Notes: Constitution of India

Different parts of the Government.

3-Parts of the government:

The Legislature, Executive and Judiciary are the three organs of the government. The
functions of each are
Legislature
It forms laws and procedures, along with examining the administration and its resolutions.
The chief function of the legislature is to enact laws.

 It is the basis for the functioning of the other two organs, the executive and the
judiciary.
 It is also sometimes accorded the first place among the three organs because until
and unless laws are enacted, there can be no implementation and application of
laws

Executive
It comprised of the President or Governor, Council of Minister at Union or State level,
along with the administration which executes and enforces laws made by the legislature.
The executive is the organ that implements the laws enacted by the legislature and
enforces the will of the state.

 It is the administrative head of the government.

 Ministers including the Prime/Chief Ministers and President/Governors form part

of the executive.

Judiciary
The Supreme Court (SC) at the top level to the community courts at the bottom. They
interpret the laws made. The judiciary is that branch of the government that interprets
the law, settles disputes and administers justice to all citizens.

 The judiciary is considered the watchdog of democracy, and also the guardian of
the Constitution.

 It comprises the Supreme Court, the High Courts, District and other subordinate
courts.

Functions of Indian Judiciary – What is the role of the Judiciary?

The functions of the judiciary in India are:

1. Administration of justice: The chief function of the judiciary is to apply the law to specific cases
or in settling disputes. When a dispute is brought before the courts it ‘determines the facts’
involved through evidence presented by the contestants. The law then proceeds to decide what
law is applicable to the case and applies it. If someone is found guilty of violating the law in the
course of the trial, the court will impose a penalty on the guilty person.
2. Creation of judge-case law: In many cases, the judges are not able to, or find it difficult to select
the appropriate law for application. In such cases, the judges decide what the appropriate law is
on the basis of their wisdom and common sense. In doing so, judges have built up a great body of
‘judge-made law’ or ‘case law.’ As per the doctrine of ‘stare decisis’, the previous decisions of
judges are generally regarded as binding on later judges in similar cases.
3. Guardian of the Constitution: The highest court in India, the SC, acts as the guardian of the
Constitution. The conflicts of jurisdiction between the central government and the state
governments or between the legislature and the executive are decided by the court. Any law or
executive order which violates any provision of the constitution is declared unconstitutional or
null and void by the judiciary. This is called ‘judicial review.’ Judicial review has the merit of
 guaranteeing the fundamental rights of individuals and ensuring a balance between the union
and the units in a federal state.
4. Protector of Fundamental Rights: The judiciary ensures that people’s rights are not trampled
upon by the State or any other agency. The superior courts enforce Fundamental Rights by
issuing writs.
5. Supervisory functions: The higher courts also perform the function of supervising the
subordinate courts in India.
6. Advisory functions: The SC in India performs an advisory function as well. It can give its advisory
opinions on constitutional questions. This is done in the absence of disputes and when the
executive so desires.
7. Administrative functions: Some functions of the courts are non-judicial or administrative in
nature. The courts may grant certain licenses, administer the estates (property) of deceased
persons and appoint receivers. They register marriages, appoint guardians of minor children and
lunatics.
8. Special role in a federation: In a federal system like India’s, the judiciary also performs the
important task of settling disputes between the centre and states. It also acts as an arbiter of
disputes between states.
9. Conducting judicial enquiries: Judges normally are called to head commissions that enquire into
cases of errors or omissions on the part of public servants.


Indian Judiciary – Structure
India has a single integrated judicial system. The judiciary in India has a pyramidal structure with the
Supreme Court (SC) at the top. High Courts are below the SC, and below them are the district and
subordinate courts. The lower courts function under the direct superintendence of the higher courts.
The diagram below gives the structure and organisation of the judicial system in the country.
Apart from the above structure, there are also two branches of the legal system, which are:

1. Criminal Law: These deal with the committing of a crime by any citizen/entity. A criminal case
starts when the local police file a crime report. The court finally decides on the matter.
2. Civil Law: These deal with disputes over the violation of the Fundamental Rights of a citizen.

Supreme Court has three types of jurisdictions. They are original, appellate and advisory. The jurisdiction
of the Supreme Court is mentioned in Articles 131, 133, 136 and 143 of the Constitution.

Indian Judiciary – Civil Courts

Civil courts deal with civil cases. Civil law is referred to in almost all cases other than criminal cases.
Criminal law applies when a crime such as a robbery, murder, arson, etc. is perpetrated.

 Civil law is applied in disputes when one person sues another person or entity. Examples of civil
cases include divorce, eviction, consumer problems, debt or bankruptcy, etc.
 Judges in civil courts and criminal courts have different powers. While a judge in a criminal court
can punish the convicted person by sending him/her to jail, a judge in a civil court can make the
guilty pay fines, etc.
 District Judges sitting in District Courts and Magistrates of Second Class and Civil Judge (Junior
Division) are at the bottom of the judicial hierarchy in India.

 The court of the district judges is the highest civil court in a district.
 It has both administrative and judicial powers.
 The court of the District Judge is in the district HQ.
 It can try criminal and civil cases and hence, the judge is called District and Sessions Judge.
 Under the district courts, there are courts of the Sub-Judge, Additional Sub-Judge and Munsif
Courts.
 Most civil cases are filed in the Munsif’s court.

Civil courts have four types of jurisdiction:

 Subject Matter Jurisdiction: It can try cases of a particular type and relate to a particular
subject.
 Territorial Jurisdiction: It can try cases within its geographical limit, and not beyond the
territory.
 Pecuniary Jurisdiction: Cases related to money matters, suits of monetary value.
  Appellate Jurisdiction: This is the authority of a court to hear appeals or review a case
that has already been decided by a lower court. The Supreme Court and the High Courts
have appellate jurisdiction to hear cases that were decided by a lower court.

What is Article 124 A of Indian Constitution?

This article talks about the establishment and constitution of the Supreme Court.

What is the structure of Indian judiciary?

Judiciary in India has a pyramidal structure with the Supreme Court at the top.

What is obiter dictum in law?

Obiter dictum is an opinion or a remark made by a judge which does not form a necessary
part of the court’s decision.

Lokpal and Lokayukta Act 2013 is an anti-corruption authority that represents the public
interest. This concept is taken from Sweden which is also called an Ombudsman. The Lokpal
takes care of and ensures the inquiry and prosecution of the cases where union officials are
charged with corruption cases. Whereas, Lokayukta is a state-level body that is similar to
Lokpal and acts the state-level officials and looks after their corruption charges. The Lokpal
and Lokayukta Act 2013 concerns the issues pertaining to corruption.

The concept of Lokpal and Lokayukta was first introduced by the state of Maharashtra by
the up-Lokayukta act in 1971. This is an essential segment of Indian Polity. Walk through the
article to get complete details of the topic “Lokpal and Lokayukta Act” to be able to proceed
further in the recruitment process.

Lokpal is a national anti corruption ombudsman to look into complaints against

publics servants which are defined under the Lokpal Act 2013. This body is
constituted to check the menace of corruption in India.
1.  This Act may be called the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013.
2.  It extends to the whole India.
3. It shall apply to public servants in India and abroad.
History of Lokpal;
The Lokpal bill has been introduced nine times (1968, 1971, 1977, 1985, 1989, 1998,
2001, 2011 and 2013) in the Lok Sabha.

The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 received the assent of the President on the
January 1st, 2014, and published for information of general Public.
An Act of 2013 clears the way to establish the body of Lokpal for the Union and
Lokayukta for States to inquire into allegations of corruption against certain public
servants.
Powers of the Lokpal are as follows;
If the Lokpal receives a complaint under the prevention of corruption act 1988, then
it can initiate the investigation. If the complaint found true in the investigation then
the Lokpal can ask the government to take disciplinary action against the accused
public servants or can file a corruption case in a special court.
Salary and allowances of the chairman and members;
The Chairman of the Lokpal shall enjoy the same salary and allowance as of Chief
Justice of India while members shall receive the same salary and allowance as those
enjoyed by the justices of Supreme Court.

Who can be investigated by the Lokpal?

As per the provision of the Lokpal Act, it can investigate persons of seven
categories namely;
1. Prime Minister if he/she demits the office.
2. Current and former Cabinet Ministers.
3. Current and former Members of Parliament.
4. All the class 1 officers of the Central Government like (Secretaries, Joint
Secretaries etc.)
5. All the class 1 equivalent officers of the Public Sector Undertakings and other
government bodies.
6. Directors and other officers of the Non Government Organisations which receives
funding from the Central Government.
7. Directors and other officers of the Non Government Organisations which receives
the fund from the public and which have annual income of more than Rs. 10 lac from
a foreign contributor and receives Rs. 1cr from the government.
In the concluding remarks it would be wise to say that before Lokpal; India already
have some anti corruption agencies like Central Vigilance Commissioner, Central
Bureau of Investigation but the practice of corruption is still prevalent in the country.

So the composition of another anti corruption agency will not create much difference
because the corruption is in the minds of the general public, who promote corruption
in the daily life to benefit themselves.