Andhra Pradesh BIEAP AP Inter 2nd Year Civics Study Material 5th Lesson Union Judiciary Textbook Questions and Answers.
AP Inter 2nd Year Civics Study Material 5th Lesson Union Judiciary
Long Answer Questions
Question 1.
Write an essay on the Supreme Court of India.
Answer:
The Supreme Court of India is the Highest Court of Justice in India.
Part V of the Indian constitution from Articles 124 to 147 deals with the composition, Appointment, Qualifications of Judges, powers and Functions of the Supreme Court.
Article 124 provides for the establishment of the Superme Court.
The Supreme Court of India was established in New Delhi on January 26, 1950 with the inauguration of our constitution.
Composition :
The Supreme Court Consists of the Chief Justice and 30 other Judges. There may be some Ad-hoc Judges and retired Judges on temporary basis.
1) Seat of the Supreme Court:
The Head quarters of the Superme Court is situated at New Delhi. The Supreme Court ordinarily shall sits at New Delhi.
- All general cases are adjudicated by a Division Bench Comprising two or more Judges.
- Cases involving the constitutional matters are heard by a constitutional Bench consisting Five Judges.
- For considering special cases larger benches consisting of Five or more than Five Judges are constituted.
2) Appointment:
The judges are appointed by the President. While appointing the Chief Justice, the President consults the retiring Chief Justice and the Prime Minister. He appoints the remaining judges on the advice of the Chief Justice.
3) Qualification :
A judge of the Supreme Court 1) must be a citizen of India. 2) must have worked as a judge of any High Court for atleast 5 years or must have 10 years of experience as an advocate either in the Superme court or any High court or must be a legal expert in the opinion of the President.
4) Salaries :
The Chief Justice gets a monthly salary of Rs. 1,00,000/- and each other judge gets 90,000 per month. They also get allowances. Their salaries should not be reduced to their disadvantage during their term of office.
5) Term of Office :
The judges hold office till they reach 65 years of age. However, they can be removed from office by Parliament through a resolution known as impeachment before the end of their term or they may submit their resignation.
Removal:
A Judge of the Supreme Court can be removed from his position only on the grounds of proved misbehaviour or in capacity by an order of the president after on an address by the Parliament by a Majority of not less than 2/3 votes.
Immunities of Judges :
According to Article 121 of the constitution, No discussion shall take place in the Parliament with respect to the conduct of any Judge of the Supreme Court in the discharge of his duties except upon a motion of impeachment.
Powers and Functions of Supreme Court:
1) Original Jurisdiction :
According to the original Jurisdiction, the Supreme Court hears directly any dispute (a) between the Government of India and one or more States, (b) between the Government of India and any State or States on one side and one or more States on the other (c) between two or more States. The Supreme Court also decides all disputes and doubts regarding the election of the President and Vice President. It protects the Fundamental Rights guaranteed to the citizens by issuing several writs.
2) Appellate jurisdiction:
The Supreme Court is the highest Court of appeal in India. All appeals from all other courts can be heard by Supreme Court. The appellate jurisdiction extends to four types of cases namely civil, criminal, constitutional and special. But, the High Court should give certificate for appealing in the Supreme Court in the first three kinds of cases. But in special cases the certificate of High Court is not required.
3) Advisory Jurisdiction :
The Supreme Court offers it’s advice to the President on those matters of legal or public importance which are referred to him (Art. 143). It’s opinion is purely advisory and not binding on the President. The Supreme Court may refuse to give its opinion to the President. In October 1994 when Dr.S.D.Sharma, the then President of India asked the Supreme Court to give it’s advisory opinion on the Ayodhya issue, the court refused to give it’s opinion.
4) Judicial Review:
The Supreme Court has the power of Judicial Review. It examines the validity of laws passed by the legislatures or the orders issued by the Executive and declares them as ultra vires or unconstitutional if they are against the provisions of the constitution.
5) Court of Record:
The Supreme Court acts as a court of record. All the judgements and interpretations of the Supreme Court are recorded for future references. .
6) Other Powers :
The Supreme Court.
- reviews it’s own decisions.
- supervises the working of the State High Courts and other Subordinate Courts.
- recruits it’s own personnel for its maintenance.
- interprets the constitution and acts as it’s guardian.
- initiates contempt proceedings against those who criticise or defy it’s judgements etc.
Conclusion :
From the above account it is evident that our Supreme Court unique position in the judicial system of the country.
Question 2.
Explain the Powers and Functions of the Supreme Court of India.
Answer:
The supreme Court of India is the Highest Court of Justice in India. Article 124 of the Indian constitution provides for the establishment of the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court of India was established in New Delhi on January 26, 1950. The Supreme Court consists of the Chief Justice and 30 other Judges.
Powers and Functions of Supreme Court:
1) Original Jurisdiction :
According to the original jurisdiction, the Supreme Court hears directly any dispute
- between the Government of India and one or more States.
- between the Government of India and any State or States on one side and one or more States on the other.
- between two or more State. The Supreme Court also decides all disputes and doubts regarding the election of the President and Vice President. It protects the Fundamental Rights guaranteed to the citizens by issuing several writs.
2) Appellate Jurisdiction:
The Supreme Court is the highest Court of appeal in India. All appeals from all other courts can be heard by Supreme Court. The appellate jurisdiction extends to four types of cases namely civil, criminal, constitutional and special. But, the High Court should give certificate for appealing in the Supreme Court in the first three kinds of cases. But in special cases the certificate of High Court is not required.
3) Advisory Jurisdiction :
The Supreme Court offers it’s advice to the President on those matters of legal or public importance which are referred to him (Art. 143). It’s opinion is purely advisory and not binding on the President. The Supreme Court may refuse to give its opinion to the President. In October, 1994 when Dr. S.D. Sharma, the then President of India asked the Supreme Court to give it’s advisory opinion on the Ayodhya issue, the court refused to give it’s opinion.
4) Judicial Review:
The Supreme Court has the power of Judicial Review. It examines the validity of laws passed by the legislatures or the orders issued by the Executive and declares them as ultravires or unconstitutional if they are against the provisions of the constitution.
5) Court of Record:
The Supreme Court acts as a court of record. All the judgements and interpretations of the Supreme Court are recorded for future references.
6) Other Powers :
The Supreme Court.
- reviews it’s own decisions.
- supervises the working of the State High Courts and other Subordinate Courts.
- recruits its own personnel for its maintenance.
- Interprets the constitution and acts as it’s guardian.
- initiates contempt proceedings against those who criticise defy it’s judgements etc.-
7) Review of Judgement :
The Supreme court is empowered to review its own Judgements. It can uphold, modify or nullify its previous judgements. For instance it, while pronouncing its judgement in Golak nathcase vs. Punjab state case in 1967, declared the Parliament has no powers sb amend any of the provisions of fundamental rights of Indian Citizens.
Conclusion :
From the above account it is evident that our Supreme Court enjoys unique position.
Question 3.
Describe Judicial Review.
Answer:
Judicial Review is perhaps the most important power of the Supreme Court. The purpose of Judicial Review is to maintain the supremacy of the Constitution. There is no explicit mention of Judicial Review in the Indian Constitution. The higher courts derive this power from the provisions of Article 13 of the Constitution.
This Article empowers the Supreme Court to validate those laws and executive orders which infringe upon the Fundamental Rights. The makers of our constitution adopted this concept from the American Constitution keeping in view the written nature of the Indian Constitution and federal character of Indian polity.
Judicial Review means the power of the Supreme. Court or High Courts to examine the Constitutional validity of the legislative enactments and executive actions of both Central and State Governments and to declare them ‘null and void’ if found repugnant, of the provisions of the Constitution. As M.V Pylee stated, “Judicial Review is the competence of a court of law to declare the Constitutionality or otherwise of a legislative enactment”.
Article 13 declares all laws that are inconsistent with or direspectful of the fundamental rights, or void to the extent of their inconsistency. Hence, the Supreme Court being responsible for protecting fundamental rights, can declare any legislative act or executive decision that is inconsistent with provisions on fundamental rights as ultra vires or null and void, meaning unconstitutional and inapplicable. Besides, in case of federal relations, the Supreme Court can avail this power if a law is inconsistent with the provisions concerning the distribution of powers between the governments as laid down by the Constitution.
In this context the Supreme Court and High courts reviews legislations on the grounds that (a) they violate fundamental rights or (b) they violate the federal distribution of powers. The Supreme Court’s power of Judicial Review extends to the
- Laws passed by the union and state legislatures,
- Executive actions of the union and states,
- Decisions of the public sector undertakings and
- Constitutional Amendments. The Supreme Court for the first time utilized this power in 1950 itself by declaring Section 14 of the Preventive Detention Act as unconstitutional.
It may be noted that the Supreme Court of India is prominent in the world by exercising the power to determine the validity of the Constitutional Amendment Acts. However, Judicial Review is inevitable due to the following reasons.
- The Supreme Court has to uphold the supremacy of the Constitution.
- It has to maintain the federal equilibrium.
- It has to protect the fundamentals rights of the citizens.
Apart from the above, the power of Judicial Review is a resultant of the position of the Supreme Court as the; guardian of the Constitution. As such it has the final say in interpretation of the Constitution and by such an interpretation, the Supreme Court has extended its power of Judicial Review to almost all the provisions of the Constitution.
Question 4.
What is Judicial Activism? What are its merits and demerits?
Answer:
Generally, Judicial Activism is construed to be the over willingness of the judiciary to jump into the arena of executive or legislative functions. Judicial Activism, in fact, is not a distinctly separate concept from usual judicial activities. In general parlance, the expression “activism” means “being active”, “doing things with decision” and the expression “activist” should mean “one who favours intensified activities”. In this sense every judge is an activist.
Judicial Activism is a policy making in competition with policy making by legislature and executive. The essence of true Judicial Activism is rendering of decisions which are in tune with the temper and tempo of the times. The nature of Judicial Activisim is that it furthers the cause of social change or articulates concepts like liberty, equality or justice.
Judiciary which is an institution that traditionally confined to responding to cases brought before it, began considering many cases merely on the basis of Newspaper reports and postal complaints received by the court. But most of the cases of Judicial Activism have occurred through Public Interest Litigatiqn in the sphere of Public Health, Child Labour, Environment, Corruption etc. Therefore, the Judicial Activism became the most popular description of the role of Judiciary.
Causes for Judicial Activism :
The following are the causes for the emergence of Judicial Activism in India.
- Expansion of the rights of hearing in the administrative process.
- Excessive delegation without limitation.
- Judicial Review over administration.
- Promotion of open government.
- Indiscriminate exercise of contempt of power.
- Exercise of jurisdiction when non – exist.
- Over extending the standard rules of interpretation in its search for socio-economic and educational objectives.
8) Breakdown of other machinery of the government.
Merits of Judicial Activism :
- Judicial Activism has democratized the judicial system by giving, access to the courts not just to individuals but also to groups.
- It has enforced executive accountability.
- It made an attempt to make the electoral system more free and fair.
- It is due to the impact of Judicial Activism during elections the candidates who tender affidavits disclosing their assets, income, educational qualifications, criminal record etc. This enable the people to elect better candidates.
De – Merits:
- Judicial Activism has blurred the line of distinction between the executive and legislature on the one hand and the judiciary on the other hand.
- Some felt that Judicial Activism led to the worsening of relations and balance among the three organs of government.
- Democracy is based on the principle that each organ of government will respect the powers and jurisdiction of others. But Judicial Activism may negate this democratic principle.
Short Answer Questions
Question 1.
Write about the composition of the Supreme Court.
Answer:
The Supreme Court of India is the highest court of Justice in India part V of the India Constitution from Articles 124 to 147 deals with the composition, Appointment, Qualifications of Judges, powers and Functions of the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court of India was established in New Delhi on January 26, 1950.
Composition :
The Supreme Court consists of the chief Justice of India and such number of other Judges as is provided by the law. The parliament is authorised to determine the number of Judges in the Supreme Court. At present, there are a chief Justice and 30 other Judges in the Supreme Court. There may be some Adhoc Judges and retired Judges on temporary basis in the Supreme Court. All general cases are adjudicated by division Bench comprising two or more judges.
Cases involving the constitutional matters are heard by a constitution bench consisting Five Judges.
For considering special cases larger benches consisting of Five or more than Five Judges are constituted.
Question 3.
Mention any two Jurisdictions of the Supreme Court.
Answer:
1. Original Jurisdiction :
The original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court is purely of federal in nature. This power is confined to disputes between (a) the Government of India and any of the States in India, (b) The Government of India and any State of States on one side and other States on the other side or (c) two or more States. This power exclusively belongs to the Supreme Court and no other court in India is empowered to entertain any such suit. However disputes arising out of any treaty agreement, convenant, engagement etc., do not come under this Jurisdiction unless referred to by the President for advisory opinion. The Supreme Court can directly hear the disputes concerning the election of the President and the Vice-President.
2. Appellate Jurisdiction:
The Supreme Court is the highest court of appeal in India. Its appellate Jurisdiction may be divided into three heads.
- Cases involving interpretation of constitution,
- Civil cases and.
- Criminal cases.
i) The Supreme Court hears cases involving a substantial question of Law as the interpretation of. the constitution. It requires the certificate of the High Court for hearing such a case. Sometimes the Supreme Court can take up the appeal if it is satisfied that the case has do with certain intepretation of the constitution.
ii) In case where no constitutional question is involved, the Supreme Court hears appeals on the basis of a certificate of the High Court. Such cases, in the opinion of High Court involve (a) a substantial question of law and (b) the decision of the Supreme Court,
iii) In case of the criminal matters the Supreme Court hears appeals from any Judgement, whether they are in the form of final order or sentence of the High Court. It hears two specified cases namely.
a) Where the High Court has on an appeal reversed on order of acquittal of an accused and sentenced him to death and b) Where the High Court has tried the appeals from any of its subordinate courts convicted the accused and sentenced him to death.
Question 3.
What are the powers of Appellate Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court?
Answer:
The Supreme Court is the highest court of appeal in India. Its appellate Jurisdiction may be divided into three heads.
- Cases involving interpretation of constitution,
- Civil cases and
- Criminal cases.
i) The Supreme Court hears cases involving a substantial question of Law as to the interpretation of the constitution. It requires the certificate of the High Court for hearing such a case. Sometimes the Supreme Court can take up the appeal if it is satisfied that the ease has do with certain intepretation of the constitution.
ii) In case where no constitutional question is involved, the Supreme Court hears appeals on the basis of the High Court. Such cases, in the opinion of High Court involve (a) a substantial question of law and (b) the decision of the Supreme Court.
iii) In case of the criminal matters the Supreme Court hears appeals from any Judgement, whether they are in the form of final order or sentence of the High Court. It hears two specified cases namely.
a) Where the High Court has on an appeal reversed on order of acquittal of an accused and sentenced him to death and b) Where the High Court has tried the appeals from any of its subordinate courts convicted the accused and sentenced him to death.
The Supreme Court also hears appeals by special leave on any judgement of the High Court when the latter certifies that the case is fit for hearing by the Supreme Court. Besides, the Supreme Court as per Article 136 hears appeals over the cases that remain outside the purview of the ordinary law.
Question 4.
Explain the Advisory Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.
Answer:
Under Article 143, the Supreme Court has advisory jurisdiction. Accordingly, the supreme Court offers its advice to the President on those matter of. legal or public or constitutional importance, when the President seeks such advice. It also reports its opinion over the disputes referred to it by the President, arising out of any treaty, agreement which was made or executed before the commencement of the Constitution. So far the Supreme Court rendered its advice to the President on eight occasions. The president, in the recent past, sought the advice of the Supreme Court on the ‘Ayodhya Issue’.
These are excluded by Article 131. However, the Supreme Court is not bound to render advice on such matters and the president is not bound to accept such an advice.
One may immediately question about the utility of the advisory powers of the Supreme Court. The utility is twofold. In the first place, it allows the government to seek legal opinion on a matter of importance before taking, action on it. This may prevent unnecessary litigations later. Secondly, in the light of the advice of the Supreme Court, the government can make suitable changes in its action or legislations.
Question 5.
Write about the Writ Jurisdiction.
Answer:
The word ‘writ’ literally means ‘order’ in written form. Article 32 of our Constitution confers authority upon the Supreme Court, to issue a constitutional writ for the enforcement of Fundamental Rights of the citizens. Any person, whose fundamental rights have been violated, can directly move the Supreme Court for remedy. The Supreme Court issues Habeas Corpus, Mandamus, Prohibitions, Quo-Warranto and Certiorari, for enforcing the Fundamental rights.
i) Habeas Corpus :
Literally means ‘to have the body of. It is issued by the court to affect the release of a person who has not been detained legally. Under this writ the court issues orders to the concerned authority to produce the person before-the court. The failure to abide by the writ order is met with punishment for contempt of court.
ii) Mandamus :
It means ‘we command’. The writ is a command issued by the court to a public official to do a duty which he has failed to do. This writ cannot be issued against private persons.
iii) Prohibition :
It means ‘to forbid’. It is issued by a higher court to a lower court to prevent the latter from exceeding its jurisdiction that it does not posses. This writ can be issued only against judicial and quasi-judical authorities.
iv) Certiorari:
It means ‘to be certified’ or ‘to be informed’. This writ is issued against the lower courts by the Supreme Court or High Courts, if the lower former courts violate their jurisdiction.
v) Quo Warranto :
It means ‘by what authority’ or ‘warrant’. If the court finds that a person is holding a public office which is not entitled to hold that office, it issues this writ for restricting that person from acting in that office. This writ is also not issued with respect to the private offices.
Besides the above, many other mechanism have been established for protecting of human rights. The National Commission for Women, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes & Scheduled Tribes, the National Human Rights Commission etc are some examples in this regard.
Question 6.
Describe Judicial Activism in India.
Answer:
It is the collective responsibility of the legislative, executive and the judiciary to accomplish the goals of the Constitution. Social Justice is the prime goal of the Constitution. Judiciary plays a vital role in achieving this goal. In order to meet the basic needs of the poor the oppressed and suppressed classes of the society, the Supreme Court entertains and also encourages the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in its expanded, role of Judicial Activism.
As a result the apex court has evolved, developed new techinique, discovered and applied new remedies for violation of Fundamental Rights, and attempted to fill the vacuum arising out of executive and legislative inaction.
Due to the negligible attitude of the legislature and lack of edicts from the executive, the vulnerable classes of the society are sometimes denied social justice. In such circumstances, Social Action Groups, Civil Liberties Organizations, Voluntary Organizations etc., have come forward to their rescue through Public Interest Litigation.
As Chief Justice A.S. Ananad remarked that “the expanded concept of Public Interest Litigation by judicial interpretation from time to time has expanded the judicial limits of the courts exercising Judicial Review. This expanded role has been given the title of Judicial Activism by those who are critical of this expanded role of the Judiciary”.
Question 7.
What is meant Public Interest Litigation (PIL). [Mar. 17]
Answer:
The institution of Public Interest Litigation originated in USA during the mid 1960s. PIL or Social Action Litigation is an offshoot of liberalized rules of locus – standi. The traditional rule of locus-standi was based on the fact that judicial remedy can be sought only by those who have suffered an injury on account of violation of legal right by some public authority. The PIL choose liberalize this rule by making it clear that any person who suffer an injury but is unable to reach the court can take help of public minded citizens to reach the court to seek justice.
Public Interest Litigation Movement in India emerged during post-emergency years intending to make the judicial system accessible to the socially and economically lower sections of the society. In most of cases, Judicial Activism has occurred through public interest litigation. In public interest litigation any person or group can approach the Supreme Court and High Court for the redressal of grievances on behalf of the victim or victims who were incapable of approaching the court.
Under this new arrangement, a destitute citizen can file a writ petition even through a simple letter written on the post card. This derives authenticity from the “right be heard” as implied by Article 32 of the Constitution. But the court has to ensure that the petitioner who approaches the court with PIL, is acting bona- fide and not for personal gains private profit, political or other oblique considerations. The court should not allow this process to be abused by politicians and others to delay legitimate administrative action or to gain a political objective.
Question 8.
What is the Meaning of Independence of Judiciary? How is it ensured by the constitution?
Answer:
The Judiciary performs its Functions independently. The Legislature or the executive shall not interfere in the working of the Judiciary. The Judiciary carries on its obligations according to the constitutional norms and democratic principles.
The following measures have been taken by the constitution to ensure the independence of Judiciary in India.
Measures ensuring for Independence of Judiciary
1. The Legislature is not involved in the process of appointment of judges. Thus, it is believed that party politics would not play a role in the process of appoinments. In order to be appointed as judge, a person must have experience as a advocate and / or must be well versed in law. Political opinion of the person or his/her political loyalty should not be the criteria for appointments to judiciary.
2. The judge have a fixed tenure. They hold office till reaching the age of retirement. Only in exceptional cases judges may be removed as per the procedure prescribed in the Constitution. This measure ensures that judge could function without fear % or favor.
3. The Judiciary is not financially dependent on either the executive or legislature. The Constitution provides that the salaries and allowances of the judges are not subjected to the approval of the legislature.
4. The actions and decisions of the judges are immune from personal criticism. The judiciary has the power to penalize those who are found guilty of contempt of court. This authority of the court is seen as an effective protection to the judges from unfair criticism.
5. Judiciary in India is neither a branch Of the executive nor a hand-made of the legislature. It has an independent identity under the Constitution.
6. Our Constitution prescribes specific and high qualifications for the judges. Thus, only those persons who have specific qualifications and experience as prescribed by the Constitution can be appointed as Judges of Supreme Court.
7. Security of the service for the Judges is an essential quality for securing the independence of Judiciary. No Judge can be removed from the office except by impeachment and only on the grounds of proven misbehavior or incapacity.
8. The Judiciary in India enjoys the vast jurisdiction. It is no way subordinate to the other organs of the government. Its decisions bind all. Such a powerful position helps the Judiciary to maintain its independence.
Question 9.
What are the Power and Functions of the Attorney-General of India? [Mar. 18, 16]
Answer:
Article 76 of our Constitution provided for the office of the Attorney General of India. The Attorney General is the highest law officer of the Union Government. He is appointed by the President. He holds the office during the pleasure of the President. He is entitled to all privileges and immunities allowed to a Member of Parliament. When he attends sessions of the House, he occupies a seat on the treasury government benches.
Qualifications :
The Attorney General of India Possess the same qualifications that are necessary for a judge of the Supreme Court. They are as follows.
- He must be a citizen of India.
- He must have served as a judge in some High Court for a period of at least five years.
- He must have served as an advocate in some High Court for a period of at least ten years.
- He must be a distinguished jurist in the opinion of the President.
Pay and Allowances :
The Attorney General of India is paid not a salary but a remuneration that is determined by the President. The remuneration of Attorney General is equal to salary of a judge of the Supreme Court.
Removal:
He may quit his office by submitting his resignation to the President. He can be removed by the President in case a special address is passed charging him with ‘proved misbehavior’ or ‘incapacity’ by each House of Parliament with its absolute majority and with two-thirds majority of the members present and voting.
Powers and functions :
The Constitution assigned some specific powers and functions to the Attorney General of India. They are mentioned as follows :
- The Attorney General of India render advice to the Union Government upon such legal matters which are referred to him by the President.
- He performs such other functions of legal character that are assigned to him by the President from time to time.
- He discharges the Functions conferred on him by the constitution or any other Laws.
- He appears in any court of Law on behalf of the union government in all. cases.
- He represents the government in any reference made by the president to the Supreme Court.
- He appears in any High, Court on behalf of the union government.
Very Short Answer Questions
Question 1.
Qualifications of Judges of Supreme Court.
Answer:
A person to be appointed as a judge of the supreme court shall possess the following qualifications :
- He should be a citizen of India.
- He should have continuously worked as a judge in one or more High Courts at least for a period of 5 years.
- He should have continuously worked as an advocate of one or more High Courts for not less than 10 years or
- He should be a distinguished jurist in the opinion of the president of India.
Question 2.
Removal of the Judges of Supreme Court.
Answer:
A judge of the Supreme Court can be removed from his position only on the grounds of proved misbehavior or incapacity. He can be removed from his office by an order of the president, after an address from each house of Parliament, supported by a majority of the total membership of that house and by a majority of not less than 2/3 notes of the members present and voting passed.
Question 3.
Judicial Review. [Mar. 16]
Answer:
Judicial Review means the power of the Supreme Court or High Court to Examine the constitutional validity of the legislative enactments and executive actions of both central and state governments and to declare them ‘null and void’ if found repugnant of the provisions of the constitution.
Question 4.
Court of Record.
Answer:
According to Article 141, Supreme Court acts as court of Record. Being the highest court of the land, its proceedings acts and judgements are kept in record for perpetual memory and further verification and reference.
Question 5.
Judicial Activism.
Answer:
Generally, Judicial Activism is construed to be the over willingness of the judiciary to jump into the arena of executive or legislative functions. In general parlance, the expression “activism” means “being active”, “doing things with decision” and the expression “activist” should mean “one who favours intensified activities”. Judicial Activism is a policy making in competition with policy making by legislature and executive.
The essence of true Judicial Activism is rendering of decisions which are in tune with the temper and tempo of the times. The nature of Judicial Activism is that it furthers the cause of social change or articulates concepts like liberty equality or justice.
Question 6.
PIL.
Answer:
In Public Interest Litigation any person or group can approach the Supreme Court and High Court for the redressal of grievances on behalf of the victim or victims who were incapable of approaching the court. Under this new arrangements a destitute citizen can file a writ petition even through a simple letter written on the post card.
Question 7.
Independence of Judiciary.
Answer:
The Judiciary perform its functions independently. The legislature or the executive shall not interfere in the working of the judiciary. The Judiciary carries on its obligations accordingly to the constitutional norms and democratic principles.
Question 8.
Habeas corpus.
Answer:
Literally means ’to have the body of. It is issued by the court to affect the release of a person who has not been detained legally. Under this writ the court issues orders to the concerned authority to produce the person before the court. The failure to abide by the writ order is. met with punishment for contempt of court.
Question 9.
Seat of the Supreme Court. [Mar. 18, 17]
Answer:
The Supreme Court ordinarily shall sit at New Delhi. The Supreme Court of India was inaugurated on January 28, 1950. All general cases are adjudicated by a division Bench comprising two or more judges. Cases involving the constitutional matters are heard by a constitution bench consisting five judges. For considering special causes larger benches consisting of five or more than five judges are constituted.
Question 10.
Writs.
Answer:
The word ‘writ’ literally means ‘order’ in written form. Article 32 of our constitution, confers authority upon the supreme court, to issue a constitutional writ for the enforcement of fundamental rights of the citizens. Any person whose fundamental rights have been violated, can directly move the supreme court for remedy. The Supreme Court issues harbeas corpus mapdomus prohibition quo-warranto and certiorari for enforcing the fundamental rights.