Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court of India is the supreme judicial authority and the highest court of India. It is the highest appellate court for all civil and criminal cases in India. The court is led by the Chief Justice of India and has a maximum sanctioned strength of 33 judges excluding the chief justice. It was established on 28 January 1950, two days after India became a republic, and replaced the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council as the highest court of appeal. It has operated from the Supreme Court building in New Delhi since 1958. With expansive authority to initiate actions and wield appellate jurisdiction over all courts and the ability to invalidate amendments to the constitution, the Supreme Court of India is widely acknowledged as one of the most powerful supreme courts in the world.
Established under the Constitution of India, the Supreme Court has extensive powers in the form of original, appellate and advisory jurisdictions. As the apex constitutional court, it takes up appeals primarily against verdicts of the High Courts of various states and tribunals. As an advisory court, it hears matters which are referred by the president of India. It also has the power of judicial review, in which the court invalidates both ordinary laws as well as constitutional amendments as per the basic structure doctrine that it developed in the 1960s and 1970s.
As mandated by the constitution, the Supreme Court is required to safeguard the fundamental rights of citizens and to settle legal disputes among the central government and various state governments. Its decisions are binding on other Indian courts as well as the union and state governments. As per the Article 142 of the constitution, the court has the inherent jurisdiction to pass any order deemed necessary in the interest of complete justice which becomes binding on the president to enforce.
History
In 1861, the British parliament enacted the Indian High Courts Act and the Indian Councils Act, which abolished the existing Supreme Courts in Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay and the Sadr Diwani Adalats, and gave power to the English crown to establish High Courts in India. Three charter High Courts were established in the three cities which earlier had Supreme Courts, by the letters patent granted by the English crown on 26 June 1862. These High Courts were the highest courts for all cases in the respective regions under their jurisdiction until the creation of the Federal Court of India under the Government of India Act 1935. The Federal Court had the jurisdiction to hear appeals against judgement of the high courts, and solve disputes between the various provinces of the British Raj and later between the federal states and provinces after the Indian independence in August 1947.The Supreme Court of India came into existence on 26 January 1950 after the adoption of the Constitution of India. The first chief justice of India was H. J. Kania. It replaced the Federal Court and the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, which were then at the apex of the Indian court system. The first proceedings and inauguration, took place at 9:45 am on 28 January 1950, when the judges took their seats, and the date is thus regarded as the official date of establishment of the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court initially had its seat at the Chamber of Princes in the Parliament House where the Federal Court sat from 1937 to 1950. In 1958, the Supreme Court moved to its present premises. Originally, the constitution envisaged a Supreme Court with a chief justice and seven judges, and granted the power to increase the capacity to the Parliament of India. In its formative years, the Supreme Court met from 10 am to 12 pm in the morning and then from 2 pm to 4 pm in the afternoon for 28 days per month.
Jurisdiction and powers
The Supreme Court of India was constituted as per Chapter IV of Part V of the Constitution of India titled "The Union Judiciary". Under the chapter, the Supreme Court is granted required jurisdiction and powers. It is the foremost appellate court in India, and the law declared by the Supreme Court is binding on all courts in the country.| Article | Description |
| Article 124 | Constitution and establishment of the Supreme Court |
| Article 129 | Declaration of Supreme Court as the Court of Record |
| Article 131 | Authorisation of the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court |
| Articles 132, 133 and 134 | Authorisation of the Appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court |
| Article 135 | Power of the Federal Court granted to the Supreme Court |
| Article 136 | Special leave to Appeal to the Supreme Court |
| Article 137 | Review power of the Supreme Court |
| Article 138 | Enlargement of the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court |
| Article 139 | Powers of the Supreme Court to issue certain writs |
| Article 140 | Ancillary powers to the Supreme Court |
| Article 141 | Law making power of the Supreme Court |
Article 145 of the constitution grants the Supreme Court the authority to create its own rules, subject to presidential approval, to govern the practice and procedures of the court. These rules have been revised and published three times, in 1950, 1966, and 2013.
Review petition
Article 137 of the constitution grants the Supreme Court the authority to reevaluate its own decisions. The Supreme Court can review any judgment or order it has previously pronounced. This power is subject to any laws created by the parliament and other rules established under Article 145. However, no application for review is to be entertained in a civil proceeding except on certain grounds as per the Code of Civil Procedure. Additionally, the Supreme Court holds the ability to invalidate parliamentary and governmental decisions if they violate fundamental features. Additionally, it can overturn the impeachment process of the president and the judges, as decided by the parliament, based on constitutional validity or fundamental features.Powers to punish for contempt
Under Articles 129 and 142 of the constitution, the Supreme Court has been vested with power to punish anyone for contempt of any court in India including itself. In May 2006, it directed a sitting minister in the Maharashtra government to serve a one month jail term for contempt of court.Court building
The court building is shaped to symbolise the scales of justice with a central wing flanked by two wings on either side. These two wings act as the two limbs of the balance and end with two semi-circular hooks that represent the pans of the balance, and the centres of the two semi-circular pans connect to a centrally placed statue of "Mother and Child" in the garden.The central wing consists of the chief justice's court, the largest of the courtrooms, flanked on by two court halls on either side. It has a high dome and a spacious colonnaded verandah. The right wing of the building houses the Bar, the offices of the attorney general and other law officers, and the library of the court. The left wing houses the offices of the court. There are 15 courtrooms located in the various parts of the building.
The foundation stone of the building was laid on 29 October 1954 by Rajendra Prasad, the first President of India. The main block of the building was built on a triangular plot of land measuring. It is designed in Indo-British architecture by Ganesh Bhikaji Deolalikar, the first Indian to head the Central Public Works Department. The design of scales of justice was to conform to this triangular site and according to Prasad was the conception of justice for Indians. The court moved into the building in 1958. In 1979, two wings were added to the complex, and they were further extended in 1994.
The court premises also hosts legal aid, Supreme Court museum, court-fee vendors, and other services such as medical and emergency services, rail reservation counters, canteen, post office and banks.
Mother and Child sculpture
On 20 February 1978, a high bronze sculpture of "Mother and Child" was installed in the lawn of the court building. It was designed by Chintamoni Kar, who described the statue as "Mother India sheltering young republic represented by the symbol of a child upholding the law of the country shown in the form of an open book, with the symbol of the balance representing law and justice". The official court account states that it represents a "dispensation of equal justice to all". The sculpture is located at the center of the park on the lawn of the court besides the statue of Mahatma Gandhi, which is in front of the staircase of the central wing in the front lawn.When the statue was installed in 1978, there was protests by a section of advocates of the court demanding its removal. A memorandum was submitted to the then law minister Shanti Bhushan, which stated that "the statue is supposedly a symbol and inspiration for the highest institution of justice, the Supreme Court….The child is nondescript, but the mother’s resemblance to Mrs. Indira Gandhi is discernible even to the ordinary eye not trained for appreciating the nuances of sculpture". As the statue was put up the post-emergency period, they contended that it is symbolic of perversity and is based on the theme of the mother-and-son cult built up during the period. Other statements from advocates included, "It’s like Indira mothering the judges and telling them you practice justice like I tell you to", and "symbolizing justice is terribly conservative as justice is constantly changing". Later on, as it was clarified that the model was made in the year 1969, the advocates submitted an apology and withdrew the protests.