Supreme Court’s Jurisdiction – Writ, Original and Appellate - The Red Carpet

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Monday, April 26, 2021

Supreme Court’s Jurisdiction – Writ, Original and Appellate




 I. Introduction

A jurisdiction may be defined to be the power of Court to hear and determine a cause, to adjudicate and exercise any judicial power in relation to it; in other words, by jurisdiction is meant the authority which a Court has to decide matters that are litigated before it or to take cognizance of matters presented in a formal way for its decision. The Supreme Court of India was established through Article 124 of the Constitution of India as the zenith of the Indian judiciary. The Constitution has conferred various jurisdictions on the Supreme Court. We will set the contours of this writing to an overview of some specific jurisdictions only. We will follow this writing as Writ Jurisdiction, Original Jurisdiction and Appellate Jurisdiction.

II. Jurisdictions of the Supreme Court of India

Every Court in India has some specific jurisdictions within the specific territorial limitations. However the Supreme Court of India, as a guardian of the Constitution, has some vital decision making powers to safeguard the constitutional values and to deliver justice from first to last. In the way of delivering justice and safeguarding the Constitution, Supreme Court uses its different jurisdictions over different matters.

  1. Writ Jurisdiction

Article 32 of the Constitution gives the powers to the Supreme Court to hear and rule the matters which have question of enforcement of fundamental rights. If there is a violation of any fundamental right conferred by part III of the Constitution, the Supreme Court has power to issue directions or orders or writs in the nature of habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, quo warranto and certiorari, whichever may be appropriate, as remedies for enforcement of fundamental rights. It does not provide a simple protection of the rights but the remedies available under this article is ‘guaranteed’.  Article 32 is a fundamental right and neither it be suspended by the legislation (except as otherwise provided for by the constitution) nor the Court can refuse to hear the writ petition on any ground whatsoever it is as further explained in K.K. Kochunni case.

  1. Original Jurisdiction

This is an exclusive jurisdiction of the Supreme Court conferred by the Article 131 of the Constitution. It extends to any dispute between the Government of India and one or more states; or between the Government of India and any state or states on one side and one or more other states on the other; or between two or more states, if and in so far as the dispute involves any question (whether of law or fact) on which the existence or extent or a legal right depends.

               Writ jurisdiction can also be understood as original jurisdiction but the basic difference in powers conferred by Article 32 and Article 131 is that Article 32 confreres the power to hear the matters of disputes which involves the question of law between the people of India and the Government of India regarding the fundamental rights (not general legal right) whereas Article 131 gives the power to hear a dispute between the Indian states and Government of India where dispute involves a question of law or a general legal right.

  1. Appellate Jurisdiction

Appellate jurisdiction refers to the power of a Court to hear appeals against any order or judgment of a lower court. The supreme court is the highest court of appeal in India and under Article 132 it’s appellate jurisdiction involves constitutional, civil (Article 133) and criminal (Article 134) proceedings. Before lying an appeal to the Supreme Court the appellate party should have a certificate from the High Court under Article 134-A that the case involves a substantial question of law which needs an interpretation of the constitution but even if High Court refuses to give such certificate, the Supreme Court can grant special leave to appeal under Article 136 if the court is satisfied that the case involves a substantial question of law which needs to be interpreted as per the Constitution. It is a discretionary power of the Supreme Court whether special leave should be granted or not.

III. Conclusion 

Supreme Court is the pinnacle of Indian judiciary and it was established for the purpose of acting as a guardian of Constitution and public law. As Supreme Court described the purpose of public law, in Nilbati Behra case, is not only to civilize public power but also to assure the citizen that they live under a legal system which aims to protect their interests and preserve their rights. The Supreme Court ensures the aim of providing justice and protection of constitutional values by above mentioned jurisdictions and thus it very well establishes the aphorism “Not only must justice be done; it must also be seen to be done.”

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