Rights Every Indian Should Know

1) As per Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act of 1956, wedded couples can't adopt two children of same sex.

2) A woman can lodge a complaint via an email or registered post to Deputy Commissioner or Commissioner of Police if she is unable to go to police station. 3) As indicated by Indian Sarais Act, 1867 any individual can request water complimentary from any hotel whenever for themselves and their pets. Besides, the individual in question can utilize the washroom for free, and nobody can stop them.

4) While buying immovable property (like land or flat) - Giving a public notice in the newspaper is a must. It doesn't matter which one. It need not be English. Any state language also will do and any paper with some circulation will do. This Public notice is the thing that secures your interest in the courtroom on the off chance that you face any lawsuit with respect to your acquired property. 5) Under Section 14 of the Hindu Marriage Act 1955, a couple cannot register a petition for divorce within a year of marriage. However, if the court feels that the petitioner is experiencing immense problems then the former can permit the latter to file for divorce. 6) A lot of us are unaware that household LPG buyers are qualified for a front of Rs.40 lakh if there should be an occurrence of death toll or harm to property because of cylinder blasts. 7) Live-in relationships are not unlawful in India. It is lawful for any two consenting grown-ups have the freedom to live respectively without marriage if they wish to. Likewise, children born of union are qualified for legacy rights. 8) Article 39 (A) of Constitution of India grants equal pay to men and women at their work places. 9) Giver and taker of bribe could serve 6-7 years of jail time. 10) Only female officers can accompany ladies to the police station. Not exclusively do male officials reserve no privilege to accompany a lady however she can refuse to go to the police station between 6 pm to 6 am. In case of a serious crime, a written grant from the magistrate is required for male officers to accompany her.

FAST TRACK COURTS

4.2007, Hon’ble Mr. Justice K. G. Balakrishnan, CJI, expressed the view that these courts have been quite successful in reducing the arrears. Most of the criminal cases in subordinate courts are pending at the level of Magistrates. Keeping in view The Eleventh Finance Commission recommended a scheme for creation of 1734 Fast Track Courts in the country for disposal of long pending Sessions and other cases. The Ministry of Finance, Government of India sanctioned an amount of Rs.502.90 crores as “special problem and upgradation grant” for judicial administration. The scheme was for a period of 5 years. Out of 18.46 lakh cases transferred to them, 10.66 lakh cases were disposed of by these courts at the end of the said scheme on 31.03.2005. Keeping in view the performance of Fast Track Courts and contribution made by them towards clearing the backlog, the scheme has been extended till 31.03.2010 with a provision of Rs. 509 crores as 100 percent central assistance.

In his address at a Joint Conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices, at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi on 08.0the performance of Fast Track Courts of Session Judges, the Government of India should formulate a similar scheme for setting up Fast Track Courts of Magistrates in each State, as recommended by the previous Conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices held on 11.03.2006. Similar views were expressed by Hon’ble Mr. Justice B. N. Agrawal, Judge, Supreme Court of India, on 01.08.2007 at the Lecture Series organized by the Supreme Court Bar Association.

In this era of globalization and rapid technological developments, which is affecting almost all economies and presenting new challenges and opportunities, judiciary cannot afford to lag behind and has to be fully prepared to meet the challenges of the age. It is heartening to note that use of information and communication technology in judiciary is growing despite various constraints. Day-to-day management of courts at all levels can be simplified and improved through use of technology including availability of case-law and meeting administrative requirements. Congestion in court complex can also be substantially reduced through electronic dissemination of information. The objectives that can be achieved through use of technology include transparency of information, streamlining of judicial administration and reduction of cost.

Increase in the number of judicial officers will have to be accompanied by proportionate increase in the number of court rooms. The existing court buildings are grossly inadequate to meet even the existing requirements and their condition particularly in small towns and moffusils is pathetic. A visit to one of these courts would reveal the space constraints being faced by them, overcrowding of lawyers and litigants, lack of basic amenities such as regular water and electric supply and the unhygienic and insanitary conditions prevailing therein. The National Commission to review the working of the Constitution noted that judicial administration in the country suffers from deficiencies due to lack of proper planned and adequate financial support for establishing more courts and providing them with adequate infrastructure. It is, therefore, necessary to phase out the old and outdated court buildings, replace them by standardized modern court buildings coupled with addition of more court rooms to the existing buildings and more court complexes.

So, we can finally say that the paramount purpose of speedy trial is to safeguard the innocents from undue punishments but prolonged pendency has created an unmountable barrier in that. Huge no. of cases is pending for years together which creates mental and economic pressure on litigants. In hussainara khatoon v. State of Bihar which formed the basis of the concept of the Speedy Trial, it was held that where undertrial prisoners have been in jail for duration longer than prescribed, if convicted, their detention in jail is totally unjustified and in violation to fundamental rights under article 21. Inordinate delays violates article 21 of the constitution: for more than 11 yrs the trial is pending without any progress for no faults of the accused-petitioner. Expeditious rights is a basic right to everybody and cannot be trampled upon unless any of the parties can be accused of the delay. Delay in trial unnecessarily confers a right upon the accused to apply for bail. Under sec. 482 read with 483, Cr. P.C lays that every possible measure to be taken to dispose off the case within 6months from today. No adjournments to be granted until and unless circumstances are beyond the control of judiciary. It is the responsibility of the judiciary to keep a check on under trial prisoners and bring them to trial. Overcrowded courts, inadequate resources, fiscal deficiency cannot be the reasons for deprivation of a person. In cases relating corruption, judiciary should deal with it swiftly and dispose the case as fast as possible.

Judiciary System in India

The Judicial System of India is basically comprising of three kinds of courts :-

1) The Supreme Court

2) The High Courts

3) The subordinate courts

The present Judicial system of India is being made powerful through the Constitution of India. The effective rules and regulations are made of the Constitution and different laws and guideline organized mainly upon the premise of British Law with the extemporized form appropriate for India.

These rules and regulations alongside the Constitution are rudimentary in fixing the composition, jurisdiction and intensity of the individual courts. The details below will highlight the features and the roles of the three types of courts so far the judicial system of India is concerned.

Supreme Court of India

Under the constitution of India, the supreme court is the final court of appeal. Henceforth has the chief justice of India, including 30 judges and other judges for advisory jurisdiction. Unsolved or still in dispute cases are leveled up to Supreme court to reattain justice. If the supreme court declares a law it is binding on all other courts of all States and Union territory. Every court building has 15 courtrooms. The Eligibility to become a Chief justice is:

-The judge in one High court or more, for at least 5 years or advocate in high court for at least 10 years.

-A distinguished judge in the opinion of the President of India.

-Judiciary system

High Court of India

Under the constitution of India, each state should respect to one high court. Mumbai high court is the most oldest high court in India. Each High court has 94 judges out of which 71 are permanent and 23 are extra judges. High court deals with economic issues and legal documentation. These courts also have an additional set of legal professionals. The Eligibility for a high court judge is:

-He should be a citizen of India.

-An advocate should have at least 10 years of practice in any court.

-Judiciary system

District Court of India

Under the constitution of India, district courts or Subordinate Courts are subordinate to the high court. District courts are established according to the population distribution of the district and state. It looks after the Civil and criminal matters of the district. A law announced by the district court is appropriate to every single subordinate court. Since District court is at a higher level. The Eligibility for judge in district court is:

-He should be a citizen of India

-An advocate should have at least 7 years of practice.

For more information Visit: www.ziajudicials.com

                 History of Indian Judiciary

India has a single unified and integrated judicial system and Supreme Court of India is at the apex court of the Indian judicial system. Judiciary plays an important role as an organ of the government. It settles disputes, interprets laws, protects fundamental rights and acts as guardian of the Constitution.

During ancient times, the concept of justice was inextricably linked with religion and was embedded in the ascriptive norms of socially stratified caste groups. Most of the Kings’ courts dispensed justice according to ‘dharma’, a set of eternal laws rested upon the individual duty to be a performer in four stages of life (ashrama) and status of the individual according to his status (varna). In medieval times, the dictum ‘King can do no wrong’ was applied and the King arrogated to himself an important role in administering justice. He became the apostle of justice and so the highest judge in the kingdom. With the advent of the British colonial administration, India witnessed a judicial system introduced on the basis of Anglo-Saxon jurisprudence.

History of the Higher Judiciary Appointment Process

The Sapru committee’s the report, published in 1945, considered the question of the judiciary in some detail, reiterating what the Government of India Act 1935 had set out.: there would be a Federal Court of India which would be the forerunner to the Supreme Court. To separate the judiciary from the executive, the Sapru committee suggested that judges should have fixed salaries and tenures and that they could only be removed for gross misbehavior. Judges were to be appointed by the president, in consultation with the CJI. The committee appointed to deal with judicial questions as part of the Constituent Assembly in 1946 was influenced by the Sapru report, though there was concern over the degree of power is given to presidential will. Nehru However supported the Sapru Committee's suggestions. In 1949, Nehru told the Constituent Assembly judges ought to be individuals of “the highest integrity,” who could “stand up against the executive government, and whoever may come in their way.” BR Ambedkar emphasized the need for judicial independence as well, saying that: “There can be no difference of opinion in the House that our judiciary must both be independent of the executive and must also be competent in itself.” Finally, the constitution stated that “Every Judge of the Supreme Court shall be appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal after consultation with such of the Judges of the Supreme Court and of the High Courts in the States as the President may deem necessary for the purpose,” given that “in the case of appointment of a Judge other than the Chief Justice, the Chief Justice of India shall always be consulted Courts.

Supreme Court of India: The supreme court is the highest court of the country or nation, which is established by the Constitution. According to it, the Supreme The court is a federal court, guardian of the Constitution and the highest court of appeal. Articles 124 to 147 of the Constitution lay down the composition and jurisdiction of the Court. Primarily, it is an appellate court which takes up appeals against judgments of the High Courts of the states and territories. However, it also takes writ petitions in cases of serious human rights violations or any petition filed under Article 32 which is the right to constitutional remedies or if a case involves a serious issue that needs immediate resolution. It had its inaugural sitting on 26 January 1950, the day India's constitution came into force, and since then has delivered more than 24,000 reported judgments.

The Supreme Court comprises the Chief Justice and 30 other Judges.

The proceedings of the Supreme Court are conducted in English only. The Supreme Court Rules of 1966 are framed under Article 145 of the Constitution to regulate the practice and procedure of the Supreme Court. The same is amended and presently governed by the Supreme Court Rules of 2013.

High Courts: The high courts are the principal civil courts of original jurisdiction in each state and union territory. However, a high court exercises its original civil and criminal jurisdiction only if the subordinate courts are not authorized by law to try such matters for lack of pecuniary, territorial jurisdiction. High courts may also enjoy original jurisdiction in certain matters if so designated specifically in a state or federal law.

However, the work of most high courts primarily consists of appeals from lower courts and writ petitions in terms of Article 226 of the constitution. Writ jurisdiction is also an original jurisdiction of a high court. The precise territorial jurisdiction of each high court is different. The appeal order is the following: tehsil-kotwal-criminal/civil courts → district court → high court → supreme court.

District Courts: The District courts of India is established by the State governments of India for every district or for one or more districts together taking into account the number of cases, population distribution in the district. They administer justice in India at a district level. These courts are under the administrative control of the High courts of the State to which the district concerned belongs. The decisions of District court are subject to the appellate jurisdiction of the concerned High court.

The district the court is presided over by one District Judge appointed by the State Government. In addition to the district judge, there may be a number of Additional District Judges and Assistant District Judges depending on the workload. The Additional District Judge and the court presided have equivalent jurisdiction as the District Judge and his district court. The district judge is also called "Metropolitan session judge" when he is presiding over a district court in a city which is designated "Metropolitan area" by the state Government. The district court has appellate jurisdiction over all subordinate courts situated in the district on both civil and criminal matters. Subordinate courts, on the civil side (in ascending order), are, Junior Civil Judge Court, Principal Junior Civil Judge Court, Senior Civil Judge Court (also called sub-court). Subordinate courts, on the criminal side (in ascending order), are, Second Class Judicial Magistrate Court, First Class Judicial Magistrate Court, Chief Judicial Magistrate Court.In addition 'Family Courts" are established to deal with matrimonial disputes alone. The Principal judge of family court is equivalent to District Judge.

Subordinate Courts: Subordinate courts are also known as village courts, Lok Adalat (people's court) or Nyaya panchayat  (justice of the villages) compose a system of alternative dispute resolution. They were recognized through the 1888 Madras Village Court Act, then developed (after 1935) in various provinces and (after 1947) Indian states. The model from the Gujarat State (with a judge and two assessors) was used from the 1970s onwards. In 1984 the Law Commission recommended creating Panchayats in rural areas with laymen ("having educational attainments"). The 2008 Gram Nyayalayas Act had foreseen 5,000 mobile courts in the country for judging petty civil (property cases) and criminal (up to 2 years of prison) cases. However, the Act has not been enforced properly, with only 151 functional Gram Nyayalayas in the country (as of May 2012) against a target of 5000 such courts. The major reasons behind the non-enforcement include financial constraints, the reluctance of lawyers, police and other government officials.