T. Anoosha Madhu Kiran VIII C
S.St Project JUDICIARY Introduction Judiciary plays an important role in any society.
Judiciaryisdividedintodifferentlevels. Judiciaryinterpretsthelawofthelandandguidesall sectionofthe societyinfollowingthelawof thelandnamelytheconstitution. Intheforegoingslidesvariousaspectsofjudiciaryarediscussed. SimpleIntroduction Weallknowthatalllawsapplyequallytoallpersonsandthatacertainsetoffixedproducersneedtobefollowedwhenalawisviolated. Toenforcethisruleoflaw,wehaveajudicialsystemthat consistsofthemechanismofcourtsthatacitizencanapproachwhenalaw isviolated. Asanorganofthestate,the judiciaryplaysacrucialroleinthefunctioningofIndias democracy. Itcanplaythisroleonlybecauseitisindependent. Butdoyouknowwhatdoesanindependentjudiciary mean ? Wewill learnaboutitbutbeforelearningwehavea smallquestion: isthereanyconnectionbetweenthe courtin yourareaandthesupremecourtinNew Delhi ? Picture of Hierarchy of Indian Judicial System Hierarchy of Indian Judicial System
1) Supreme court. 2) High court. 3) Sub- ordinate at district level. 4) Civil court. 5) Criminal court. 6) Specialized tribunals. 7) Services tribunals. 8) Tax tribunals. 9) Debts recovery tribunals. 10) Railways tribunals. 11) Consumer courts. 12) Labour courts. Press and communication Media.
Role of judiciary Thereare fiveorgans : 1)Executive Legislature Judiciary Pressandcommunication Media. In these five organs there are three main organs they are :
Executive Legislature Judiciary 4) Butwhatisthemeaningof executiveandlegislature ? Executive meansgovernment.
Legislaturemeansparliament. We learntwhatisexecutiveandlegislature.Butwhatdoyouknowaboutthe RoleoftheJudiciary. RoleoftheJudiciarymeans : Whichmakesthelaw. Which implementsthelaw. Therearetwotypes that is :
Dispute Resolution :Thejudicialsystem provides a mechanismforresolving disputesbetweencitizens,betweencitizensandthegovernment,betweentwostate governmentsandbetweenthecentreand stategovernments. Judicial Review:Itmeansthatanylawpassed byalegislatureorbyaexecutive is reviewed byjudiciary. Picture Picture Independent Judiciary
Doyouknowwhatisanindependentjudiciary ? Independentmeans : selfgoverningormaverick. Judiciarymeans : legal judicialor cursory. Thelackof independence wouldforcethejudgetomakealljudgments infavourofthepolitician.
One aspectofthisindependenceistheseparation of powers. It meansthatotherbranchesofthestate-likethelegislatureandtheexecutivecannot interfereintheworkofthejudiciary. Thecourtsarenotunderthegovernmentanddonotactontheirbehalf. Working of the Separation of Powers
SeparationofpowerisimportantthatalljudgesintheHighCourtaswellastheSupremeCourtareappointed withverylittleinterference from the state. Once appointed,it isvery difficulttoremove a judge. It also plays animportantroleinprotecting theFundamentalRights. ItisalsocrucialthatalljudgesintheHigh CourtaswellastheSupremeCourtareappointedwithverylittleinterferencefromthese otherbranchesofthegovernment. Onceappointedtothisoffice,it is alsovery difficulttoremoveajudge. Italsoplaysacrucialroleinprotectingthe fundamentalrights ofcitizenbecauseanyonecanapproachthecourtsiftheybelievethattheirrightshavebeenviolated. Structure of courts in India
So,nowwe knowthatwhatisindependent judiciary. Buthaveyou everstudiedtheStructureofcourtsinIndia ? There arethreedifferentlevelsofcourtsinourcountry. Thereareseveralcourtsatthelowerwhilethereisonlyone atapexlevel. The courts thatmostpeopleinteractwitharecalledsubordinateordistrict courts.
Eachstateisdividedintodistrictwhicharepresidedoverby adistrictjudge. Each statehasahighcourtwhichisthehighestcourtofthatstate. Thetopisthesupremecourt thatislocatedinNewDelhianditispresided overbytheChiefJusticeofIndia. Picture Highcourtswerefirstestablishedinthethreepresidencycities ofCalcutta,BombayandMadrasin Highcourtof Delhicameupin Thereare21highcourts. While manystateshavetheirown highcourts,PunjabandHaryana shareahighcourtatChandigarh. So, now we know the structure of courts in India
So,nowweknowthestructure ofcourtsinIndia. Before goingto thedifferentbranchesoftheLegal System.Wehavea question. Arethesedifferentlevelsofcourts connectedtoeachother? Ifyes, why? TounderstandthisintegrationisthroughtheappellatesystemthatexistsinIndia. Supreme court Supreme court is also known as Apex court.
Supremecourthas26members.Lawyersor memberswillsitintheconstutionalbench whenthecaseisimportant. Lawyerswhentheysitonthe constutional benchthenumbershouldbeinoddnot ineven. So,weallknowwhatissupremecourt. Wehavetostudythedifferentbranchesofthelegalsystem.Butdoyouknowwhatislegalsystem? Supreme Court BombayHighCourt District Court Complex Guntur Legalsystem Legalmeanslawful,rightful,legalistic,juridical,juristic,judiciary,legislative,statutoryanddejure. Legalsystemisaviolationofcriminallaw. Inadditiontocriminallaw,thelegalsystemalsodealswithcivillawcases. Wewilllookatthefollowingtabletounderstandsomesignificantdifferencesbetweencriminallawandcivillaw. Criminallaw Dealswithconductoractsthatthelawdefinesasoffences. Example : theft,harassinga womantobringmoredowryandmurder. ItusuallybeginswiththelodgingofanFirstInformationReport(FIR)withthepolicewhoinvestigatethecrimeafterwhichacaseisfiledinthecourt. Iffound guilty, the accused can be sent to jailand also fined.
After a person is arrested it is the courtoflawthatdecideswhethertheaccusedpersonisguiltyornot. Doyouknowwhointroducedcriminalsystemandinwhichyear? BritishGovern- GeneralWilliamBentikhasintroducedcriminalsystemintheyear Picture Civil law Deals with any harm or injury to rights of individuals.
Examples : Disputesrelatingtosaleofland, purchaseofgoods,rentmattersanddivorcecases. Apetitionhastobefiledbeforetherelevantcourtbytheaffectedpartyonly. In arentmatter,eitherthelandlord ortenantcanfileacase. Thecourt givesthespecificreliefaskedfor.
So, wenowknowwhatiscriminallawandcivillaw. We haveaquestionthatiswhatdoyoucallacivilcourtinMuslimlanguage? Sadar-e- diwaniadalt. Accesstothecourts ItisaprincipalinIndiacanaccesstothecourts. Ifanycitizen believesthattheir rightsarebeingviolatedthentheycanapproachto thecourtforthe justiceto bedone. Thesupremecourtintheearly1980sdevisedamechanismofPublicInterestLitigationorPILtoincreaseaccess tojustice.InearlyyearsPILwasusedtosecure justiceon alargenumberofissuessuchasrescuingbondedlabourers frominhuman work conditions. DoyouknowwhointroducedPIL?
PIL wasintroducedbyAmericanpeople. ThecourtsinterpretedArticle 21of theConstitutionontheRighttoLifetoincludetheRighttoFood. Forthecommonpersonaccesstocourtsisaccesstojustice. Human Rights Do you know what is human rights.
Humanrightsmeanstherightstothelife, liberty,equalityanddignityofthe individualguaranteedbytheConstitutionorembodied . IntheInternational covenantsand enforceable by Courtsin India. Articles Article1 :Allhumanbeingsareborn free andequalindignityandrights. Article2 :Everyoneisentitledtoalltherightsandfreedomsetforthinthisdeclarationwithoutdistinctionofanykind suchas : race, colour, sex, language andreligionandpolitical. Article3 : Everyonehastherightoflife,libertyandsecurityofperson.
Article4 :Nooneshallbeheldinslaveryorservitude, slaveryandtheslavetradeshallbeprohibitedintheir forms. Article5 : Nooneshallbesubjectedtotortureortocruel, inhumanordegradingtreatmentorpunishment. Article6 : Everyonehastherighttorecognition everywhere asa personbefore thelaw.
Article7 : Allareequal beforethelawandareentitledwithout anydiscrimination toequalprotectionoflaw. Article 8 : Everyonehastherighttoaneffectiveremedybythecompetent Nationaltribunalsforactviolatingthefundamental rights grantedtohimbytheconstitution orbylaw. Article9 :Nooneshall besubjectedtooarbitrary arrest,detentionorexile. Article10 :Everyoneisentitledinfullequality toa fairandpublic hearingbyanindependentandimpartialtribunal. The IndianConstutionalsoenvisagesasecularstate.
It ,thereforeguaranteesfreedomsofreligioninArticles 25to28toallpersons,whetherthey belongtominority communityormajoritycommunity. Thefreedomguaranteedintheseincludesthefollowing. Article25 : Freedomofconscienceandfreeprofession,practiceandpropagationof religion.
Article26 : Freedomtomanagereligiousaffairs. Article27 : Freedomfromtaxationforpromotionofanyparticularreligion. Article28 : Freedomfromcompulsoryreligiousworshiporattendanceatreligiousinstructionsineducationalinstitutions. Justice delayed is justice denied
Thisphrase justicedelayedisjusticedeniedisoftenusedto characterisethisextendedtimeperiodthatcourtstake. Thereisnodenyingthatthejudiciaryhasplayedacrucial roleindemocraticIndia,servingasa checkonthepowersoftheexecutiveandthelegislatureaswellasinprotecting theFundamentalRightsofcitizens. ThemembersoftheConstituentAssemblyhadquitecorrectlyenvisioned asystemofcourts withanindependentjudiciaryasakeyfeatureof ourdemocracy. Inaspeechmadeon26th November2007, the ChiefJusticeofIndiaK.G. Balakrishnannotedthat,TheIndiajudiciaryconsistsofoneSupremecourtwith26 judges, 21 high courtwithasanctionedstrength of judges. Story of justice delayed is justice denied
Mohanwastheonlybreadownerinhisfamily. Hewaskilledinanaccidentleavingbehindhis widowandtwodaughtersin Hiswidowfiledacasefor compensationandajoboncompassionateground. Thecourtlingeredonthecaseformorethan28years. She workedonthefieldsandherdaughters workedasmaidordomestichelpers.
Withherhardworkshewasabletoearnherlivelihood . Sheborrowedmoneyfromthelandlordandgotherdaughtersmarriedtopoorgrooms. ThecasewasdecidedandacompensationofRs 5 lakh was awardedto her.
Nowthismoney doesnot haveanyvalueforthewidow. Justice has beendelayed for28years. Hence, it is rightlysaidthatjusticedelayedisjusticedenied. Appellatesystem Appellatesystemisthejudicialsystemthroughwhichanappealismadeinthehighercourtagainstthejudgmentofthelowercourt. Intheappellatesystem thejudgment ofthelowercourt canbereviewed,upheldin struckdownbythehigher court. Example : acaseaboutState(Delhi administration)Vs. LaxmanKumarandothers(1985)fromthelowercourt tothesupremecourt. Conclusion The above slide show clearly indicates the significant role played by the judiciary. It not only decides the civil and criminal cases but also plays an adjudicatory role in guiding theexecutive and legislature. At times judiciary lays down the legal rules according to the necessity of the society, if no legislation is made by the executive to guide the executive and people in discharging their obligations constitutionally.