In any government, the judiciary is the body .concerned with upholding the law. It punishes the guilty and settles disputes. In a participatory and pluralistic democracy like ours, the judiciary hasa unique and significant role to play. The judiciary has been given the power and the duty to safeguard the basic rights of the citizens of India and uphold the supremacy of the constitution. The constitution clearly provides for the independence of judges and separation of the judiciary from the executive.



The apex or highest court in this structure is the Supreme Court situated in New Delhi.

Next come the High Courts. Most of the states have a High Court each. A few states share a High Court, like Punjab and Haryana

Next in the hierarchy are the District Courts and other subordinate courts

The Supreme Court is the highest court in India with the chief justice as its head. At present, there are 25 judges in the Supreme Court. But, the strength can be increased by an act of Parliament. The chief justice of the Supreme Court is also the chief justice of India.

The chief justice is appointed by the president of India. The other judges are appointed, on the recommendation of the Chief Justice, by the president. So the legislature or executive cannot interfere in the working of the judiciary



To become a judge of the Supreme Court, besides being an Indian citizen, a person must be an advocate at a High Court with a minimum of ten years experience, or a High Court judge with at least five years experience, or a distinguished jurist i.e., expert in law.

The retirement age of the judges of the Supreme Court is 65 years. But, if found guilty of misuse of authority, a resolution will be passed in both the houses of Parliament for the removal of the guilty person, and an impeachment procedure will Commence.

Any citizen of India can go to the COURT if the interst of the public has been affected by the deals of the govenrment .

The courts then study the case and if neccesary , issue order to check the malpratices of the public officials and prevent the misue of the power of the govenment

The Supreme Court has the power to punish anyone for contempt of any law court in India, including itself. C

Contempt of court refers to any behaviour that opposes or defies the authority or dignity of the court.

For example, on May 12, 2006, the Supreme Court directed a minister of the state of Maharashtra to be jailed for one month on a charge of contempt of court; and in the 1990s, Kalyan Singh, who was the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh at the time, was sentenced by the Supreme Court to one day imprisonment for contempt of court in the Babri Masjid Demolition Case.

All the cases brought before the Supreme Court and where judgments have been given, are maintained as record by the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court is the defender of our fundamental rights. So, it has the power to issue writs i.e., directions or orders for the entorcement of the fundamental rights it limitations are placed on them

The court can order compensation to the victims and punishment to the offenders. So any law or policy made by the government that is not in accordance with the text or intention of the Constitution can be declared as illegal.

There are three types of jurisdiction that the Supreme Court has

A person must be a Indian

A high court advocate with at least of 10 yers experience or a judicial officer iwth atleast 10 years of experience

A high court judge retires at the age of 62 .

He or she can also face impeachment on charges of misconduct as is the case with judges of the Supreme court

HAS ORIGINAL JURISDICTION

It has appellate jurisdiction over both civil and criminal cases. It hears appeals against the decisions taken by the lower courts.

lts supervisory jurisdiction involves supervising the activities of the lower courts.

The High Court thus deals with all cases that pertain to the jurisdiction of that state, both civil and criminal.

The states are divided into districts. Each of the districts has a district court. The district court and the courts below it are called subordinate courts.

There are separate courts for civil and criminal cases.

The court of the district judge is the highest court for civil justice. Subordinate courts under it are the court of the civil judge and the court of the munsif.



The court of the sessions judge is the highest court in the district dealing with criminal cases. And the subordinate courts under it are the courts of the chief judicial magistrate, the first class judicial magistrates, and the second-class judicial magistrates.





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It was brought to the notice of the government of India that the number of courts and judges were highly inadequate to deal with the large number of cases that were being registered each day. As a result, there was a heavy backlog of cases in all the courts. In an effort to speed up the process of settling cases, Lok Adalats were established by an act of Parliament. Lok Adalat means people's court'. The first Lok Adalat was held in Delhi in 1985.

It was also realised that the poor found it extremely difficult to pay the high legal costs involved in fighting a case. Lok Adalats, which offered free legal aid, ensured that justice was not denied to the poor for economic reasons.

Lok Adalats settle disputes through conciliation and compromise. In fact, one of the main conditions of the Lok Adalats is that both parties in dispute should agree for a settlement

he decision of the Lok Adalat is binding on the parties to the dispute. No appeal lies against the order of the Lok Adalat. This is because in a Lok Adalat the case is settled with common consent, whereas in a regular court, there will usually be one party that is unhappy with the decision, and will therefore want to appeal to another court

A Lok Adalat is presided over by a sitting or retired judicial officer as the chairperson, with two other members, usually a lawyer and a social worker. There is no court fee

An advantage with Lok Adalats is that the parties to the disputes can interact with the Lok Adalat judge directly, and explain their stand in the dispute. This is not possible in a regular court of law

Another advantage- with this system is that disputes can be brought before the Lok Adalat directly instead of having to going to a regular court first.

Thus, through Lok Adalats people, especially the Common person, can get their disputes settled fast and free of cost.



The Indian judiciary is a single unified judiciary unlike the American one. In the USA, the courts of the various states are independent trom each other, whereas in India, all courts function under the aegis of the Supreme Court.

And so, if a citizen is dissatisfied with the judgment given in any lower court, he or she can appeal to a higher court.

People should not take law into their own hands, and any matter of dispute should be taken to the court for a decision. If a fundamental right is violated, the citizen can either appeal to the High Court or to the Supreme Court. And the courts can issue writs to safeguard and enforce the fundamental rights

A writ is a court order preventing someone from doing or permiting someone to do something

It could also be a summons issued to someone by the court.