ICSE students should refer to The Judiciary ICSE Class 10 Civics notes provided below. These revision notes have been prepared based on the latest ICSE Class 10 Civics Books for the current academic year. Revising notes prior to the exams is really important to get excellent marks in Civics Class 10 exams. Also, refer to ICSE Class 10 Civics solutions to understand all chapters properly.
ICSE Class 10 History and Civics The Judiciary
Students can refer to the quick revision notes prepared for Chapter The Judiciary in Class 10 ICSE. These notes will be really helpful for the students giving the History and Civics exam in ICSE Class 10. Our teachers have prepared these concept notes based on the latest ICSE syllabus and ICSE books issued for the current academic year.
The Judiciary ICSE Class 10 History
Please refer to the detailed notes below
Flow chart
Know the terms
➢ Judiciary – An institution empowered to administer justice and provide a mechanism for the resolution of legal disputes. All courts in the country collectively are called the Judiciary.
➢ Jurisdiction – Territorial limits within which court’s authority may be exercised.
➢ Original Jurisdiction – When a dispute is put before the court for the first time it is under its original jurisdiction.
➢ Advisory Jurisdiction – Jurisdiction of a court when matter is referred to the judiciary for its opinion over it.
➢ Revisionary Jurisdiction – Power of higher court to withdraw cases from subordinate courts for its consideration.
➢ Independence of Judiciary – The judges of courts function free from the influence or interference of either the executives or the legislature.
➢ Writ – A formal document containing an order of the court to the government issued only by the High Court or by the Supreme Court.
➢ Administrative Tribunal – When cases against the government officials regarding their service conditions, punishment and removal from office are brought before some special tribunals they are called Administrative Tribunal.
➢ Appellate Jurisdiction – Jurisdiction of a court when matter is referred to the judiciary for its opinion over it.
➢ Civil Courts – Cases related to disputes over transfer and partition of property or partnership agreements etc. are heard by Civil Courts.
➢ Lok Adalat – It means people’s court. It is not a part of judiciary. A Lok Adalat consists of Judges; legal experts. Cases to be taken up are notified to the public. Those cases are taken up which are already pending in the courts. Publicity of the holding of Lok Adalat is given through the press.
➢ Court of Record – Decisions of the court are kept as precedents for future reference.
➢ Judicial Review – Power of the court to interpret the Constitution and determine the validity of a law passed by legislature or an act of the Executive.
TOPIC-1
The Supreme Court
Quick review
1. The Supreme Court is the apex court or the highest court of appeal in India.
2. At present there are 25 Judges and the Chief Justice of India. It is the Parliament which can increase the number of Judges in Supreme Court.
3. A person is eligible to be appointed as the judge of the Supreme Court if :
(i) He/She is a citizen of India.
(ii) He/She has been for at least five years a Judge of a High Court or of two or more such courts in succession, or has been for at least 10 years an advocate of a High court or two or more such Courts in succession or he/she should be a distinguished Jurist in the opinion of the President.
4. The Chief Justice of India is appointed by the President of India after consulting Judges of the Supreme Court and of the High Courts, he/she deems fit usually, the senior most Judge of the Supreme Court is appointed as the Chief Justice of India.
5. The Judges of the Supreme Court is appointed by the President after consultation with the Chief Justice and such other Judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts as he deems necessary. All Judges have to take the oath to uphold the Indian Constitution. The Supreme Court Judges retire at the age of 65.
6. The Supreme Court Judge can be removed by the President if found guilty of any misconduct, incapacity, acting against the Constitution or misusing his power.
A Judge is removed, if both the Houses of the Parliament by an actual majority which is not less than 2/3 members present and voting, send an address of memorandum to the President to do so.
7. In order to ensure that the Judges can function without any undue pressure, the Constitution has ensured the independence of the judiciary in the following ways.
(i) Though the Judges are appointed by the President, he/she has to consult the senior Judges.
(ii) The salaries and perks of the Judges cannot be changed to their disadvantage unless there is a Financial Emergency.
(iii) The Judges have complete freedom to announce their decisions and discuss in the Court Chambers.
The Parliament cannot discuss either the judgement given by the Supreme Court Judge or his conduct. His conduct can only be discussed, if a motion to remove the Judge has been introduced.
(iv) The Supreme Court can punish for the contempt of Court if a person/authority makes an attempt to lower its authority and dignity.
(v) The Judges of the Supreme Court cannot practice in any Indian Court after retirement.
8. Jurisdiction and Powers of the Supreme Court :
(a) Original Jurisdiction – It refers to the power to hear and determine a dispute in the first instance. Exclusive original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court extends to the following cases.
Any dispute between :
(i) Government of India and one or more states.
(ii) Government of India and one or more states on one side and one or more states on the other.
(iii) Two or more states.
(iv) Enforcement of the Fundamental Rights.
(b) Appellate Jurisdiction – The appellate Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court extends to the Constitution, civil and criminal cases three types of appeals can be made to the Supreme Court.
(i) Constitutional Case – An appeal can move to the Supreme Court against the High Court’s decisions about the interpretation of the Constitution.
(ii) Civil Cases – Appeals in civil matters lie to the Supreme Court if the High Court certifies either that the case involves a substantial question of law of general importance or that the question needs to be decided by the Supreme Court.
(iii) Criminal Cases – An appeal to the Supreme Court with a certificate to the High Court or without a certificate of the High Court.
• Where the High Court reverses order of acquittal issued by the Sessions Court and sentence an accused to death.
• Where the High Court withdraws a criminal case from a Lower Court, convicts the accused person and sentences him to death.
(c) The Supreme Court also has
(i) Advisory Jurisdiction – It has the power to advise the President whenever asked. However, this advice is not binding on the President.
(ii) Revisory Jurisdiction – The Supreme Court has the power to review its own judgment.
(iii) The Supreme Court has the power to transfer to itself or to any other High Court cases which are pending in a High Court if the Supreme Court feels that they are basically referring to save question of law.
(d) The Supreme Court is the guardian of the Constitution. The Supreme Court can declare law, execute orders or ordinances; decrees null and void, if found unconstitutional.
9. Writ Jurisdiction : The Constitution has constituted the Supreme Court as the guarantor and defender of the Fundamental Rights of the citizens. Five writs that the Supreme Court is entitled to issue under Article 32 for the enforcement of the Fundamental Rights.
(i) Writ of Habeas Corpus – It protects the personal liberty of an individual.
(ii) Writ of Mandamus – If a government officer or authority is not doing his/her duty and the Fundamental Rights of a citizen is violated the aggrieved person can approach the court for the issuance of the writ.
(iii) Writ of Prohibition – This writ is an order from a superior court to the lower court directing the Judge to cease litigation because the lower court does not have proper jurisdiction to hear the matter.
(iv) Writ of Quo-Warranto – This writ stops an unqualified person from holding a public officer.
(v) Writ of Certiorari – This writ orders the lower court to deliver its record in a case so that the higher court may review it.
10. Court of Record : The Supreme Court is a Court of Record as :
All decisions, judgments, proceedings, issued by the Supreme Court are duly printed, preserved and kept as records.
These judgements have a reference value.
They are not to be questioned on being produced before any court. The High Court and other lower courts are expected to decide cases in the light of judgement taken by the Supreme Court.
11. The Supreme Court administratively controls itself and the High Courts. It can frame rules and laws to be followed in the courts.
12. It decides the fees to be charged for different procedures. It checks the conduct of lawyers appearing before it.
TOPIC-2 The High Court and Subordinate Courts
Quick Review
1. The Constitution of India provides a High Court for each State.
2. At present there are 24 High Courts in India. The High Courts are the highest grade of the judicial system in the State. There are some High Courts which have jurisdiction over more than one State i.e. Guwahati High Court,
Punjab and Haryana High Court etc.
3. Each High Court consists of a Chief Justice and other judges whose number may be fixed from time to time by the Parliament.
4. The Chief Justice of a High Court is appointed by the President in consultation with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and the Governor of the concerned state. While appointing other judges, the President consults the Chief Justice of India, Governor of the State and the Chief Justice of that High Court.
5. To be appointed as a Judge of a High Court a person.
(i) Should be a citizen of India.
(ii) Should not be above 62 years of age.
(iii) Has held a judicial office within the Indian territory for at least 10 years.
or has been an advocate of a High Court (or High Court in succession) for at least 10 years.
6. A High Court Judge continues in office till the age of 62. He/She can be removed from his office on ‘proved misbehaviour or in capacity, The procedure of removal of the judge is the same as the Supreme Court Judge.
7. The Judge of the High Court after retirement can only practice in the Supreme Court; the other High Courts; where he has not served as a judge. This ensures that they do not favour anyone in the hope of future favour.
8. Powers and Jurisdiction :
The jurisdiction of a High Court extends to the territorial Courts of the States. The powers and jurisdiction of the High Court are following :
(a) Original Jurisdiction – Original jurisdiction of a High Court extends to those cases which can be directly heard and decided by the High Court in the first instance without having been heard in the lowers courts.
Original jurisdiction of a High Court extends over :
(i) Power to issue writs for the enforcement of the Fundamental Rights.
(ii) Cases related to marriage, divorce, wills, contempt of court, etc.
(iii) State revenue and its collection.
(b) Appellate Jurisdiction – The jurisdiction of the High Court extends to all cases under the state or federal laws.
(i) High Court can hear appeals against the judgment of the Subordinate Courts.
(ii) High Court can hear appeals in all types of civil and criminal cases from the lower courts.
(iii) In civil cases, High Courts hear appeals against the decision of the district judges.
(iv) High Court appeal in cases involving land revenue or its collection as well as the decision of Tribunals.
(vi) In criminals cases it can hear appeal made against the Judgment of Session Judge and Additional Session Judges.
(vii) Judgments of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate.
(c) Advisory Jurisdiction –
The High Court can advice any government, department, legislature or the governor any matter concerning constitutional law or other matters of law.
(d) Supervisory Jurisdiction
● A High Court has the power of superintendence over all courts tribunals (except Military Courts) functioning within its jurisdiction.
● The High Court can ask for the record or detailed reports on the working of all the lower courts. It can frame rules of procedure to regulate the lower courts. If can amend exiting rules to regulate the proceedings of the lower courts.
● If can make arrangements for maintenance of accounts, entries of records, etc.
(e) Administrative Powers
● A High Court has the power in matters of appointment promotion, posting etc., concerning the lower courts.
● It can transfer a case from a lower court to another, lying within the territory of its jurisdiction.
(f) Revisionary Functions
● It can withdraw cases from lower courts for its consideration.
● It may look into the case and do the following:
● dispose of the case itself.
● may give comments on the case.
● may return the case with a copy of its comments on question of law.
● the lower court may dispose the case keeping the view point of the High Court.
(g) Judicial Review – If any law, order or ordinance passed by the State Legislature or any other authority goes against the provisions of the Indian Constitution or violates the Fundamental Rights of citizens, it can be declared null and void by the High Court.
(h) Court of Record Like the Supreme Court, the High Court decisions, judgments and proceedings are kept as record for evidence and reference in future.
(i) Power to Issue Writs
● All the High Courts are empowered to issue writs in cases related to enforcement of the Fundamental Rights.
● Writs are to be issued in the following cases :
(i) When a subordinate tribunal acts without proper jurisdiction.
(ii) When principles of natural justice are violated.
(iii) When there is an error of judgment resulting in injustice.
9. Independence of the High Court :
Besides ensuring the Judges of High Courts the security of tenure and allowances, there are other measures which ensure the independence of the High Courts:
(i) Full control over its procedure of work and establishment.
(ii) The High Court can punish a person for contempt of court, if its authority is lowered.
(iii) No discussion can be taken in the State Legislature on the conduct of the High Court Judges.
(iv) Prohibition on practice after retirement of judges.
Subordinate Courts
1. All courts below the High Court in a State are called Subordinate Courts. These courts functions under the complete control and supervision of the High Court.
2. For judicial administration purpose, every state is divided into a number of districts, each under the jurisdiction of a District Judge.
3. Every district has Civil Courts, Criminal Courts and Courts of Revenue.
4. Civil Court : Civil Courts exercise jurisdiction in the cases related to land, property and money transactions, arbitration, guardianship, marriage, divorce and cases involving a will etc. These courts are graded in the following manner :
(i) Court of District Judge is the highest court of the district. It decides both civil and criminal cases. When a judge decides civil cases, he/she is called as District Judge and when he/she decides criminal cases, he/she is called Session Judge.
(ii) Court of Civil Judge
(iii) Munsif’s Court
5. The District Judges are appointed by the Governor in consultation with the Judges of the High Court of the concerned State. All other judges are appointed through competitive examinations held by State Public Service Commission.
6. The District Judges exercise administrative control over all Civil Courts in the district. 7. Criminal Court : It exercises jurisdiction in cases related to murder, robbery, theft, assault, etc. Criminal courts are broadly classified as :
(i) Sessions Court is the highest criminal court of the district. It can award sentence up to life imprisonment or death sentence. But it is mandatory, that a death sentence must be confirmed by the High Court before its execution irrespective of whether and appeal is made to the High Court or not.
Below the Sessions Court, there is a graded system of judiciary conferring criminal cases.
(ii) Court of first Class Magistrate can award a punishment of imprisonment up to three years or a fine of ` 25,000/- of both.
(iii) Court of Second Class Magistrate can imposes a fine up to ` 1,000/- or imprisonment up to one year or both.
(iv) At the lowest level of both civil and criminal courts stands the Nyaya Panchayat which can try only petty cases and impose a fine of ` 500.
8. Courts of Revenue deal with assessment, collection and keeping of land records dealing with land revenue and property tax.
(i) The Board of Revenue at the district level works under the guidance of the High Court and hears appeals from the lower revenue courts.
(ii) The Commissioner’s Court is below these mainly deals with revenue assessment and its collection in its area.
(iii) The lowest grade of revenue court is the Tehsildar’s Court which deals mainly with cases about the assessment and collection of land revenue.
Lok Adalat
9. Lok Adalats : ‘People’s Courts’ try and bring around settlement through negotiations and compromise.
10. The cases are settle informally and cordially with the involvement of conflicting parties. Lok Adalats solve the cases, which are yet to go to any court.
11. The judges of these courts are actually counsellors. The judges explain legal points in a cordial atmosphere so that the outcome is arrived at without bitterness.
12. The advantages of Lok Adalat are as following :
(i) These Adalats work in the spirit of compromise and understanding, which results into both party’s satisfaction.
(ii) These courts deliver fast and inexpensive justice. Any person can move to the Lok Adalat by an application on a plain paper in a prescribed format.
(iii) Lok Adalat reduce workload of other courts enabling them to deal with more serious matters.
