Supreme Court & High Courts
Constitution Special · सुप्रीम कोर्ट और हाई कोर्ट · 18 facts
The Supreme Court of India was established on January 28, 1950 under Article 124 of the Constitution.
The Supreme Court consists of the Chief Justice of India (CJI) and not more than 33 other judges — total strength 34 judges.
Original Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court (Article 131) covers disputes between states, and between states and the Union of India.
Appellate Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court (Articles 132-136) includes civil, criminal, constitutional matters and Special Leave Petition (Article 136).
Advisory Jurisdiction (Article 143) — the President can refer any question of law or fact of public importance to the Supreme Court for its opinion.
The Chief Justice of India is appointed by the President. By convention, the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court becomes the CJI (collegium system).
The Collegium System consists of the 5 senior-most judges of the Supreme Court who recommend appointments and transfers of SC and HC judges.
The 99th Constitutional Amendment (2014) established the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) to replace the collegium, but the Supreme Court struck it down in 2015.
High Courts are established under Article 214 — there shall be a High Court for each state. India has 25 High Courts.
Calcutta High Court (1862) is the oldest High Court in India; Allahabad High Court has the largest sanctioned judge strength.
High Courts can issue all 5 types of writs under Article 226 — their writ jurisdiction is wider than the Supreme Court (Article 32).
Judges of the Supreme Court hold office until age 65; High Court judges until age 62. Both are appointed by the President.
The Supreme Court has the power of Judicial Review — it can declare any law unconstitutional if it violates the Constitution.
A judge of the Supreme Court can be removed only by impeachment through a special majority of Parliament on grounds of proven misbehaviour or incapacity.
The Supreme Court of India is also a Court of Record — its decisions are binding on all courts in India and cannot be questioned in any inferior court.
Contempt of Court jurisdiction: the Supreme Court can punish anyone for contempt of itself or of any other court in India (Article 129).
The Supreme Court can transfer cases and appeals from any High Court to itself or from one High Court to another under Article 139A.
High Courts also have supervisory jurisdiction over all subordinate courts and tribunals within their territorial jurisdiction.