has inherited almost all its jurisdiction, as well as added more
powers. It also has the widest possible judicial jurisdiction.
The framers of the Constitution understood that the supremacy of law
is the only security for the maintenance of justice between human
beings; it is also the only security for the disciplined and orderly
growth of democracy. It was with this in mind that they assigned to
the Supreme Court a pivotal role. This role gave it the highest
authority and widest possible scope to vindicate the supremacy of law.
The Supreme Court was inaugurated on 28th January, 1950. It has
(i) exclusive jurisdiction in disputes between the Union and a unit or
between one unit and another (Article 131 of the Constitution);
(ii) exclusive jurisdiction with respect to matters arising out of
territories in India (Article 131 of the Constitution);
(iii) jurisdiction in respect of such other matters within the
competence of the Union as the Parliament may prescribe (Article
138);
(iv) jurisdiction for the purpose of enforcement of fundamental rights
guaranteed by the constitution (Article 32);
(v) general appellate jurisdiction similar to that which was enjoyed
by the Privy Council (Articles 132 and 133 of the Constitution);
(vi) special jurisdiction (similar to the prerogative of the Crown) to
entertain by special leave, appeals from any judgement, decree,
determination, sentence or order in any cause or matter passed or made
by any court or tribunal in the territory of India (Article 136);
(vii) advisory jurisdiction to hear reference from the President on
any question of law or facts (Article 143);
(viii) special jurisdiction to decide disputes relating to the
election of the President and the Vice-President of India (Article 71
of the Constitution of India and Presidential and Vice –Presidential
Elections Act, 1952), and to enquire into the misconduct of the
Chairman and the members of the Union Public Service
Commission.(Article 371).
With the setting up of the Supreme
Court there was, for the first time, a regular criminal appellate
jurisdiction to decide criminal appeals in a limited class of cases
(Article 134- the Privy Council exercised such jurisdiction only under
the prerogative of the crown by entertaining matters by special
leave).
In addition to the
Judicial independence it exercises, the Supreme Court has freedom from
administrative dependence. Certain special provisions have been made
in the Constitution, and the Chief Justice, by virtue of Article 146,
has been given the power to appoint the staff of the court, to lay
down the conditions of service of the said staff (without reference to
any outside authority except in regard to pension, salary and
allowances and leave, where consultation with the President is
stipulated) with a view to avoiding any inconsistency in the pay
structure of the staff of the Supreme Court and that of the
corresponding classes of other government servants. In order to avoid
parliamentary control over the expenses of the Supreme Court provision
has been made that the administrative expenses of the court be charged
to the consolidated fund of India. Parliament has control over judges
by way of the impeachment only.
The Supreme Court consists of one Chief Justice and 30
associate judges. The salary and perquisites of the Chief Justice of
India and puisne justices of the Supreme Court are fixed by the
constitution.
The Supreme Court of India has the original, appellate and
advisory jurisdictions. The original jurisdiction is used rarely,
though there are a few cases where it has been invoked and exercised.
There is another important jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, namely
entertainment of writs under Article 32 for the protection of
fundamental rights. This power has been widely exercised and its scope
was further enlarged recently by entertaining a type of litigation
commonly known as Public Interest Litigation.
The primary task of the Supreme Court is appellate. In
that capacity it serves as final arbiter in the construction of the
Constitutional provisions and it provides uniform interpretation of
law. It has complete power to do so. It can change its mind from case
to case. However, it attempts to adhere to precedent known as state
decisis. Under the stare decisis rule, a principle of law which has
been settled by a series of decisions, is generally binding on the
courts and should be followed in similar cases.
Appeals come to the Supreme Court from various
sources, that is, from High Courts and Tribunals, Special Tribunals,
etc.. However, Article 136 empowers the Supreme Court to entertain
special leave petitions from any order or judgement of any court,
tribunal or authority.
Once a decision is given, it becomes final; but
the Supreme Court does have the power to review its own decisions. The
procedure is provided in Order XL of the Supreme Court Rules, 1966.
Though the review is seldom granted, there are people who persist in
demanding one but they rarely, if ever succeed unless the review
petition serves to convince the judges who have passed the judgement
that they were wrong and the case merits the review.
By Article 141 of the Constitution of India the framers of the
Constitution has provided that " the law declared by the Supreme Court
shall be binding on all courts within the territory of India."
Article 141 has effect in addition to investing the decision of the
Supreme Court with binding force of creating a constitutional organ
whose declaration of law pronounced ex-cathedra shall be bindings on
all courts in the Republic. Under this Article it is necessary that a
pronouncement of the Supreme Court should be part of the ratio
decidendi ( reason or principle for deciding any particular issue or
issues) any judgement. The obiter dictum (statements or observations
not necessary for the decision) or a mere enunciation of law also
amounts to declaration of law under Article 141.
All proceedings in the Supreme Court are
conducted in English. English translations of all the documents are
required to be submitted. The Supreme Court has made rules regarding
translation of the documents to be relied upon in any proceedings
before the court. The seat of the Supreme Court is Delhi and the
proceedings are open to the public. Except for the Chamber judge who
sits singly, all matters are heard by benches of two or more judges.
Constitutional matters are heard by five judges and, in special cases,
larger benches consisting of more than five judges are constituted.
0 comments: