The Indian Constitution protects the citizens from any partial judgment. And, this gives the power to the judiciary to make decisions based on the rules of the law, in case of any dispute. Due to such authority, the judiciary of the country is an independent body. The courts of India are not controlled by the government and do not represent any political authority. Such independence allows the judiciary to ensure that there is no misuse of power by any section of the government.
The independence of judiciary calls for ‘separation of powers’. This basically means that both the legislature and the executive branches of the government, cannot interfere with the functions and decisions of the judiciary. So, in order to successf both high courts and the Supreme Courtully execute their independent authority, the judges of must be appointed without any influence or interference from other branches of the government. Also, it is very difficult to remove a judge from his/her office, once appointed by the judiciary.
Structure of Courts in India
As per the judiciary system, there are three levels of courts in India
- District Courts: This is where most citizens go to for any dispute in their city or region. Each state comprises many districts and has its own district or subordinate courts. And, the entire district is presided over by the District Judge
- High Courts: Each state has its own High Court, which is most certainly the highest judicial authority of the state.
- Supreme Court: This is at the top of all state and district courts, presided by the Chief Justice of India. Because it is the highest authority of justice for the country, the decisions made by the Supreme Court stands above all other courts. The Supreme Court of India is located in Mandi House, New Delhi.
Due to the integrated judicial system of the country, you can find a strong connection between all the courts. This means that the decisions of the higher courts are binding on the lower courts. The ‘appellate system’ establishes such connection. Due to the appellate system, if anyone is not satisfied by the judgment of a lower court (district or high court), he/she/they can appeal to the higher court for a fair decision.
Branches of the Legal System
The Indian legal system has two main sections: Civil Law and Criminal Law. And the rules for each of these laws vary from each other. As the highest judiciary authority, the Supreme Court takes care of both civil and criminal issues.
- Criminal Lawtakes care of misconduct of citizens, which are defined as an offence or crime by the law. A criminal case starts with filing a report with the local police, who then starts an investigation of the matter. The court finally decides on the matter.
- Civil Law, in contrast, takes care of disputes in the event of violation of a citizen’s Fundamental Rights. The involved parties then file a petition to the relevant court. Finally, the court provides a solution and a decision thereafter, to the dispute presented.
Access to the courts
As per the Constitution of India, it is the Fundamental Right of every citizen to have access to justice. Hence, every person, common or otherwise, has access to the courts. However, in reality, legal procedures are an expensive affair, most certainly for the poor section of the society.
To solve this problem, the Supreme Court introduced the system of Public Interest Litigation (PIL), which allowed every person to approach the court first with their issue. This could be done through a simple communication as a written letter stating the case.
The courts of India play a crucial role in sustaining the Fundamental Rights as basic as food. Some years ago, a PIL enabled the Supreme Court to include the ‘Right to Food’ for all citizens, as a part of ‘Right to life, under Article 21 of the Constitution.
