Justice Surya Kant has been appointed as the 53rd Chief Justice of India. He will assume charge on November 24 and will remain CJI for nearly 16 months, till February 9, 2027. Also Read: NCERT Notes for UPSC, CDS, NDA, CAPF AC & AFCAT Written Exam
Important GK Facts for UPSC CDS NDA AFCAT SSC CGL CPO SI Exam
Supreme Court of India: The promulgation of Regulating Act of 1773 established the Supreme Court of Judicature at Calcutta as a Court of Record.
The Supreme Courts at Madras and Bombay were established by King George – III in 1800 and 1823 respectively.
The India High Courts Act 1861 created High Courts for various provinces and abolished Supreme Courts at Calcutta, Madras and Bombay.
The Indian constitution provides for a provision of the Supreme Court under Part V (The Union) and Chapter 6 (The Union Judiciary).
Articles 124 to 147 in Part V of the Constitution deal with the organisation, independence, jurisdiction, powers and procedures of the Supreme Court.
The Indian constitution under Article 124(1) states that there shall be a Supreme Court of India constituting a Chief Justice of India (CJI).
The Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of India can broadly be categorised into original jurisdiction, appellate jurisdiction and advisory jurisdiction.
The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Bill of 2019 has added four judges to strength. It increased the judicial strength from 31 to 34, including the CJI.
Originally, the strength of the Supreme Court was fixed at eight (1 chief justice and seven 7 judges).
The Constitution declares Delhi as the seat of the Supreme Court. It also authorises the CJI to appoint other place or places as seat of the Supreme Court.
He can take decision in this regard only with the approval of the President. This provision is only optional and not compulsory.
The CJI and the Judges of the Supreme Court are appointed by the President.
In 1973, A N Ray was appointed as the Chief Justice of India by superseding three senior judges.
Again in 1977, M U Beg was appointed as the chief justice of India by superseding the then senior-most judge.
In the Second Judges Case (1993), the Supreme Court ruled that the senior most judge of the Supreme Court should alone be appointed to the office of the Chief Justice of India.
The Collegium system was born through “Three Judges Case, 1998”. It is used for appointments and transfers of judges in High courts and Supreme Courts.
The SC collegium is headed by the CJI (Chief Justice of India) and comprises four other senior most judges of the court.
A HC collegium is led by its Chief Justice and four other senior most judges of that court. Names recommended for appointment by a HC collegium reaches the government only after approval by the CJI and the SC collegium.
Through the 99th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2014 the National Judicial Commission Act (NJAC) was established to replace the collegium system for the appointment of judges.
However, the Supreme Court upheld the collegium system and struck down the NJAC as unconstitutional.
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Also Read: Important NCERT Notes for UPSC CDS NDA CAPF AC and AFCAT Written Exam
