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67-577: The Supreme Court of India ( ISO : Bhārata kā Sarvōcca Nyāyālaya ) is the supreme judicial authority and the highest court of the Republic of India . It is the final court of appeal for all civil and criminal cases in India. It also has the power of judicial review . The Supreme Court, which consists of the Chief Justice of India and a maximum of fellow 33 judges, has extensive powers in

134-463: A Parsi minority community became the Chief Justice of India. In 2017, Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar became the first Sikh Chief Justice of India. Justice Indu Malhotra is the first and only woman judge to be selected directly from the bar. The Constitution seeks to ensure the independence of Supreme Court judges in various ways. Per Article 50 of directive principles of state policy ,

201-567: A division bench )—coming together in larger benches of five or more (referred to as a constitution bench ) when required to settle fundamental questions of law. A bench may refer a case before it to a larger bench, should the need arise. The largest-ever bench at the Supreme Court of India has been constituted in 1973 in Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala . A bench of 13 judges was set up to decide whether Parliament had

268-551: A full bench of the Supreme Court sat together to hear the cases presented before them. As the work of the Court increased and cases began to accumulate, Parliament increased the number of judges (including the Chief Justice) from the original 8 in 1950 to 11 in 1956, 14 in 1960, 18 in 1978, 26 in 1986, 31 in 2009, to 34 in 2019. As the number of the judges has increased, they sit in smaller benches of two or three (referred to as

335-487: A black bronze sculpture of 210 cm (6 ft 11 in) height was installed in the lawn of the Supreme Court. The sculpture was made by the renowned artist Chintamoni Kar . The statue, as per its sculptor Kar, reproduces ‘‘ 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 account states that it represents

402-426: A judicial committee would be formed to frame charges against the judge, to conduct the fair trial and to submit its report to parliament. When the judicial committee report finds the judge guilty of misbehaviour or incapacity, further removal proceedings would be taken up by Parliament if the judge is not resigning himself. The judge upon proven guilty is also liable for punishment per applicable laws or for contempt of

469-471: A party in the court. Those advocates who are designated as 'senior advocates' by the Supreme Court or any of the high courts can appear for clients along with an advocate-on-record. Any other advocate can appear for a party along with or under instructions from an advocate-on-record. Initially, the Constitution of India provided for a Supreme Court with a chief justice and 7 judges. In the early years,

536-411: A permanent secretariat to help the collegium sift through material on potential candidates, infusing more transparency into the selection process, grievance redressal and any other suggestion not in these four categories, like transfer of judges. This resulted in the court asking the government and the collegium to finalize the memorandum of procedure incorporating the above. In 2009, a challenge arose in

603-437: A thorough consultation occurred within the collegium to form this opinion, the content or material considered in shaping the opinion was not subject to scrutiny in a court of law. Judges of the Supreme Court in India currently conclude their service upon reaching the age of 65. Nevertheless, there have been proposals put forth by Supreme Court judges advocating for the implementation of a predetermined tenure for judges, including

670-422: A ‘‘dispensation of equal justice to all’’. The black bronze sculpture has been placed at the center of the park on the lawn of the Court just behind the statue of Mahatma Gandhi, which is in front of the staircase of the Supreme Court building in the front lawn. The statue, when it was being put in the Court premises, led to protests by advocates of the Court in 1978 and a demand was made for its removal. A memorandum

737-538: Is also referred as the wheel of righteousness, encompassing truth, goodness and equity . On 1 September 2024, the Supreme Court unveiled a flag for the Court's use, combining elements of the seal and the Court's architecture. The flag is a deep blue colour and depicts the Ashoka Chakra set above the rotunda of the Court. The flag also features the Constitution of India. The flag was inaugurated by President of India Droupadi Murmu on September 1, 2024, commemorating

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804-645: Is an international standard on the romanization of many Brahmic scripts , which was agreed upon in 2001 by a network of the national standards institutes of 157 countries. However, the Hunterian transliteration system is the "national system of romanization in India " and a United Nations expert group noted about ISO 15919 that "there is no evidence of the use of the system either in India or in international cartographic products." Another standard, United Nations Romanization Systems for Geographical Names (UNRSGN),

871-941: Is concerned. The attorney general also represent the Government of India in any reference made by the President to the Supreme Court under Article 143 of the Constitution . Unlike the Attorney General of the United States , the Attorney General of India has no executive authority. Those functions are performed by the Law Minister of India . Also the AG is not a government servant and is not debarred from private legal practice. The Attorney General

938-545: Is constantly changing’. Later on, though the advocates submitted an apology memorandum after they got to know that the maquette was made in the year 1969. The design of the Court's seal is reproduced from the wheel that appears on the Sarnath Lion capital of Ashoka with 24 spokes. The inscription in Sanskrit , " यतो धर्मस्ततो जयः " ( IAST : Yato Dharmastato Jayaḥ ,) means "whence justice (dharma), thence victory". It

1005-536: Is no standard keyboard layout for ISO 15919 input but many systems provide a way to select Unicode characters visually. ISO/IEC 14755 refers to this as a screen-selection entry method . Attorney General of India The Attorney General for India ( ISO : Bhārata Ke Mahānyāyavādī ) is the chief legal advisor of the Government of India . The Attorney General is appointed by the President of India at

1072-484: Is permitted to receive briefs; however, they are precluded from advocating against the government. Moreover, the Attorney General is restricted from representing an accused party in criminal proceedings and assuming a directorial role in a company without the explicit consent of the government. The attorney general is assisted by the Solicitor General and Additional Solicitors General . The attorney general

1139-520: Is the official journal of reportable Supreme Court decisions. It is published under the authority of the Supreme Court of India by the Controller of Publications, Government of India, Delhi. In addition, there are many other reputed private journals that report Supreme Court decisions. Some of these other important journals are: SCR (The Supreme Court Reports), SCC (Supreme Court Cases), AIR (All India Reporter), SCALE, etc. ISO 15919 ISO 15919

1206-601: Is to be consulted only in legal matters of real importance and only after the Ministry of Law has been consulted. All references to the attorney general are made by the Law Ministry. Fee and allowances payable to the law officers (including Attorney General of India, Solicitor General of India and the Additional Solicitors General) of the Government of India are as under: In addition to

1273-438: The Attorney General of India and other law officers and the library of the court. The Left Wing has the offices of the court. In all, there are 15 courtrooms in the various wings of the building. 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

1340-548: The Basic structure doctrine that it developed in the 1960s and 1970s. It is required to safeguard the fundamental rights of citizens and settles 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

1407-545: The Code of Civil Procedure . 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. The Supreme Court performed an unprecedented action when it directed a sitting Minister of State in Maharashtra government , Swaroop Singh Naik, to be jailed for 1-month on a charge of contempt of court on 12 May 2006. Article 145 of

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1474-728: The Federal Court of India and the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council , which were then at the apex of the Indian court system. The first proceedings and inauguration, however, took place on 28 January 1950 at 9:45 am, when the judges took their seats; which is thus regarded as the official date of establishment. The Supreme Court initially had its seat at the Chamber of Princes in the parliament building where

1541-401: The transliteration of Sanskrit rather than the transcription of Brahmic scripts. As a notable difference, both international standards, ISO 15919 and UNRSGN transliterate anusvara as ṁ , while ALA-LC and IAST use ṃ for it. However, ISO 15919 provides guidance towards disambiguating between various anusvara situations (such as labial versus dental nasalizations), which is described in

1608-543: The 75th anniversary of supreme court. The registry of the Supreme Court is headed by the Secretary-General, who is currently assisted by 10 registrars, several additional and deputy registrars, etc. Article 146 of the Constitution deals with the appointments of officers and servants of the Supreme Court registry. Supreme Court Rules, 2013 entitle only those advocates who are registered with the Supreme Court, called advocates-on-record to appear, act and plead for

1675-495: The AG tenures, it has been felt that the attorney general has gone too far. Niren De during Indira Gandhi replied to a question by Hans Raj Khanna stating that even the right to life can be suspended during emergency. Similarly, in 2005, when the UPA government was planning a possible coalition with Mayawati, Milon K. Banerjee 's opinion absolving Mayawati in the Taj corridor case

1742-483: The Attorney General to submit their resignation upon the inception of a new government. As the appointee of the government, the Attorney General serves as its advocate, implying a lack of complete neutrality. Nevertheless, holding a constitutional mandate, the Attorney General's viewpoints are subject to public scrutiny. Nonetheless, instances have arisen where the Attorney General's positions appear to have been notably influenced by political considerations. During some of

1809-470: The Attorney General's position". During the UPA-II government (2009–2014), the conduct of Attorney General Goolam Vahanvati was criticised in a number of cases. In 2G spectrum case , he became the first attorney general in India's history who had to testify as a witness in a corruption case in a trial court. In late April 2013, in coal-gate scandal, Vahanvati was accused of misrepresenting facts in

1876-499: The Chief Justice of India (CJI) is designated to preside over all special leave petitions (SLPs) and cases concerning public interest, social justice, elections, arbitration, criminal matters, and more. Other members of the collegium or senior judges are tasked with hearing cases related to labour disputes, taxation, compensation, consumer protection, maritime law, mortgage, personal law, family law, land acquisition, service, company matters, and other relevant areas. Supreme Court Reports

1943-424: The Chief Justice of India. Article 125 of the Indian constitution leaves it to the Indian parliament to determine the salary, other allowances, leave of absence, pension, etc. of the Supreme Court judges. However, the parliament cannot alter any of these privileges rights to the judge's disadvantage after his/her appointment. A judge of the Supreme Court draws a salary of ₹ 250,000 (US$ 3,000) per month—equivalent to

2010-415: The Constitution by the executive, legislators, citizens, etc. It is acknowledged as one of the most autonomous judiciaries in the entirety of Southeast Asia. The main purpose of the Supreme Court is to decide constitutional issues. It is the duty of the judiciary to frame suo moto cases or to probe cases/petitions at the earliest against the executive or legislature when laws are implemented which violate

2077-406: The Constitution of India as by law established, that I will uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India, that I will duly and faithfully and to the best of my ability, knowledge and judgement perform the duties of my office without fear or favour, affection or ill-will and that I will uphold the Constitution and the laws. Article 124(4) of the constitution, President of India can remove a judge on

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2144-535: The Draft Constitution, in judgement, is very important. We have used it because our intention is even when there are circumstances which prevent the Government, or which stand in the way of the Government giving effect to these Directive Principles, they shall, even under hard and unpropitious circumstances, always strive in the fulfilment of these Directives. That is why we have used the word 'strive'. Otherwise, it would be open for any Government to say that

2211-503: The Indian 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, first in 1950, then in 1966, and most recently in 2013. From 5 February 2018 onwards, the Supreme Court adopted a fresh roster system for assigning cases to judges. According to this new arrangement,

2278-458: The Indian Constitution grants the Supreme Court the authority to reevaluate its own decisions. According to this article, the Supreme Court can review any judgment or order it has previously pronounced. This power is subject to any laws created by Parliament or rules established under Article 145. The Supreme Court holds the ability to invalidate parliamentary and governmental decisions if they violate fundamental features. Additionally, it can overturn

2345-462: The President may consider an individual as eligible for the role if they are deemed an eminent jurist. R. Venkataramani is the incumbent Attorney General for India. He succeeded to the office as the 16th Attorney General on 1 October 2022. His predecessor was K. K. Venugopal . The attorney general is necessary for advising the Government of India on legal matters referred to them. The attorney general also perform other legal duties assigned to by

2412-589: The President. Article 76 and 88 of the Constitution confer on the Attorney general the right of audience in all Courts in India as well as the right to participate in the proceedings of the Parliament , though not the right to vote. The attorney general appears on behalf of Government of India in all cases (including suits, appeals and other proceedings) in the Supreme Court in which Government of India

2479-456: The Supreme Court directly from the bar (i.e., who were practising advocates). The Supreme Court saw its first woman judge when Justice M. Fathima Beevi was sworn into office in 1989. In 1968, Justice Mohammad Hidayatullah became the first Muslim Chief Justice of India. In 2007, Justice K. G. Balakrishnan became the first judge as well as the Chief Justice of India from the dalit community. In 2010, Justice S. H. Kapadia coming from

2546-573: The Supreme Court is binding on all courts in the country. Presently, the Members of Collegium are: The building is shaped to symbolize scales of justice with its centre-beam being the Central Wing of the building, consisting of the Chief Justice's court, the largest of the courtrooms, with two court halls on either side. The Right Wing of the structure has the Bar, consisting of rooms, the offices of

2613-414: The Supreme Court regarding the recommendation for the appointment of a high court judge made by the collegium of that specific court. The court asserted that the eligibility to become a judge was a factual matter, open to questioning by any individual. On the contrary, the determination of who should become a judge was deemed a matter of opinion and was beyond questioning. The court emphasized that, as long as

2680-517: The Supreme Court, Arun Jaitley, also criticized the appointment of judges in government posts after their retirement. Jaitley famously said:"There are two kinds of judges - those who know the law and those who know the Law Minister. We are the only country in the world where judges appoint judges. Even though there is a retirement age, judges are not willing to retire. Pre-retirement judgements are influenced by post-retirement jobs." Article 137 of

2747-494: The above fee payable for cases, a retainer fee is paid to the attorney general of India, Solicitor General of India and the Additional Solicitors General at the rate of ₹50,000, ₹40,000 and ₹30,000 per month, respectively. Moreover, the attorney general of India is also paid a sumptuary allowance of Rs. 4,000 per month, except during the period of his leave. It has evolved into a customary practice for

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2814-494: The afternoon for 28 days per month. The emblem of the Supreme Court represents the Lion capital of Ashoka at Sarnath , with a topmost wheel featuring 32 spokes. The Supreme Court of India was constituted as per Chapter IV of Part V of the Constitution of India. The fourth Chapter of the Indian Constitution is " The Union Judiciary". Under this Chapter, the Supreme Court of India is vested with all Jurisdiction. The law declared by

2881-717: The basic foundation and structure of the Constitution as stated in Article 38 (1) of the Directive Principles. It ensures that-"the state /judiciary shall strive to promote the welfare of the people by securing a social order in which social , economic and political justice is animated/informed in all institutions of life." B. R. Ambedkar clarified as given below in the Constituent Assembly debates on Article 38 (1) highlighting its inevitable implementation. ... The word 'strive' which occurs in

2948-478: The circumstances are so bad, that the finances are so inadequate that we cannot even make an effort in the direction in which the Constitution asks us to go. As per the constitution, as held by the court in the Three Judges Cases – (1982, 1993, 1998), a judge is appointed to the Supreme Court by the president on the recommendation of the collegium  — a closed group of the Chief Justice of India,

3015-528: The constitution by breaching the oath under disrespecting constitution A person who has retired as a judge of the Supreme Court is debarred from practicing in any court of law or before any other authority in India. However, Supreme Court and high court judges are appointed to various posts in tribunals and commissions, after their retirement. Lawyer Ashish Goel in a recent article criticized this stating that post-retirement benefits for judges hampers judicial independence. Former Law Minister and Senior Advocate of

3082-487: The constitution, the Supreme Court of India is widely acknowledged as one of the most powerful supreme courts in the world. In 1861, the Indian High Courts Act 1861 was enacted to create high courts for various provinces and abolish Supreme Courts at Calcutta, Madras and Bombay and also the s adar adalats in presidency towns in their respective regions. These new high courts had the distinction of being

3149-458: 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 . Under judicial review, the court invalidates both normal laws as well as constitutional amendments as per

3216-467: The four most senior judges of the court and the senior-most judge hailing from the high court of a prospective appointee. This has resulted in a Memorandum of Procedure being followed, for the appointments. Judges used to be appointed by the president on the advice of the union cabinet . After 1993 (the Second Judges' Case), no minister, or even the executive collectively, can suggest any names to

3283-510: The garden. The foundation stone of the Supreme Court's building was laid on 29 October 1954 by Rajendra Prasad , the first President of India . The main block of the building has been built on a triangular plot of 17 acres and has been designed in an Indo-British style by the chief architect Ganesh Bhikaji Deolalikar , the first Indian to head the Central Public Works Department . The design of scales of justice

3350-408: The grounds of proved misbehaviour or incapacity when parliament approves with a majority of the total membership of each house in favour of impeachment and not less than two thirds of the members of each house present. For initiating impeachment proceedings against a judge, at least 50 members of Rajya Sabha or 100 members of Lok Sabha shall issue the notice per Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968 . Then

3417-460: The highest courts for all cases till the creation of the Federal Court of India under the Government of India Act 1935 . The Federal Court had the jurisdiction to solve disputes between provinces and federal states and hear appeals against judgement of the high courts. The first CJI of India was H. J. Kania . The Supreme Court of India came into existence on 28 January 1950. It replaced both

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3484-572: The impeachment process of the President and Judges, as decided by Parliament, based on constitutional validity or fundamental features. Under Order XL of the Supreme Court Rules, that have been framed under its powers under Article 145 of the constitution, the Supreme Court may review its judgment or order but no application for review is to be entertained in a civil proceeding except on the grounds mentioned in Order XLVII, Rule 1 of

3551-485: The instance of the Union Cabinet under Article 76(1) of the Constitution and hold office during the pleasure of the President. The Attorney General must meet the qualifications necessary for an appointment as a Judge of the Supreme Court. Therefore, the Attorney General should have served as a judge in a high court for a minimum of five years, or as an advocate in a high court for at least ten years. Alternatively,

3618-400: The interest of complete justice which becomes binding on the President to enforce. The Supreme Court replaced the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council as the highest court of appeal since 28 January 1950, two days after India was declared a republic. With expansive authority to initiate actions and wield appellate jurisdiction over all courts and the ability to invalidate amendments to

3685-462: The most-senior civil servant of the Indian government , Cabinet Secretary of India —while the chief justice earns ₹ 280,000 (US$ 3,400) per month. Per Article 124 and third Schedule of the constitution, the chief justice (or a judge) of the Supreme Court of India is required to make and subscribe in the presence of the president an oath or affirmation that they will bear true faith and allegiance to

3752-414: The post of the Chief Justice of India. These things do not happen in our neighbouring countries. In practice, judges of the Supreme Court have been selected so far, mostly from amongst judges of the high courts. Barely nine justices— S. M. Sikri , S. Chandra Roy , Kuldip Singh , Santosh Hegde , R. F. Nariman , U. U. Lalit , L. Nageswara Rao , Indu Malhotra and P. S. Narasimha —have been appointed to

3819-490: The post-emergency period of India, they contended that it is symbolic of perversity and is based on the theme of the mother-and-son cult built up during the Emergency (India) period. Different interpretations of the statue came from advocates, one said, ‘it’s like Indira mothering the judges and telling them you practice justice like I tell you to’, while the other said, ‘symbolizing justice is terribly conservative as justice

3886-425: The president, who ultimately decides on appointing them from a list of names recommended only by the collegium of the judiciary. Simultaneously, as held in that judgment, the executive was given the power to reject a recommended name. The collegium system has come under a fair amount of criticism. In 2015, Parliament passed a law to replace the collegium with a National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC). This

3953-418: The previous Federal Court of India sat from 1937 to 1950. The first Chief Justice of India was H. J. Kania. In 1958, the Supreme Court moved to its present premises. Originally, the Constitution of India envisaged a supreme court with a chief justice and seven judges; leaving it to Parliament to increase this number. In its formative years, the Supreme Court met from 10 to 12 in the morning and then from 2 to 4 in

4020-438: The state shall take steps to separate the judiciary from the executive. Independence of the judiciary, the supremacy of the constitution and rule of law are the features of the basic structure of the Constitution . The Supreme Court and high courts are empowered to frame suo moto cases without receiving formal petitions/complaints on any suspected injustice, including actions/acts indulging in contempt of court and contempt of

4087-643: The table below. The table below shows the differences between ISO 15919, UNRSGN and IAST for Devanagari transliteration. Only certain fonts support all Latin Unicode characters for the transliteration of Indic scripts according to this standard. For example, Tahoma supports almost all the characters needed. Arial and Times New Roman font packages that come with Microsoft Office 2007 and later also support most Latin Extended Additional characters like ḍ, ḥ, ḷ, ḻ, ṁ, ṅ, ṇ, ṛ, ṣ and ṭ. There

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4154-522: The unfettered right to amend the Constitution, which eventually gave rise to the Basic Structure doctrine. A citizen of India not exceeding 65 years age per Article 124 of the Constitution who has been: is eligible to be recommended for appointment, a judge of the Supreme Court. I am proud to be an Indian. India is the only country where a member of the minority Parsi community with a population of 1,67,000, like myself, can aspire to attain

4221-666: Was developed by the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names (UNGEGN) and covers many Brahmic scripts. The ALA-LC romanization was approved by the Library of Congress and the American Library Association and is a US standard. The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is not a standard (as no specification exists for it) but a convention developed in Europe for

4288-537: Was ignored by the Supreme Court. In a direct condemnation of the government which asked the CBI to heed attorney general Milon Banerjee's opinion and close the case against Mayawati , the Supreme Court told the agency not to go solely on the AG's opinion and place all evidence before it. In 2009, Milon K. Banerjee 's opinion absolving Ottavio Quattrocchi in the Bofors scandal has also been viewed as "devaluing and eroding

4355-462: Was struck down as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, in the Fourth Judges' Case , as the new system would undermine the independence of the judiciary. Putting the old system of the collegium back, the court invited suggestions, even from the general public, on how to improve the collegium system, broadly along the lines of – setting up an eligibility criteria for appointments,

4422-467: 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 in the year 1978,

4489-542: Was to conform to this triangular site and according to Dr. Rajendra Prasad was the conception of justice for Indians. It has a 27.6 m (90 ft 7 in) high dome and a spacious colonnaded verandah. The court moved into the building in 1958. In 1979, two new wings – the East Wing and the West Wing ;– were added to the complex. 1994 saw the last extension. On 20 February 1978,

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