Judiciary — Supreme Court & High Courts

⚖ PON07 · Indian Polity · NDA GAT NDA Level ★ Moderate Priority

📌 NDA Focus: (1) Supreme Court — composition, jurisdiction, appointment; (2) Writ jurisdiction (Article 32 SC vs Article 226 HC); (3) Judicial review; (4) Collegium system; (5) Retirement ages. Questions test specific facts: number of judges, tenure, removal process.

1. Supreme Court of India (Articles 124–147)

Article 124

Establishment of SC

Established 26 January 1950. Chief Justice + maximum 33 other judges (currently 34 total). Judges appointed by President.

Qualifications

For SC Judges

Indian citizen; judge of HC for 5+ years; OR advocate of HC for 10+ years; OR distinguished jurist (in President's opinion).

Tenure

Age of Retirement

SC judges retire at age 65 years. HC judges retire at age 62 years. No minimum tenure prescribed.

Removal (Art 124)

On Proved Misbehaviour

President can remove SC judge on address of Parliament: special majority (2/3 present and voting + majority of total membership) in BOTH houses. No SC judge has been removed so far.

Collegium System

Judicial Appointments

SC judges are appointed by President after consultation with judiciary. Collegium = CJI + 4 senior-most SC judges recommend appointments (Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association case, 1993).

Article 143

Advisory Jurisdiction

President can refer any question of law or fact of public importance to Supreme Court for its opinion. SC's opinion is advisory — not binding on President.

2. Jurisdiction of Supreme Court

⚖ Types of Jurisdiction — SC

Original (Article 131): Disputes between Centre and States; between two or more states — SC is the only forum
Writ (Article 32): Enforcement of Fundamental Rights — issue 5 types of writs; this is itself a FR
Appellate: Constitutional matters, civil matters, criminal matters — highest court of appeal
Advisory (Article 143): Presidential reference — non-binding opinion
Review: SC can review its own judgments (very limited)

⚖ High Courts (Articles 214–231)

Highest judicial body in each state; established under Article 214
Chief Justice + other judges appointed by President
Retirement age: 62 years
Writ Jurisdiction (Article 226): Issue writs for enforcement of FRs AND any other legal right — wider than SC's Article 32
Appellate jurisdiction over subordinate courts
Superintendence over all subordinate courts in state
HC judges' removal: same process as SC judges

📌 Judicial Review: Power of courts to examine the constitutionality of legislative enactments and executive orders. If found inconsistent with the Constitution → declared void. Derived from Article 13 (laws inconsistent with FRs are void). More limited than USA (India: only constitutional validity; USA: broader). Basic Structure Doctrine (Kesavananda Bharati 1973) limits Parliament's amendment power.

📝 NDA PYQ Practice — PON07

Q1. The retirement age of a Judge of the Supreme Court of India is: NDA PYQ

(a) 60 years(b) 62 years (c) 65 years(d) 70 years

✔ Answer: (c) 65 years

Supreme Court judges retire at 65 years. High Court judges retire at 62 years. The District Court judges (subordinate judiciary) retire at 60 or 62 years depending on the state. The CJI and other SC judges can only be removed by Parliament's address (never done so far). After retirement, SC judges cannot practice in any court or authority in India.

Q2. Article 226 of the Indian Constitution empowers which court to issue writs? NDA PYQ

(a) Supreme Court only (b) District Courts (c) High Courts (d) Both Supreme Court and High Courts

✔ Answer: (c) High Courts

Article 226 empowers High Courts to issue writs for enforcement of fundamental rights AND any other legal right — making the High Court's writ jurisdiction broader than the Supreme Court's (Article 32, which is only for FRs). Article 32 empowers the Supreme Court. An important distinction: Article 32 is a Fundamental Right in itself; Article 226 is a constitutional right but not a FR.

📋 Quick Reference — PON07

⚖ Supreme Court

Established: 26 Jan 1950
Strength: CJI + max 33 others
Retirement: 65 years
Removal: Parliament address (special majority)

⚖ SC Jurisdiction

Original: Centre-State disputes (Art 131)
Writ: Enforce FRs only (Art 32)
Appellate: Highest court of appeal
Advisory: Presidential reference (Art 143)

⚖ High Courts

Retirement: 62 years
Writ: FRs + any legal right (Art 226)
Art 226 wider than Art 32
Superintendence: all subordinate courts

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