History of the Supreme Court

The history and existence of the Supreme Court dates back to the year of 1773, when India was in complete colonial control. The powers were in the hands of the British Crown which passed a Regulating Act in 1773 ordering for the establishment of a Supreme Court in Calcutta. During that time, Bengal was the most resourceful state of India. Due to this, most of the power leads there. It only worked for the people of Bihar, Bengal and Odisha due to Geographic limitations. In order to have access to the whole country, King George III established more supreme courts in India. All the Supreme Courts in India had the same power and jurisdictions and there was no disparity among either of the three courts.

All the Supreme Courts worked full fledged till the creation of High Courts in India. All the Supreme Courts were abolished and High Courts were established in the year of 1862 through the High Court Act, 1861. High Courts were the highest judicial authority in the country, but lacked the management between important and trivial matters. 

In order to deal with provincial and inter-state disputes, a Higher Authority known as the Federal Court was established. The Federal Court not just had the authority to pass judgements on provincial and state disputes, but also heard the appeals regarding High Court judgements. 

The Supreme Court as we know today, was adopted and declared as the apex legal Institution of India on  28th January, 1950, after the enactment of the Indian Constitution on 26th January 1950. The supreme court binds all the courts of the country and is the highest court of justice in India. Initially, when it was established, it worked for just 28 days in a year but as the complexities of the judicial system increased and demand for more judgements grew, the number of working days has now increased to 190 days Of The Year.

Architecture of Supreme Court

The current building of the Supreme Court was inaugurated by the 1st President of India, Dr. Rajendra Prasad who called it the Temple of Justice. The building has a sculpture of Mother and Child symbolising Mother India protecting the Republic of India.

The logo of the supreme court is the wheel of Dharma with 32 spokes on the  Abacus of Sarnath Lion. Motto of the supreme court is Yato Dharmas tato Jayah, which means, Where there is Dharma, there will be Victory.

Functions and compositions of the Supreme Court of India : 

• Composition- The Supreme Court is the apex Institution of the Indian Judiciary.  It is known as the Guardian of the Indian Constitution.  As per article 124(1),  the composition of the Supreme Court consists of the Chief Justice of India appointed through the Collegium of the Supreme Court, and 33 judges. A total of 34 judges are appointed at the Supreme Court of India. In the composition of hierarchy, the Supreme Court is an independent judicial authority.  At the state level there is a High Court and beneath that are District Courts. The Supreme Court Judges should mandatorily retire by the age of 65 years.

• Functions-The Supreme Court of India is the highest judicial authority that is responsible for protecting the rights of every entity, individual or group in India.  As per article 144 all Judicial Authorities work as per the instruction of the Supreme Court of India.  The various functions of Supreme Court as defined in the Indian Constitution are discussed below : 

• Article 141 & 137 : Supreme Court is the highest body of law and it is binding on all the legal Institutions of the country.  Any  judgement passed in any Court of law can be challenged in the supreme court.  Besides,  the Supreme Court also has the power to review its own judgements on previous cases.

• Article 131: Under this, only Supreme Court has right over cases between the Government of 2 States Or More than 2 States

• Article 132, 133 & 134:  Any lack of content over any judgement in a High Court in constitutional, civil or criminal cases can be appealed in the Supreme Court of India.

• Article 143:  The President of India, can seek the advice of the Supreme Court, over any matter of public importance or regarding question over any other instrument of law.

Chief Justice of India : 

The Chief Justice of India who is also the Chief Judge of the Supreme Court, is the senior most judicial officer of the country.  The Chief Justice of India is appointed through a process where the retiring Chief Justice of India advises the names for the next Chief Justice of India.  Post consultations of various Supreme Court Judges, the recommendations are presented to the president and the  appointment is done by him/her.  Once appointed, the tenure of Chief Justice is either till the age of 65 years or 6 years of service,  whichever is earlier.

The Chief Justice can only be impeached through the orders of the President of India.  The 1st Chief Justice of India was Justice Hiralal Jekisundas Kania, who was appointed on 26th of January 1950.

Current Chief Justice of India is Justice N.V.Ramana, who is in office since 24th April, 2021.

Conclusion:

The Supreme Court binds all the courts of the country and is the highest court of justice in India. This article explains about the supreme court of India and its role in the jurisdiction. The history, architecture, functions of the supreme court along with the Chief Justice of India are discussed in the article above.