In India, the three branches of government are the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary. The Indian Constitution provides for a division of powers and a system of checks and balances. The judiciary plays a vital role in ensuring that the legislative and executive branches do not exceed their constitutional boundaries and prevent them from exercising arbitrary powers. The Indian Constitution ensures that the judiciary remains independent of the influence of the legislator and the executive. Judiciary law students need to clear some exams and nowadays as this is very popular among young law graduates. Hence, online law certification courses are there which help them to prepare well for the exams.
Functions of Indian Judiciary -
Support and interpret the Constitution: the judiciary is responsible for the protection and application of the Constitution and its ideals. The courts interpret the Constitution and repeal any law, ordinance, rule, or regulation that conflicts with the provisions of the Constitution.
State Dispute Resolution: India's constitution establishes a federal government structure. Disputes between states and the Union and states are therefore inevitable. The judiciary, especially the Supreme Court, plays a key role in resolving such disputes.
Protection of fundamental rights: Part III of the Constitution confers certain fundamental rights both on citizens and non-citizens and on legal and natural persons. The judiciary ensures that these fundamental rights are not violated. Where these rights are restricted by the law of the legislature or the executive, constitutional courts have the power to issue injunctions.
Legislative assistance: In many cases, the court issue directives which are then incorporated into laws by the legislature. Courts often make proposals to the legislature to draft a new direction or to amend or supplement existing laws to solve the problems of today's society. The judiciary also advises the president and resolves any doubts regarding the constitutional provisions.
Judicial Independence and Constitutional Provisions -
There is an independent judiciary in India. Legislative and executive powers cannot interfere with judicial functions. This ensures that the judges can carry out their duties without fear.
Several constitutional provisions guarantee the independence of the judiciary. It is pertinent to note that Article 50, a governing principle, provides that the state must take measures to ensure that the judiciary operates separately from the executive. Many other constitutional guarantees the independence of the judiciary
The Supreme Court has the power to appoint the judges of the Supreme Court as well as the various high courts. Article 124 (2) requires Supreme Court judges to be appointed by the President in consultation with Supreme Court and Supreme Court judges.
Once appointed, Supreme Court justices remain in office until the age of 65. Likewise, Supreme Court justices enjoy offices until the age of 62.
Article 124 (4) provides for the procedure for the dismissal of Supreme Court judges. Judges of the Supreme Court can only be removed by order of the President. Revocation requires a special majority of at least 2/3 of the members present and voting. The President must address the two chambers of Parliament and the decision to dismiss must be presented to him during the same session. A Supreme Court judge can only be removed from office for incompetence or misconduct.
So far, no Supreme Court justice has been charged. Veeraswami Ramaswami was the first judge against whom the case was brought, but the petition failed to pass through the Lok Sabha.
In addition, the salaries and allowances of the Supreme Court and superior court judges cannot be reduced unless a financial emergency has been declared under section 360.The salaries and allowances of Constitutional Court Judges are paid from the Consolidated Fund of India.The legislator cannot give his opinion on the behavior of a judge in the exercise of his official functions.
Parliament, as well as the state legislatures, are also barred from limiting the court's jurisdiction and can only extend it. Without prejudice to the aforementioned protections, if someone infringes the authority of the court, the Supreme Court, as well as the high courts, have the power to punish the outrage under Article 129 and Article 215 respectively.
Hurdles in the Judicial System -
The judicial system in India is currently facing several obstacles. Some of them are:
- The constitutional courts, namely the Supreme Court and the high courts, are overloaded with the workload. This leads to huge delays in the legal process and sometimes the process takes decades.
- Litigation is an expensive business and in many cases, ordinary people are forced to give up their rights and claims because they cannot afford the legal process.
- The judiciary does not have the infrastructure to properly handle the massive amount of cases. Court complexes are overcrowded and several courts lack digital infrastructure.
- Several statutes from the British era are obsolete and need to be supplemented, amended, or repealed.
- The caseload in the lower courts is also enormous and there are frequent adjournments by the courts, resulting in delays.
- Defendants languish in prisons for years while their cases are pending.
In India, there are approximately 21 judges per 1 million people. The judge/person ratio is very low and the need to improve this ratio was highlighted by the Legal Commission in the 245th report. The report found that the lack of judges was causing a huge backlog of cases and the issue needed to be addressed urgently and without delay.
Conclusion - A lively and independent judiciary is essential for the success of any democracy. The Indian judiciary ensures that there is a rule of law and that citizens' rights are not violated. It also controls the other two governing bodies, namely the legislative and the executive.
However, the Indian judicial system faces several challenges that need to be addressed as a matter of priority. There is an urgent need to address the shortage of judges and ensure that cases are dealt with promptly. In addition, the judicial infrastructure and working conditions of the court need to be improved to attract talent to the judiciary. Understanding the concept of judicial independence is very vital for every law aspirant. Various online legal courses are organized by online education platforms which help law students to grasp the knowledge about the Indian judiciary.