The Indian Judicial System is one of the oldest legal systems in the world today. It is part of the inheritance India received from the British after more than 200 years of their Colonial rule, and the same is obvious from the many similarities the Indian legal system shares with the English Legal System. The frame work of the current legal system has been laid down by the Indian Constitution and the Judicial system derives its powers from it.
An important feature of the Indian Judicial System, is that it’s a ‘common law system’. In a common law system, law is developed by the Judges through their decisions, orders, or Judgments. These are also referred to as precedents. Unlike the British legal system which is entirely based on the common law system, where it had originated from, the Indian system incorporates the common law system along with the statutory law and the regulatory law.
There are various levels of Judiciary in India – different types of courts, each with varying powers depending on the tier and Jurisdiction bestowed upon them. They form a strict hierarchy of importance, in line with the order of the courts in which hey sit, with the Supreme Court of India at the top, followed by High Courts of respective states with district Judges sitting in District Courts and Magistrates of Second Class and Civil Judge Ounior Division) at the bottom.
The Supreme Court and the High Court have the power to interpret the Constitution of the country. They can declare any law of the legislature or the actions of the executive, whether at the Union level or at the state level, if the find such a law or action is against the Constitution. Judicial review is the power of a court to review a law or an official act of a overnment employee or agent; for example, although the basis is different in different countries, as unconstitutional or violating of basic principles of Justice.
In many Jurisdictions, the court has the power to strike down that law, to overturn the executive act, or order a public official to act in a certain manner if it believes the law or act to be unconstitutional or to be contrary to law in a free and democratic society. The Supreme Court of India has also ruled that the core or basic principles of the constitution cannot be changed by the Parliament. The Indian Judicial System By VenkateshMangnale
