Supreme Court, High Court and District Court in India: Importance, Functions, and Powers

THE SUPREME COURT

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 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.

Required qualifications

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.

 

Term of office:

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 he houses of Parliament for the removal of the guilty person, and an impeachment procedure will commence.

 

Powers and functions of the Supreme Court

There are three types of jurisdiction that the Supreme Court has, namely:

• original jurisdiction
• appellate jurisdiction
• advisory jurisdiction

Original jurisdiction: The Supreme Court has the authority to hear certain types of cases for the first time.

→ cases that involve disputes over the interpretation of the Constitution can be brought directly to the Supreme Court
→ cases dealing with infringement of fundamental rights
→ disputes that arise between the central government, and one or more state governments
→ disputes between two-state governments or more

 

HIGH COURT

The High Court is the apex court in the state. The chief justice of the High Court is appointed by the president on the recommendation of, and in consultation with, the chief justice of India and the governor of the state concerned. The other judges of the High Court are appointed by the president who consults the chief justice of the High Court concerned and the governor of that state.

 

Qualification:

To be a High Court judge, a person has to be a citizen of India, a High Court advocate with at least ten years' experience, or a judicial officer with at least ten years' experience.

 

Retirement

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 the judges of the Supreme Court.

 

Powers and Functions of the High Court

→ The High Court has original jurisdiction over cases involving the enforcement of fundamental rights. It can issue writs.
→ It has appellate jurisdiction over both civil and criminal cases. It hears appeals against the decisions taken by the lower courts.
→ Its supervisory jurisdiction involves supervising the activities of the lower courts.
→ It also is a court of record.
→ The High Court thus deals with all cases that pertain to the jurisdiction of that state, both civil and criminal

 

DISTRICTS COURTS

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.

 

Supreme Court

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High Court

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District court

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                                  → Civil Courts                                                         → Criminal Courts

                         → Court of the civil judge                                → Court of the sessions judge

                         → Court of the munsif                                      → Court of the chief judicial magistrate

                                                                                                          → First class judicial magistrate

                                                                                                          → Second class judicial magistrate