from decision of a lower court subject to fulfilling of certain conditions.
Writ: Special power given to High Courts and Supreme Court under Constitution to issue writ.
(Multiple types of jurisdictions may be held or exercised by one court and only not type need not be exercised exclusively.)

Besides the government also sets up various tribunals for speedy adjudication of matters and such tribunals usually have special jurisdiction. E.g. Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, National Green Tribunal, etc.

But generally speaking, the powers of High Courts and Supreme Court are so wide that the government can impose no restriction in their powers, as laid down in the constitution.

However, recently the government and law commission and Supreme Court have been mulling over setting up of 4 Court of Appeals that will take appeals from the respective High Courts under them, before the matter can be taken to the Supreme Court.


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