The Hierarchy of Courts in India

The Hierarchy of Courts in India basically includes the Supreme Court, High Courts and the Lok Adalat. The Supreme Court is placed at the topmost position of the entire judicial system of the country. It is supposed to contain the original advisory judicial system in India. The Supreme Court, which is highest authority in The Hierarchy of Courts in India, deals with the cases related to conflict between the Central government and the State Government or between the governments of two states.

The Constitution of India has offered an exclusive legal power to the Supreme Court of India and this is one of the reasons why it can take care of enforcing the fundamental rights to the Indian citizens. The Supreme Court has a chief justice, who works with a team of twenty five other judges, all of whom are selected by the President of India. The judges and the chief justice can hold their positions till they attain sixty five years of age. The Supreme Court also looks into the cases that have come up to it via the appeal of the High Court. These Appellate cases may be either civil or criminal cases that involve substantial questions about the Constitution or the law of the nation.

In the Hierarchy of courts in India, Supreme Court is followed by the High Courts. There are a total of 18 High Courts across the states in the country, among which 3 have the judicial powers of more than one state. Each and every High Court has the power to interfere with the proceedings of the lower courts. The judges appointed at the High Courts have to retire at the age of sixty two. The State Legislatures and the Union Legislatures can challenge and change the decisions made by the High Courts of India. There is also the system of original appellant jurisdiction in some of the High Courts, like those of the Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. Any case which has a value of more than Rs. 25, 000, can be appealed to the High Court.

The Lok Adalats are the last level of courts under the Hierarchy of Courts of India, which are basically the voluntary agencies. These agencies are engaged in solving the disputes with the help of various peace-making processes.

Last Updated on 1st Oct 2012