Civics Chapter – 5 The Judiciary

 

Chapter – 5

The Judiciary 

Law

*Law is a system of rules that are created and enforced by governmental institutions to regulate behavior.

*The Indian legal system is divided into two branches:

Criminal Law and Civil Law.

 Judiciary

*The  judiciary  is  the  branch  of  government in  a  country  which  is  concerned

with law and the legal system.

Laws apply equally to all people. A certain set of fixed procedures need to be followed when a law is violated.

To enforce this rule of law, we have a judicial system that consists of the mechanism of courts that a citizen can approach when a law is violated.

Functions of the Judiciary

The three main functions of the judiciary system are :

(i)  Dispute Resolution : The judicial system provides a mechanism for resolving disputes between citizens, between citizens and the government, between two state governments and between the Centre and State government.

(ii) Judicial Review : As the final interpreter of the Constitution, the judiciary also has the power to strike down particular laws passed by the Parliament if   it believes that these are a violation of the basic structure of the Constitution. This  is called judicial review.

(iii) Upholding the Law and Enforcing Fundamental Rights :Every citizen of  India can approach the Supreme Court or the High Court if they believe that their  Fundamental Rights have been violated.

 

Importance Of  Judiciary

 

Judiciary is important as

 (a)  Judiciary is necessary to protect the liberty of individuals. It provides the justice to all . It is the foundation stone of democracy.

 (b)  As an organ of the State, the judiciary plays a crucial role in the functioning of India’s democracy

(c) it settles disputes and interpret the state and central laws .

Independent Judiciary

*This lack of independence would force the judge to make all judgments in favour of the politician.

*Indian Constitution protects against this kind of situation by providing for the independence of the judiciary.

*‘separation of powers’ other branches of government – the legislature and the executive – cannot interfere in the work of the judiciary.

*The courts are not under the government and do not act on their behalf.

*Once appointed to this office, it is also very difficult to remove a judge.

Need of Independent Judiciary

*It is the independence of the judiciary that allows the courts to play a central role in ensuring that there is no misuse of power by the legislature and the executive.

*It also plays a crucial role in protecting the Fundamental Rights of citizens because

Supreme Court acts as a guardian  of  fundamental  rights  as  it  ensures that people are able to practice their rights in the required manner.

*Every citizen of India can approach the Supreme Court or the High Court if they

believe that their Fundamental Rights have been violated.

Structure of Courts in India

There are three different levels of courts in India.

1.  District Court: The courts that most people interact with are called subordinate or district courts or Tehsil level court.

2.  High Court: Each state has a High Court which is the highest court of that state.

3.  Supreme Court is at the top-level. The decisions made by the Supreme Court are binding on all other courts in India. It is located in New Delhi.

In India, we have an integrated judicial system, which means that the decisions made by higher courts  are binding on the lower courts.

The appellate system exists in India which means that a person can appeal to a higher court if they believe that the judgment passed by the lower court is not just.

Criminal and Civil law

Civil Law	Criminal Law
Deals with any harm or injury to the rights of individuals. Ex: Disputes relating to sale of land, purchase of goods, rent matters, divorce cases.	*Deals with conduct or acts that the law defines as offences. Ex: Theft, harassing a woman, dowry, murder
A petition has to be filed before the relevant court by the affected party only.	*It usually begins with the lodging of a First Information Report (FIR) with the police who investigate the crime after which a case is filed in the court.
The court gives the specific relief asked for	*If found guilty, the accused can be sent to jail and also fined.

 

 

Justice delayed is justice denied

The phrase ‘justice delayed is justice denied’ is often used to characterize extended time period that courts take.

The courts are available for all but in reality, access to courts has always been difficult for a vast majority of the poor in India.

Legal procedures involve a lot of money and paperwork as well as take up a great deal of time.

PIL

*The  Supreme  Court  in  the  early  1980s  devised  a  mechanism  of  Public

Interest  Litigation  or  PIL  to  increase  access  to  justice. 

*It  allowed  any individual  or  organisation  to  file  a  PIL  in  the  High  Court  or  the  Supreme  Court  on  behalf  of  those  whose  rights  were  being  violated. 

*The  legal process is so simple and even a letter or telegram addressed to

the Supreme Court or the High Court could be treated as a PIL.