PRESIDENT:

EMERGENCY PROVISION:
CENTRAL VIGILENCE COMMISSION:
Establishment:
Composition:
function book
Britains shadwcabinet formed by opposition……………………India has no suc system
PARLIAMENT
39)

40)
Article 163–Council of Ministers to aid and advise Governor:

o There shall be a Council of Ministers with the Chief Minister as the head to aid and advise the
Governor in the exercise of his functions, except in so far as he is required to exercise his functions in
his discretion.

o If any question arises whether a matter falls within the Governor’s discretion or not, decision of
the Governor shall be final, and the validity of anything done by the Governor shall not be called in
question on the ground that he ought or ought not to have acted in his discretion.

o The advice tendered by Ministers to the Governor shall not be inquired into in any court.

• Article 177–Rights of Ministers as Respects the Houses

o Every minister shall have the right to speak and take part in the proceedings of the Assembly (and
also the Council where it exists) and any Committee of the State Legislature of which he may be
named a member. But he shall not be entitled to vote

.41
• JURISDICTION AND POWERS OF THE SUPREME COURT

• The Constitution has conferred very extensive jurisdiction and vast powers on the Supreme Court.

• It is not only a Federal Court like the American Supreme Court but also a final court of appeal like
the British House of Lords (the Upper House of the British Parliament).

• It is also the final interpreter and guardian of the Constitution and guarantor of the fundamental
rights of the citizens. Further, it has advisory and supervisory powers.

• The jurisdiction and powers of the Supreme Court can be classified into the following:

• Appellate Jurisdiction

o As mentioned earlier, the Supreme Court has not only succeeded the Federal Court of India but
also replaced the British Privy Council as the highest court of appeal.

o The Supreme Court is primarily a court of appeal and hears appeals against the judgements of the
lower courts. It enjoys a wide appellate jurisdiction which can be classified under four heads:

▪ Appeals in constitutional matters.

▪ Appeals in civil matters.

▪ Appeals in criminal matters.

✓ The Supreme Court hears appeals against the judgement in a criminal proceeding of a high

court if the high court

❖ has on appeal reversed an order of acquittal of an accused person and sentenced him to death; or

❖ has taken before itself any case from any subordinate court and convicted the accused

person and sentenced him to death; or

❖ certifies that the case is a fit for appeal to the Supreme Court.
✓ In the first two cases, an appeal lies to the Supreme Court as a matter of right (ie, without any
certificate of the high court).

✓ But if the high court has reversed the order of conviction and has ordered the acquittal of the
accused, there is no right to appeal to the Supreme Court.

▪ Appeals by special leave.

✓ The Supreme Court is authorised to grant in its discretion special leave to appeal from any
judgement in any matter passed by any court or tribunal in the country (except military tribunal and
court-martial). Hence, statement 1 is correct.

✓ This provision contains four aspects as under:

❖ It is a discretionary power and hence, cannot be claimed as a matter of right.

❖ It can be granted in any judgement whether final or interlocutory.

❖ It may be related to any matter–constitutional, civil, criminal, income-tax, labour, revenue,

❖ It can be granted against any court or tribunal and not necessarily against a high court (of course,
except a military court).

✓ Thus, the scope of this provision is very wide and it vests the Supreme Court with a plenary
jurisdiction to hear appeals.

✓ On the exercise of this power, the Supreme Court itself held that ‘being an exceptional and
overriding power, it has to be exercised sparingly and with caution and only in special extraordinary
situations. Beyond that, it is not possible to fetter the exercise of this power by any set formula or
rule.

• Advisory Jurisdiction

o The Constitution (Article 143) authorises the president to seek the opinion of the Supreme Court in
two categories of matters:

▪ On any question of law or fact of public importance which has arisen or which is likely to arise.

▪ On any dispute arising out of any pre-constitution treaty, agreement, covenant, engagement,
sanad or other similar instruments.

▪ In the first case, the Supreme Court may tender or may refuse to tender its opinion to the
president.

▪ But, in the second case, the Supreme Court ‘must’ tender its opinion to the president. In both
cases, the opinion expressed by the Supreme Court is only advisory and not a judicial
pronouncement. Hence, it is not binding on the president; he may follow or may not follow the
opinion. However, it facilitates the government to have an authoritative legal opinion on a matter to
be punished for contempt not only of itself but also of high courts, subordinate courts and tribunals
functioning in the entire country.

• Power of Judicial Review

• Constitutional Interpretation

o The Supreme Court is the ultimate interpreter of the Constitution. It can give the final version of
the spirit and content of the provisions of the constitution and the verbiage used in the constitution.

o While interpreting the constitution, the Supreme Court is guided by a number of doctrines.

• Other Powers

o Besides the above, the Supreme Court has numerous other powers:

▪ It decides the disputes regarding the election of the president and the vice president. In this
regard,it has the original, exclusive and final authority.

▪ It enquires into the conduct and behaviour of the chairman and members of the Union Public
Service Commission on a reference made by the president. If it finds them guilty of misbehaviour, it
can recommend to the president for their removal. The advice tendered by the Supreme Court in
this regard is binding on the President.

▪ It has the power to review its own judgement or order. Thus, it is not bound by its previous
decision and can depart from it in the interest of justice or community welfare.

▪ In brief, the Supreme Court is a self-correcting agency. For example, in the Kesavananda Bharati
case (1973), the Supreme Court departed from its previous judgement in the Golak Nath case (1967).

▪ It is authorised to withdraw the cases pending before the high courts and dispose of them by itself.
It can also transfer a case or appeal pending before one high court to another high court.

▪ Its law is binding on all courts in India. Its decree or order is enforceable throughout the country.
All authorities (civil and judicial) in the country should act in aid of the Supreme Court.

▪ It has the power of judicial superintendence and control over all the courts and tribunals
functioning in the entire territory of the country.

• The Supreme Court’s jurisdiction and powers with respect to matters in the Union list can be
enlarged by the Parliament.• Further, its jurisdiction and powers with respect to other matters can
be enlarged by a special agreementx between the Centre and the states.

SUPREME COURT ADVOCATES

✓ Senior Advocates

❖ These are Advocates who are designated as Senior Advocates by the Supreme Court of India or by
any High Court.
❖ The Court can designate any Advocate, with his consent, as Senior Advocate if in its opinion by
virtue of his ability, standing at the Bar or special knowledge or experience in law the said Advocate
is deserving of such distinction.

❖ A Senior Advocate is not entitled to appear without an Advocate-on-Record in the Supreme Court
or without a junior in any other court or tribunal in India.

❖ He is also not entitled to accept instructions to draw pleadings or affidavits, advise on evidence or
do any drafting work of an analogous kind in any court or tribunal in India or undertake
conveyancing work of any kind whatsoever but this prohibition shall not extend to settling any such
matter as aforesaid in consultation with a junior.

✓ Advocates-on-Record

❖ Only these advocates are entitled to file any matter or document before the Supreme Court. They
can also file an appearance or act for a party in the Supreme Court..

✓ Other Advocates

❖ These are advocates whose names are entered on the roll of any State Bar Council maintained
under the Advocates Act, 1961 and they can appear and argue any matter on behalf of a party in the
Supreme Court but they are not entitled to file any document or matter before the Court.
 Composition of Council (Article 171)

o Strength: Unlike the members of the legislative assembly, the members of the legislative council
are indirectly elected. The maximum strength of the council is fixed at one-third of the total strength
of the assembly and the minimum strength is fixed at 406. It means that the size of the council
depends on the size of the assembly of the concerned state.

o This is done to ensure the predominance of the directly elected House (assembly) in the legislative
affairs of the state. Though the Constitution has fixed the maximum and the minimum limits, the
actual strength of a Council is fixed by Parliament.

o Manner of Election: Of the total number of members of a legislative council:

▪ 1/3 are elected by the members of local bodies in the state like municipalities, district boards, etc.,

▪ 1/12 are elected by graduates of three years standing and residing within the state,

▪ 1/12 are elected by teachers of three years standing in the state, not lower in standard than
secondary school,

▪ 1/3 are elected by the members of the legislative assembly of the state from amongst persons who
are not members of the assembly,

▪ and the remainder is nominated by the governor from persons who have a special knowledge or
practical experience of literature, science, art, cooperative movement, and social service.

▪ Thus, 5/6 of the total number of members of a legislative council are indirectly elected and 1/6 are
nominated by the governor. The members are elected in accordance with the system of proportional
representation by means of a single transferable vote. The bonafide or propriety of the governor’s
nomination, in any case, cannot be challenged in the courts.

o This scheme of the composition of a legislative council as laid down in the Constitution is tentative
and not final. The Parliament is authorized to modify or replace the same. However, it has not
enacted any such law so far.

Accordingly, the Parliament enacted the Delimitation Commission Acts in 1952, 1962,
1972, and 2002 for this purpose.
• The 42nd Amendment Act of 1976 froze the allocation of seats in the Lok Sabha to the states and
the division of each state into territorial constituencies till the year 2000 at the 1971 level. This ban
on readjustment was extended for another 25 years (ie, up to the year 2026) by the 84th
Amendment Act of 2001, with the same objective of encouraging population limiting measures.

• The 84th Amendment Act of 2001 also empowered the government to undertake readjustment
and rationalization of territorial constituencies in the states on the basis of the population figures of
the 1991 census.

• Later, the 87th Amendment Act of 2003 provided for the delimitation of constituencies on the
basis of the 2001 census and not the 1991 census. However, this can be done without altering the
number of seats allotted to each state in the Lok Sabha.
The salient features of the Family Courts Act, of 1984 are as follows:
• It provides for the establishment of Family Courts by the State Governments in consultation with
the High Courts.

• It makes it obligatory on the State Governments to set up a Family Court in every city or town with
a population exceeding one million.

• It enables the State Governments to set up Family Courts in other areas also if they deem it
necessary.

• It makes it obligatory on the part of the Family Court to endeavour, in the first instance to effect a
reconciliation or a settlement between the parties to a family dispute. During this stage, the
proceedings will be informal and rigid rules of procedure shall not apply.

• It provides for the association of social welfare agencies, counsellors, etc., during the conciliation
stage and also secures the service of medical and welfare experts.

• It provides that the parties to a dispute before a Family Court shall not be entitled, as of right, to
be represented by a legal practitioner. However, the court may, in the interest of justice, seek the
assistance of a legal expert as amicus curiae.

• It simplifies the rules of evidence and procedure so as to enable a Family Court to deal effectively
with a dispute.

• It provides for only one right of appeal which shall lie to the High Court.

A notified area committee is created for the administration of two types of areas–a
fast developing town due to industrialisation, and a town which does not yet fulfil all the conditions
necessary for the constitution of a municipality, but which otherwise is considered important by the
state government. Since it is established by notification in the government gazette, it is called as
notified area committee.

• Though it functions within the framework of the State Municipal Act, only those provisions of the
act apply to it which are notified in the government gazette by which it is created. It may also be
entrusted to exercise powers under any other act. Its powers are almost equivalent to those of a
municipality.

• But unlike the municipality, it is an entirely nominated body, that is, all the members of a notified
area committee including the chairman are nominated by the state government. Thus, it is neither
an elected body nor a statutory body.

A cantonment board is established for municipal administration for the civilian population in
the cantonment area. A cantonment area is a delimited area where the military forces and troops
are permanently stationed. It is set up under the provisions of the Cantonments Act of 2006–
legislation enacted by the Central government. It works under the administrative control of the
defense ministry of the Central government, a cantonment board is created as well as administered
by the Central government.

• A cantonment board consists of partly elected and partly nominated members. The elected
members hold office for a term of five years while the nominated members (i.e., ex-officio members)
continue so long as they hold the office in that station. The military officer commanding the station is
the ex-officio president of the board and presides over its meetings. The vice-president of the board
is elected by the elected members from amongst themselves for a term of five years.

.• The functions performed by a cantonment board are similar to those of a municipality. These are
statutorily categorized into obligatory functions and discretionary functions. The sources of income
include both, tax revenue and non-tax revenue.