9th Standard, Social, Political Science, CHAPTER – 8
THE JUDICIARY
EXERCISES
I. Fill in the blanks with suitable words.
1. The Supreme Court came into existence on January 28, 1950.
2. The number of writs that can be issued under Article 32 of the constitution is 5 types.
3. Criminal courts came into existence on 1st April, 1974.
4. The lowest Revenue court is the Tahsildar Court.
II. Answer the following questions.
5.How are the judges of the Supreme Court appointed and what are their qualifications?
Answer: The President appoints the Chief Justice and the other judges of the Supreme Court. The qualifications of a Supreme Court judge are as follows.
1. Should be a citizen of India.
2. Should have served as a High Court Judge for at least 5 years, or should have been an advocate of the High Court for at least 10 years.
3. Should be a distinguished jurist. In the view of the president of India.
6. What are the functions of the High Court?
Answer: The functions of the High Court are as follows.
1. Original jurisdiction to settle disputes relating to matrimonial relations, death certificate and contempt of court.
2. Appellate jurisdiction to entertain and dispose of appeals against judgments passed by subordinate courts.
3. It has the power to supervise cases in subordinate courts falling within the jurisdiction of the High court, to direct them to observe certain rules and to collect all records. Apart from these, it handles recruitment and control of staff, protection of fundamental rights, receiving various writ petitions and providing justice.
7. Which are the subordinate courts under the Civil Courts?
Answer: The subordinate courts under the Civil Courts are,
1. Court of Subordinate Judges
2. Court of Additional Subordinate Judges
3. Court of Munsiffs
4. Court of Additional Munsiffs
8. What was the purpose of establishing Lok Adalats? When did they come into existence?
Answer: In India, the legal procedure is time-consuming and expensive. As an alternative, the Government has set up other forms of legal institutions which function faster and are less expensive. This was the purpose of establishing Lok Adalat. These institutions came into existence in 1985.
Additional Questions.
1 ) What are the powers and functions of the Supreme Court?
Answer: The powers and functions of the Supreme Court are as follows.
- Original Powers: Resolving the disputes between the Union and the States, and between the States; interpreting the provisions of the Constitution vested with Supreme Court.
- Appellate Powers: Citizens may file cases in the Supreme Court against the judgements given in the lower courts.
- Advisory Powers: The Supreme Court has the authority to advise the President on matters of public importance, constitutional importance and legislative importance.
- Powers of Judicial review: The Supreme Court has the power to review whether the statutes enacted by the legislature and the orders and decisions of the executive are constitutional or not. If these are in violation of the constitution they are declared unconstitutional and invalid. This is called judicial review.
- Protection of Fundamental Rights: The Supreme Court protects fundamental rights by issuing special order (writs) under Article 32 of the constitution of India. So the Supreme Court is the guardian of the fundamental rights.
2 ) Describe the Appointment, Tenure and Removal procedure of Supreme Court Judges.
Answer: Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and other judges are appointed by the President. The Sitting Chief Justice recommends the most senior judge of the Supreme Court for the appointment of the next chief justice. On this recommendation, the President appoints the chief justice of the Supreme Court. Other judges of the Supreme Court are appointed by the president, on the recommendation of the collegium comprising of the chief justice of India and other four senior judges of the Supreme Court and on the advice of the union cabinet. His retirement age is 65 years but he can submit his resignation to the president even before that. He may be removed by the president on the recommendation of a definite majority of both the houses of the Parliament on the grounds of proven misconduct or incapacity.
3.How are the judges of the High Court appointed and what are their qualifications?
Answer: The chief justice of the High Courts are appointed by the President on the recommendation of the collegium consisting of the chief justice of India and other four senior judges of the Supreme Court and on the advice of the union cabinet. Other judges of the High Court are appointed by the president on the recommendation of a collegium comprising the chief justice of the Supreme Court and two other senior judges.
The qualifications for becoming a High Court judge are:
1. Should be a citizen of India.
2. Should have served as a judge for 10 years in any subordinate court in India or must have served as an advocate for 10 years in one or more high courts.
4. Describe the Appointment, Tenure and Removal procedure of High Court Judges.
Answer: The chief justice of the High Courts are appointed by the President on the recommendation of the collegium consisting of the chief justice of India and other four senior judges of the Supreme Court and on the advice of the union cabinet. Other judges of the High Court are appointed by the president on the recommendation of a collegium comprising the chief justice of the Supreme Court and two other senior judges. The retirement age of the chief justice of the High Court judges is 62 years. He can submit his resignation to the President even before that. He can be removed by the President on the recommendation of a definite majority of both the houses of the Parliament on the grounds of proven misconduct or incapacity.
5. Which are the other courts functioning under criminal court?
Answer: The other courts functioning under criminal court are,
- Chief Magistrate Court
- First Grade Magistrate Court
- Second Grade Magistrate Court
- Third Grade Magistrate Court
6. Describe about Revenue courts. Name the different Revenue courts.
Answer: There are Revenue courts in every district. They take up cases related to land tax, land records etc. Revenue Courts comprise the following courts.
- Tahsildar Court
- Assistant Commissioner Court
- District Revenue Court or District Magistrate Court
- Commissioner’s Court
III. Activities:
1. Meet an advocate in your locality and learn more about the Supreme Court.
2. Visit the nearest court in your area. Watch the proceedings of the court and prepare a brief report on your experience.
IV. Project:
1. Collect reports of High Court judgments from newspapers and prepare an album.
