Unit-4

Union Legislature and Judiciary

Introduction to Union Legislature

- Indian Parliament is called Union Legislature which comprises two Houses: the Lok
Sabha and the Rajya Sabha
- The Lok Sabha represents the People whereas the Rajya Sabha represents the States.
- The Parliament sees that the administrative and political executives fulfill their
obligations constitutionally, rationally and efficiently
Lok Sabha: Composition
- Lok Sabha is the lower House or popular Chamber or first chamber in Indian
Parliament. It represents the interests of people
- It maximum strength is 552. At present there are 545 members in the Lok Sabha
- It comprises members belonging to the i) States ii) Union Territories iii) Nominated
category. If the President feels that there are no elected members of Anglo-Indian
Community in the Lok Sabha, he nominates two Anglo-Indian members.
Election
- The members of the Lok Sabha (excepting the nominated members) are elected by the
registered voters of various States and Union Territories
- The principles of direct election, adult franchise, single-member constituency and
secret voting are adopted for electing the members.
Qualifications for Lok Sabha Candidates
- He/she must be a citizen of India
- He/she must have completed 25 years of age
- He/she must possess such other qualifications as prescribed by the Parliament
- Every candidate must pay Rs. 25,000/- as security deposit.
- As per the recent directive of 24th August, 2003 every candidate must submit an
affidavit furnishing his previous bio-data of punishment, educational qualifications,
assets, liabilities etc
Term of office and Dissolution of Lok Sabha
- According to Articles 83 the tenure of the Lok Sabha is five years.
- This duration starts from the first day of the first sitting of Lok Sabha after general
elections.
- According to Article 85, President of India can dissolve the Lok Sabha earlier on the
written advice of the union Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister.
- The President can, on the advice of the Union Council of Ministers headed by the
Prime Minister, extend the tenure of the Lok Sabha under certain special
circumstances like emergency for a period not exceeding one year.
- This situation arose in 1976 in the case of fifth Lok Sbha.
- This prompted the Parliament to amend the constitutional provisions insisting for the
written advice of the Union Council of Ministers to the President in dissolving the
Lok Sabha or in extending its tenure.
Sessions
- The date and time of the sessions of the Lok Sabha are determined by the President.
- The Lok Sabha shall meet at least twice a year.
- There shall not be a gap of more than six months between the two meetings. However
this condition is not applicable in the case of a dissolved House.
- Normally the sessions of the Lok Sabha are held thrice a year.

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Quorum
- Quorum implies minimum attendance of members required for conducting the
meetings of the Lok Sabha.
- Quorum is fixed at 1/10th of the total membership.
- The speaker determines whether there is quorum on a particular day for conducting
the meetings.
- Whenever there is no quorum, he postpones the meetings for an hour or two or for the
next day.
The Speaker of the Lok Sabha
- Articles 93 to 97 of our constitution deal with the office of the Speaker of the Lok
Sabha.
- The first meeting of the Lok Sabha shall be announced as per the President’s
notification after the lok Sabha elections.
- The President appoints the pro-term Speaker for presiding over that meeting.
- Normally the President appoints the senior most member in terms of age, knowledge
of legislative rules or number of terms elected as the pro-temporary speaker.
- The pro-temporary Speaker administers the oath of office on the elected members.
- The election to the office of the Speaker is held later.
Election of Speaker
- The members of the Lok Sabha elect the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker from
among themselves.
- Normally there is conviction that while the Speakership is left to the party in power,
the Deputy Speakership to the parties having ideological understanding with the party
in power. But sometimes the party in power may retain the two offices.
- When no single party secures majority or when a coalition ministry is formed, the
coalition partners will make efforts for deciding the candidature to the office of the
Speaker.
Sometimes coalition partners may hand over that office to a candidate selected by the
parties that declare support from outside. There are two interesting elements in the election of
the Speaker
1. A person elected as the Speaker must be a member of the Lok Sabha
2. The Speaker continues in his office even after the dissolution of the House. He
holds his office until the new Speaker is elected.
- When the Speaker is not in a position to discharge his functions properly, rationally
and impartially, the members can remove him.
- A resolution to that effect shall be introduced in the House with a prior notice of 14
days.
- The house begins discussion over the resolution on any day after expiry of the said
period. The speaker is not eligible to preside over such a meeting. He cannot
participate in the voting on such a resolution. However, he can attend the meeting and
express his views.
Powers and Functions of the Speaker
1. The Speaker presides over the meetings of the Lok Sabha. He conducts the meetingswith
dignity, order and efficiency. He determines the agenda of the meetings after consulting
the leader of the House. He presides over the joint session of the Parliament.
2. He allots time to the members to express their views on the bills, conducts voting if
necessary, and announces the results.
3. He sends bills to the Rajya Sabha after they are approved by the Lok Sabha. On
receipt of the bills from the Rajya Sabha, he certifies and sends them to the President
of India for the assent.
4. He takes steps to safeguard the rights and privileges of the members and to uphold the
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 respect for the House. He, by adopting equalitarian and impartial view towards the
treasury benches and the opposition, ensures peaceful atmosphere in the House
through his ruling whenever there is a pandemonium.
5. He has the privilege of determining whether a bill is money bill or not. He accords
permission to introduce various bills in the House and gives his signature after they
are approved by the House.
6. He is empowered to i) allow members to raise point of order on a bill,
ii) permit the members to move a no-confidence motion against the government,
iii) mention important public issues,
iv) Postpone the meetings of the House and v) decide the quorum in the House.
7. He constitutes various House Committees and appoints their chairmen. He acts as the
ex- officio chairman of some committees such as Rules committee, Business Affairs
Committee etc.
8. He acts as a member of Commonwealth Speakers Forum/Chairman of Indian
Parliamentary Group and Head of the Lok Sabha Secretariat.
9. He receives the electoral certificates of the new members, takes decisions on the
members' resignations, allots seats to the press, visitors etc
10. He exercises his casting vote in case of a tie over a bill
Rajya Sabha
- The Rajya Sabha or the Council of States is the upper House or the second chamber
- Rajya Sabha is constituted according to the article 80 of Indian Constitution.
- It is also called as Council of States
- Constitution Experts described it as the Elders House
- It was constituted on 3rd April, 1952. It consists of not more than 250 members. At
present the strength is 245. out of 12 arenominated members.
- The Vice-President of India is its ex-officio chairman.
- One of the members is elected as Deputy Chairman.
Elections
- 233 members are elected by the State Assemblies.
- The election takes place by means of proportional representation and single
transferable vote.
- The nominated members of the State assemblies are cast their vote in the election of
the Rajya Sabha members.
- The election procedure adopted to fill up the seats in the Rajya Sabha was drawn from
the Constitution of former South Africa.
Qualification
- He/she shall be a citizen of India
- He/she shall have completed at least 30 years of age
- He/she shall possess such other qualifications as prescribed by the Parliament
Tenure
- The Rajya Sabha is not subject to dissolution.
- It is a permanent House. However, 1/3rd of its members shall retire at the end of every
two years.
- The retired members are eligible for re-election.
- Every member continues in office for a period of six years.
Quorum
- The rules applicable to be the Lok Sabha are extended to the Rajya Sabha in regard to
the quorum.
- 1/10th of the total members shall attend for conducting the meetings.
- The presiding officer will conduct the meetings after considering the quorum in the
house.
- In case there is no quorum on a particular day, he may defer the meetings for a short
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 while or for the next day.
Sessions
- The Rajya Sabha meets at least twice a year.
- There shall not be a gap of more than six months between the two sessions.
- The sessions of the Rajya Sabha may continue even after the dissolution of the Lok
Sabha
- The vice-president of Indian presides over the meetings.The deputy
chairman, in the absence of the Vice-President, presides over the meetings.
- There will be a panel of vice-chairmen comprising six members nominated by the
chairman to preside over the meetings in the absence of the chairman/the deputy
chairman.
Chairman of Rajya Sabha
- The vice-President of India acts as the ex-officio chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
- The members of Parliament elect him for every five years not as the chairman of the
Rajya Sabha but as the vice-President of India.
- He is like that of the Speaker of Lok Sabha, has considerable powers in the
maintenance of the house. However, he has no powers to
- i) determine the money bills, ii) preside over joint sessions of the Parliament and
- iii) send bills to the President with his signature.
- He enjoys the same position and powers as that of the speaker in all other matters.
Powers and functions of Chairman
- The chairman presides over the meetings of Rajya Sabha. He conducts the meetings
with discipline, dignity and decorum
- He allows the members of the party and opposition to introduce various bills in the
House and to carryout discussions on them
- He conducts voting on various bills and announces the results. Whenever there is a tie
in accepting a bill he exercises his casting vote to decide the fate of the bill.
- He sends the bills approved by the Rajya Sabha to the Lok Sabha. Similarly, he
communicates the messages to the members. He ensures that the bills sent by the
Lok Sabha are presented in Rajya Sabha.
- He allows the ministers to make announcements in the Rajya Sabha
- He participates in the joint sitting of the Parliament as the Chairman of the Rajya
Sabha.
- He announces the panel of vice-chairman to conduct the meetings of the Rajya Sabha.
He examines the cases regarding violations of rules, if any in the house
Privileges of Members
- The members of Parliament enjoy special privileges when compared to the Indian
citizens.
- According to Articles 105 and 194 of Indian constitution the various safeguards and
special rights made available to the members in the discharge of their duties are in the
form of privileges.
- These articles confer i) freedom of speech ii) right to publication
- These two elements enable them to safeguard the independence and supremacy of the
Parliament.
- Similarly, whenever there is a conflict between the fundamental rights of citizens and
the privileges of Parliament members, the latter takes precedence
Individual Privileges of Members
1. No member shall be taken into custody prior to and after 40 days of the sessions of
Parliament/Parliamentary committee
2. No member shall be forced to attend before a court during the sessions of
Parliament without the permission of the house
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 3. No member shall be questioned in any court of law for his speech in the meetings
of Parliament.
Collective Privileges of Members
1. Right to publish debates of the members
2. Right determine the internal affairs of the House
3. Right to publish on parliamentary misbehavior and
4. Right punish members and others for breach of its privileges

Powers and functions of Parliament

1. Legislative Powers
- Indian Parliament considers and approves bills on the subjects included in the Union
and the Concurrent Lists.
- Similarly, it approves bills on the subjects included in the State List during i) national
emergency, ii) president’s rule and iii) on the request of the Rajya Sabha and some
State Legislative Assemblies
- It approves the bills in place of ordinances.
- The President convenes a joint sitting of the Parliament when eve there is a
deadlock between the two houses in accepting bill.
- Its members exercise control over the executive through several means such as
questions, supplementary questions and by moving cut motions and finally no-
confidence motion
- The ministers including the Prime Minister has to respond to the questions of
Parliament members in a clear, proper and prompt manner.
- They exercise complete control over the union Executive on the occasions of zero
hour, cut motion, privilege motion, vote on account etc.
- The Lok Sabha can decide the fate of the executive by approving a no confidence
motion of the opposition or a confidence motion of the leader of the House.
- For instance, Prime Minister Charan Singh who proposed confidence motion in the
Lok Sabha resigned ell before the discussion and voting was held.
- Similarly in 1999, Prime Minister Vajpayee resigned consequent upon the rejection of
confidence motion by the Lok Sabha.
- Midterm Elections to Lok Sabha were held on the above two occasions.
2. Financial Powers
- Indian Parliament sanctions the money required for carrying out the affairs of the
Union Government. It approves the money bills proposed by the union ministry.
- The Union Government shall impose new taxes, revise old taxes or abolish the
existing taxes only with the approval of the parliament.
- Similarly Parliament considers and approves the reports of the i) Comptroller and
Auditor General of India ii) Finance Commission iii) Public Accounts Committee and
iv) Estimates Committee
- The Lok Sabha possesses more powers in this matter than that of the Rajya Sabha
3. Judicia Powers
- Indian Parliament is empowered to impeach the President, the Vice-President, the
Chief Justice and other judges of the Supreme Court and High Counts on specific
grounds of allegations of corruption, inefficiency etc.
- It plays a decisive role in the removal of the Chief Election Commissioner and other
Election Commissioners, Chairman and Members of the UPSC, CAG.
- It is empowered to warn or punish those who defy the privileges and proceedings of
the two Houses.

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4. Constitutional Powers
- Article 368 empowers Indian Parliament to amend the provisions of the Indian
Constitution
- Parliament takes initiative to bring out proper changes in the constitution without
affecting its basic structure.
5. Electoral Powers
- Indian Parliament elects the President and the Vice-President.
- The members of the Lok Sabha elect the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker from
among themselves.
- Similarly the members of the Rajya Sabha elect the Deputy Chairman among
themselves. They also elect the members of various parliamentary committees.
6. Deliberative Functions
- Indian Parliament serves as the apex forum of deliberations and public opinion.
- It discusses at length the contemporary national and international issues, matters
concerning redressal of public grievances, steps taken by the union government in
addressing the current problems, the working pattern of political and administrative
heads etc.
7. Other Functions
- Indian Parliament discusses bills relating to the
- i) alteration of boundaries of states, ii) creation or abolition of Legislative Councils and
- iii) changes in the name of states
- It serves as a training center for the newly elected members in understanding the
legislative procedures.
- It enables the members to have comprehensive and qualitative discussions and
arriving at decisions by forming into small committees.

Public Bills Private Bills

1. Public Bills are necessary for Private Bills are moved by membersother
carrying theaffairs of the union than ministers for influencing the
government policies of the union government
2. Public Bills carry the support of majority Majority members may or may not
members in the House support the private bills in the House
3. There is no scope for the presiding There is a scope for the presiding officers
officers to ask the government to take to ask the members to introduce the private
sufficient time for introducing public bills in the form of a notice in advance
bills
4. Collective responsibility is applicable Such principle is not applicable in the
in the case of public bills case of private bills
5. A thorough discussion takes place at No such discussion takes place n the case
officialand ministerial levels in the case of of private bills
public bills before their introduction
6. Public bills are introduced by the Members belonging to the House
ministers in either house of the alone shall introduce private bills inthe
Parliament respective House
7. Public bills denote the prestige No such prestige is involved in the case
of thegovernment of private bills

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 Money Bills Ordinary Bills
1. Money bills pertain to the conduct of the Ordinary bills pertain to the non
financial affairs of the union government economic and administrative affairs of
the union government
2. President’s prior permission required for No such permission is required in the
introducing money bills in the Parliament case of ordinary bills
3. Money bills shall be introduced in lower Ordinary bills may be introduced in either
house of the Parliament only of the two Houses
4. The President shall give his assent on The President may or may not give his
money bills sent by the Parliament without assent to these bills. He may refer these
raising any objection bills to Parliament for reconsideration
5. Rajya Sabha shall approve money bills There is no such condition in the case of
within 14 days after their receipt from the Lok ordinary bills
Sabha
6. There is no provision for joint sitting of When there is no unanimity between the
Parliament in the case of disagreement two Houses on an ordinary bills, joint
between the two Houses over the money bills sitting of the parliament will be held
7. The Speaker of the Lok Sabha has the final This question does not arise in the case of
power to decide whether a bill is a money bill ordinary bills
or not

Parliamentary Committees
The nature and magnitude of the functions of Parliament have increased enormously in the
recent past. The time available at the disposal of the House is very limited. So, parliamentary
committees have been set up to fulfill some of the legislative functions of the Parliament.
Parliamentary committees are two types, namely,
1. Ad-hoc Committees 2. Standing Committees.
Ad-hoc committees offer suggestions on some particular maters. These committees
are dissolved after their purpose is over.
The various select committees and joint select committees are some examples of this
type-Railway Amenities Committee, Drafting Committee on five year plans, Official
Language (Hindi) Committee.
Standing Committees-Business Advisory Committee, Rules Committee, Privileges
Committee, Committee on Petitions etc
- Supervisory Committees- These committees supervise the activities of the union
government on behalf of the Parliament. Ex: Committee on Official Law
Making, Committee on Government Assurances, Estimate Committee, Public
Accounts Committee, Committee on Public Sector Undertaking
1. Public Accounts Committee
- It was set up in 1921. One of the higher officers of the Finance Department acted as
its chairman up to 1950.
- This was placed under the control of the Lok Sbha Speaker with the commencement
of the Indian constitution.
- It consists of 22 members. Of them 15 members belong to the Lok Sabha and 7
members to the Rajya Sabha. Their term of office is one year. They are elected by

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 means of proportional representation and single transferable vote. The Speaker
nominates one of the members as the chairman of the committee. It became a
convention to appoint one of the members of the opposition in the Lok Sabha s its
chairman since 1967-68
Functions of PAC
1. It examines the reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India
2. It brings out the extravagance, irregularities and loss in public expenditure to the
notice of the Parliament
3. It examines whether public funds are disbursed properly
4. It investigates into the excess expenditure incurred by a particular
ministry/department against the sanctioned amount.
5. It examines the matters like tax evasion, confirming lower value, non-imposition
taxes, identifying the flaws in tax laws etc.
2. Estimate Committee
- It was fist constituted n April, 1950. It consists of 30 members of the Lok Sabha. The
members hold their office for a year. The Speaker of the Lok Sabha appoints the
leader of the opposition as chairman of the committee. If the Deputy Speaker is a
member of this committee, the Speaker appoints him as the Chairman of the
committee. One third of the total members belong to newly elected members.
Functions of Estimate Committee
1. It offers suggestions in regard to the economies in expenditure, improvement in
organization and efficacy of the union government.
2. It suggests efficiency and economic measures in administration
3. It examines as to whether the public funds are disbursed as per the estimates
4. It offers suggestions the Parliament on the schedules necessary for the estimates.
5. It examines the estimates of any union ministry as a part of its functioning. It is
empowered call for necessary information from the concerned ministry.
If necessary, it constitutes a sub-committee or a study group. The members of this
committee may visit different propjets and hold discussion with the officers, non-
officials, business groups and receive suggestions from them. Its main function is to
submit annual report to the parliament
3. Committee on Public Undertakings
- It was constituted in 1963. It consists of 15 members.
- Of them 10 members belongs to Lok Sabha and 5 members represent the Rajya Sabha
- All the members are elected according to proportional representation for a period of
one year
- It was constituted to relieve the burden of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and
estimates committee
- It examines whether the public undertakings are managed efficiently and
independently.
- It also examines the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) on
working of the public sector undertakings
- It also performs such other functions vested in the estimates committee and PAC

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 Union Judiciary: Supreme Court of India
Introduction

- Union Judiciary is an organ of the government. It consists of chief justice, judges

and clerical personal. Its main function is to deliver justice on the basis of well-
established procedure, oral and written evidences.
- Interpreting the constitution, safeguarding fundamental rights of the people, acting a
court of record, rendering advice to the executive head etc are some other important
powers and functions of the union judiciary.
- It safeguards the constitutional and democratic values.
- It maintains equilibrium between the organs of the government and appraises the
executiverole in achieving the goal of welfare state and equalitarian society.
- Lord Bryce remarked that Judiciary serves as the best test for the excellence
of thegovernment.
Supreme Court of India
1. The origin of the Supreme Court in India can be tracing back to the year 1773 during
which theRegulatingAct was passed by the British Parliament.
2. Part V of Indian Constitution from Articles 124 to 147 deals with the
composition, appointment, qualifications of judges and powers and functions of the
Supreme Court.
3. The framers of Indian Constitution considered the composition and powers of the British
andAmerican judicial systems while constituting the Supreme Court of India.
4. They adopted ‘Rule of Law’ from Britain and ‘Judicial Review’ from the USA. At the
sametime they provided for the integrated judicial system for the entire country.
5. They envisaged the Supreme Court as an independent body free from the control of the
UnionLegislature and the Union Executive.

Composition

- The inaugural session the Supreme Court was held on 28th January, 1950 at the
Chamber ofPrinces in the Parliament building
- H.J.Kania acted as the last chief justice of the federal court and first chief justice
of theSupreme Court.
- At the commencement of the constitution, the Supreme Court consisted of seven Judges
and a Chief Justice. It increased to 34 including CJI in 2019.
- All the proceedings in the Supreme Court are maintained in English. All documents
aretranslated into English language
- All cases are heard by a bench comprising two or more judges.
- Cases pertaining to the Constitution are heard by five or more judges.
- The judgments delivered by the Supreme Court are applicable to the whole territory of India.
- They act as the guide for judicial organizations in the county.
Appointment of Judges and CJI
- The President of India appoints the Chief Justice and other judges of the Supreme
Court on the advice of the Union Cabinet.
- The President consults such judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts as he
may deem fit in appointing the Chief Justice.
- A Nine Judge bench of the Supreme Court recently has laid down that the senior most
Judge of the Supreme Court considered fit to the hold the office should be appointed.
The President consults the CJI, Law Ministry and other judges as he may deem fit.
- A formal proposal for filling up a vacancy in the judges of the Supreme Court is
initiated by the CJI by recommending the name of person considered suitable by him to
the Union Minister for Law and Justice. If the minister complies with the
recommendation, he forwards the proposal to the union cabinet headed by the Prime
Minister.
- If the union cabinet approves the proposals, the Prime Minister advises the President to
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 issue a formal warrant of appointment.
- Whenever there arises a vacancy in the office of the CJI due to resignation, incapacity,
or any other reason, the President appoint one of the senior judges as the acting Chief
Judge (Article126).
- The President has authority to appoint ad-hoc judges when there is no quorum of
judges for holding or continuing any session of the Supreme Court (Article 127)
- The President can also appoint retired judges on temporary basis on the written request
of the CJI (Article 128).
- All the ad-hoc and retired judges enjoy the same position and powers like that of other
judges.
- A person to be appointed as judge of the Supreme Court shall possess the following
qualifications besides Indian citizenship.
Qualification

1. He shall have continuously worked as a judge in one or more High Courts for a
period of five years or
2. He shall have continuously worked as an advocate of one or more high courts for at
least ten years, or
3. He shall have been a distinguished jurist in the opinion of the President.
Tenure
- Constitution has not prescribed minimum age for the appointment or fixed tenure
for the judges of the Supreme Court
- Once appointed, the CJI and other jugs shall continue in their office up to the attainment
of 65years of age
Emoluments/Allowances
- The CJI and the judges of the Supreme Court draw their salaries and
allowances as determined by an Act of Parliament from time to time.
- At present the CJI draws a monthly salary of 2.8 lakhs while other judges draw 2.5 lakhs.
- Besides, they are entitled such allowances, privileges and rights as determined
by the Parliament.
- The salaries and allowances of the Judges cannot be changed to their disadvantages after
their appointment.
Removal of CJI and Judges

- The CJI and other Judges of the Supreme Court cannot be removed under normal
conditions. However they can be removed by the President under special circumstances
basing on the acceptance of impeachment resolution by the parliament.
- The CJI and other judges can be removed only on the grounds of i) proved misbehavior and
ii) Incapacity. Impeachment of judges is a prolonged and complex process. So no single
judge in India has been removed by the President so far.

Powers and Functions of the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court of India has original, appellate and advisory powers. It acts as the court of
record. Besides, it has some other powers such as review of judgments, judicial review etc.

1. Original Jurisdiction (Article 131)

- Original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court is purely of federal nature.
- This power is confined to disputes between a) the Government of India and any state in
India
b) the Government of India and any state or states one side and other states on the other side
c) two or more states
- This power is exclusively belongs to the Supreme Court and no other court in India is
empowered entertain any such suit. However, disputes arising out of any treaty,
agreement, covenant, engagement etc, do not come under this jurisdiction unless
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 referred to it by the President for advisory opinion.
- Until 1961, no suit of original jurisdiction was decided by the Supreme Court. In 1961
the Supreme Court under this power heard the suit been the west Bengal Government
and Union Government in the issue of coal mining areas (Acquisition and development)
Act, 1957.
- The Supreme Court can directly hear the disputes concerning the election of the
President and the Vice-President
2. Appellate Jurisdiction
The Supreme Court is the highest court of appeal in India. Its appellate jurisdiction
may be divided into three heads-
i) Cases involving interpretation of constitution ii) Civil cases and iii) Criminal cases
i) The Supreme Court hears cases involving a substantial question of law as the
interpretation of the constitution. It requires the certificate of the High Court for hearing
such a case. Sometimes the Supreme court can take up the appeal if it is satisfied that the
case involves the interpretation of the Constitution
ii) In Civil cases where no constitutional question is involved, the Supreme Court
hears appeals on the basis of a certificate of the High Court. Such cases, in the
opinion of High Court, involve a) a substantial question of law and b) the decision of
the Supreme Court.
iii) In criminal mattes the Supreme Court hears appeals from any judgment, whether
they are in the form of final order or sentence of the High Court. It hears two specified
cases namely-
a) where the High court has on an appeal reversed an order of acquittal of an accused
and sentenced him to death and
b) where the High Court has tried the appeals from any of its subordinate courts
convicted the accused and sentenced him to death.
- The Supreme Court also hears appeals by special leave on any judgment of the High
Court then the latter certifies that the case of fit for hearing by the Supreme Court.
Besides, the Supreme Court as per Article 136 hears appeals over the cases that
remain outside the purview of the ordinary law.
- Supreme Court hears appeals concerning 45 categories. Individuals may make
appeal to the Supreme Court on some matters like divorce under mutual consent,
child custody, adoption, protection of minor children etc.
3. Advisory functions

- Supreme Court renders advice on any question law fact of public importance then
referred to it by the President. It offers its opinion to the President on the disputes
concerning pre- constitution treaties and agreements which are excluded by Article 131
4. Court of Record
- Supreme Court acts as the court of record. Its judgments and judicial proceedings are
kept further verification and reference. It shall be treated as a model and guide to all
other courts in the country.
- As a court of record, the Supreme Court has every power to punish those who are
adjudged guilty of contempt of court. For instance the Supreme Court imposed one day
sentence and Rs 2000/- fine to Kalyan Singh, UP Chief Minister in Babri Masjid
demolition case.
- Its judgments shall be respected and implemented by the judicial personnel,
advocates and people at large in the country.
5. Judicial Review

- Though the term ‘Judicial Review’ was not mentioned in our constitution, the makers
of our constitution enabled the Supreme court to exercise the power of judicial review
in determining the constitutional validity of Acts and actions of the union and state
legislative and executive bodies in India.
- The Supreme Court has the solemn responsibility of a) interpreting the constitutional
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 provisions, b) safeguarding the constitutional values and c) acting as an umpire
between the Union and the states in India.
- Accordingly, the Supreme Court declares all those enactments of the legislature or
decisions of the executive as unconstitutional or ultra-virus when they go against the
provisions of the constitution.
- The Supreme Court for the first time utilized this power in 1950 itself by declaring
some sections of the Preventive detention Acts unconstitutional
6. Review of Judgments

- The Supreme Court is empowered to review its own judgments.

- It can uphold, modify or nullify its previous judgments. For instance it, while
pronouncing its judgment in Golaknath vs Punjab State case in 1967, declared that the
Parliament has no power to amend any of the provisions of the Fundamental Rights of
Indian citizens.
- It, however, reversed this judgment in 1973 in the context of Keshavananda Bharati
case. It affirmed that the Parliament has authority to change any of the provisions of the
constitution including the fundamental rights.
- The Supreme Court had recently expressed that its judgments will be reconsidered
on rare occasions as it was its moral duty to rectify the errors in its earlier judgments.
7. Other Functions
1. The Supreme Court acts as the custodian of the fundamental rights of Indian citizens.
2. It hears appeals on several cases which involves the interpretation of appeals
concerning the Representation of people’s Act (1951), Monopolies and restrictive
trade Practices Act (1970), Advocates Act, Contempt of Court of Acts, POTA (2002)
3. It formulates rules necessary for the proper maintenance of records and also for the
purpose of practice by the advocates in the country
4. The CJI of the Supreme Court acts as the President or a temporary period under
certain special circumstances.
Judicial Review
- Judicial Review is adopted from the American constitution keeping in mind the written
nature of the Indian constitution.
- Judicial Review is the power of the judiciary to review the legislative enactments and
executive actions and to declare them null and void if found repugnant to the provisions
of the Constitution.
- Whenever the organs of government transgress their authority, judicial review is
applied by the higher courts to check them and maintain the balance enshrined in the
constitution.
- Article 13 of Indian constitution states that laws which are inconsistent with
Fundamental Rights are void by the power of judicial review
- Articles 32, 131, 143, 146 and 226 explicitly support the doctrine of judicial review.
- Accordingly the Supreme Court’s power o judicial review extends the i) laws passed by
- the union and state legislatures, ii) decisions of the public sector organizations
iii) Executive actions of the union and the states and iv) constitutional amendments.
Criticism on Judicial Review

1. Judicial review has undermined the position of the parliament

2. The judges do not always decide the cases strictly accordance with the laws.
Often the decisions are influenced by their political views and ideologies
3. Judicial review has created friction among the various organs of the government.

Judicial Review played an important role in ensuring constitutional governance in the country by
keeping the Centre and the states within their respective spheres. It ensured freedom to the
citizens by protecting their fundamental rights against the undue encroachment by the legislativeand
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executive authorities.

Judicial Activism
- Judicial activism occurs due to the non-functioning of other governmental organs.
- Naturally the higher courts compel the governmental authorities to discharge their
duties according to the constitution. Courts themselves have taken up cases on the
basis of media reports.
- But mostly cases of judicial activism have occurred through PIL in the sphere of
public health, child labor, environment and corruption etc.
- Judicial activism has been a technique to prevent legislative tardiness and
executive despotism
Environment

- The Supreme Court has also initiated strict enforcement of environment laws leading
to the closure of large number of industries. N Delhi, about 39,000 industries in
residential areas were relocated
Health

- The Supreme Court declared in 1995 that health is the basic right of the people.
By its decision, medical practitioners were brought under consumer acts.
- In 2001, the Supreme Court held that right of access to clean drinking water is
fundamental to human life and it is the duty of the state to provided clean drinking water
facilities to the citizens.

Political Corruption

- Judicial activism has been at its peak in exposing political corruption. Supreme Court
imposed a fine of Rs 50 lakhs on Satish Sharma, a former petroleum minister for the
illegal land arbitrary allotment of 15 petrol pumps from discretionary quota.
- In 2003, the Supreme Court directed the CBI to file FIR’s against they then former UP
CM Mayawati and environment minister Nasimiddin Siddique and six senior bureaucrats
in the Rs175 crore Taj heritage corridor scandal
Position of Supreme Court
- It acts as the highest court of justice and appeal in India. It enjoys vast powers and
performs various functions in safeguarding the constitutional values, democratic norms
and fundamental rights of the citizens.
- It plays a decisive role in restraining the unconstitutional acts of the
legislatures and tyrannical policies of the executive bodies in India
- Its judgments vary from pointing out the mistakes of the legislators and from
environmental protection to the educational and economic interest of the street children.
- It serves as the foremost protector of the freedom of press and the rights of
minorities and oppressed sections in the country.
- It, by directing the Election Commission and other organization concerned, tried to
restrict the entry of criminals into the legislative and executive branches.
- The active functioning of Lok Adalats, fast-track courts and the adoption of electronic
system in updating the information on Supreme Court routine etc has reposed the public
confidence on the efficient functioning of the Supreme Court

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