The Constitution of Supreme Court At the top of the judicial system in India is the Supreme Court of India. It is the highest court in the country. At present the Supreme Court consists of one Chief Justice and twenty-five other Judges. Parliament has the power to change the number of judges from time to time by passing law. The Chief Justice and other judges of the Supreme Court are appointed by the President of India. In making these appointments, the President consults other judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts. In case of the appointment of any other judges, the Chief Justice is always consulted.
Jurisdiction of Supreme Court of India: The jurisdiction of the Supreme Court can be divided into following parts:
(1) Original Jurisdiction: The Supreme Court has original jurisdiction over some types of cases. This means that some cases can be heard directly by the Supreme Court. These are:
(a) Disputes between the central Government and any state Government.
(b) Dispute between two or more states.
(c) Disputes between the central Government and one or more States on one side and one or more States on the other side.
(2) Appellate Jurisdiction: Supreme Court is the highest court of appeal in the country. It hears appeals against some decisions of the High Courts in three types of cases-civil cases, criminal cases, cases involving interpretation of the Constitution.
(3) Guardian of the Constitution: The Supreme Court acts as the guardian and final interpreter of the Constitution. If the government passes any law or issues any order which is in violation of the Constitution, the Supreme Court has the power to declare that law or order unconstitutional.
(4) Advisory Jurisdiction: At the highest court in the country, the Supreme Court gives legal advice to the President of India on any legal or constitutional matter referred to it. However, the advice given by the Supreme Court is not binding on the President.
(5) Courts of Record: The Supreme Court is a Court of Record. The records of the Supreme Court, in matters of interpretation of the law of the Constitution, have to be accepted when produced before the lower courts.
(6) Judicial Review: The Supreme Court of India has the power to examine the validity of laws or executive orders. The Supreme Court has the powers to interpret the Constitution, and through this it has assumed the powers of judicial review.
