What is the Structure of Courts in India – Supreme, High, District Courts

What is the Structure of Courts in India? – Supreme, High, District Courts PDF

There are three different levels of courts in our country. There are several courts at the lower level while there is only one at the apex level. The courts that most people interact with are what are called subordinate or district courts. These are usually at the district or Tehsil level or in towns and they hear many kinds of cases. Each state is divided into districts that are presided over by a District Judge. Each state has a High Court which is the highest court of that state. At the top is the Supreme Court that is located in New Delhi and is presided over by the Chief Justice of India. The decisions made by the Supreme Court are binding on all other courts in India.

Structure of Court in India

Judiciary of India

The Judiciary of India is an independent body and is separated from the Executive and Legislative bodies of the Indian Government. The judicial system of India is classified into various levels. At the apex is the Supreme Court, which is followed by High Courts at state level, District Courts at district level and Lok Adalats at the Village and Panchayat Level.

The Judiciary of India takes care of maintenance of law and order in the country along with solving problems related to civil and criminal offences.

Supreme Court of India

The Indian Judiciary System has the Supreme Court of India at its helm, which at present is located in the capital city of Delhi, without any benches in any part of nation and is presided by the CJI. The Supreme Court has many Benches for the litigation, and this apex court is not only final court of permissible appeal, but also deals with interstate matters, and matters comprising of more than one state, and the matters between the Union Governments.

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The President of India can always seek consultation and guidance including the opinion of the apex court and its judges. This court also has the powers to punish anybody for its own contempt. The largest bench of the Supreme Court of India is called the Constitution Bench and comprises of 5 or 7 judges, depending on the importance attached of the matters before it, as well as work load of the court.

High Court

High Courts were first established in the three Presidency cities of Calcutta, Bombay and Madras in 1862. The High Court of Delhi came up in 1966. Currently there are 21 High Courts. While many states have their own High Courts, Punjab and Haryana share a common High Court at Chandigarh, and the seven northeast states have a common High Court at Guwahati. Some High Courts have benches in other parts of the state for greater accessibility.

Are these different levels of courts connected to each other? Yes, they are. In India, we have an integrated judicial system, meaning that the decisions made by higher courts are binding on the lower courts. Another way to understand this integration is through the appellate system that exists in India. This means that a person can appeal to a higher court if they believe that the judgment passed by the lower court is not just.

The High Courts are also termed as the courts of equity, and can be approached in writs not only for violation of fundamental rights under the provisions of Article 32 of the Indian constitution, but also for any other rights under Article 226 of the Constitution, and under its powers to supervise over all its subordinate courts falling within the physical jurisdiction of the same under Article 227 of the Constitution. In fact, when apparently there is no effective remedy available to a person in equity, it can also move the High Court in an appropriate writ.

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High Courts frame their own rules and arrange to implement them but under certain provisions of Law, the High Courts have the ordinary original civil jurisdiction. Many times the High Courts have concurrent jurisdiction along with its subordinate courts, for effective remedy at the earliest. All the High Courts have different division benches in different parts of the respective states for speedier cheaper and effective dispensing of justice. Every State has a High Court, which works under the direct guidance and supervision of the Supreme Court of India and is the uppermost court in that state.

District Court

The District and Sessions judge is often referred to as “district judge” when he presides over civil matters and “session judge” when he presides over criminal matters. The district is also called “Metropolitan session judge” when he is presiding over a district court in a city which is designated “Metropolitan area” by the state government. Appointment of district judge and other Additional and Assistant district judges is done by the state government in consultation with the High Court of State.

Example of Hearing in Courts

In February 1980, Laxman Kumar married 20-year-old Sudha Goel and they lived in a flat in Delhi with Laxman’s brothers and their families. On 2 December 1980 Sudha died in hospital due to burns. Her family filed a case in court. When this case was heard in the Trial Court, four of her neighbours were called in as witnesses. They stated that on the night of December 1, they had heard Sudha scream and had forced their way into Laxman’s flat. There they saw Sudha standing with her sari in flames. They extinguished the fire by wrapping Sudha in a gunny bag and a blanket. Sudha told them that her mother-in-law Shakuntala had poured kerosene oil on her and that her husband Laxman had lit the fire. During the trial,members of Sudha’s family and a neighbour stated that Sudha had been subjected to torture by her in-laws and that they were demanding more cash, a scooter and a fridge on the birth of the first child. As part of their defence, Laxman and his mother stated that Sudha’s sari had accidentally caught fire while she was heating milk. On the basis of this and other evidence, the Trial Court convicted Laxman, his mother Shakuntala and his brother-in-law Subash Chandra and sentenced all three of them to death. In November 1983, the three accused went to the High Court to appeal against this verdict of the Trial Court. The High Court, after hearing the arguments of all the lawyers, decided that Sudha had died due to an accidental fire caused by the kerosene stove. Laxman, Shakuntala and Subash Chandra were acquitted.

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