1.
Supreme Court of India
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The Supreme Court of India is the highest judicial forum and final court of appeal under the Constitution of India, the highest constitutional court, with the power of constitutional review. Consisting of the Chief Justice of India and 30 other judges, it has extensive powers in the form of original, appellate and advisory jurisdictions. As the final court of appeal of the country, it takes up appeals primarily against verdicts of the High Courts of various states of the Union and other courts and it safeguards fundamental rights of citizens and settles disputes between various governments in the country. As an advisory court, it matters which may specifically be referred to it under the Constitution by the President of India. It also may take cognisance of matters on its own, without anyone drawing its attention to them, the law declared by the Supreme Court becomes binding on all courts within India. These new High Courts had the distinction of being the highest Courts for all cases till the creation of Federal Court of India under the Government of India Act 1935. The Federal Court had jurisdiction to solve disputes between provinces and federal states and hear appeal against judgements of the High Courts, the Supreme Court of India came into being on 28 January 1950. It replaced both the Federal Court of India and the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council which were then at the apex of the Indian court system. Supreme Court initially had its seat at Chamber of Princes in the Parliament building where the previous Federal Court of India sat from 1937 to 1950, the first Chief Justice of India was Sir H J Kania. In 1958, the Supreme Court moved to its present premises, originally, Constitution of India envisaged a Supreme Court with a Chief Justice and seven Judges, leaving it to Parliament to increase this number. In formative years, the Supreme Court met from 10 to 12 in the morning, the Right Wing of the structure has the bar - room, the offices of the Attorney General of India and other law officers and the library of the court. The Left Wing has the offices of the court, in all there are 15 court rooms in the various wings of the building. The foundation stone of the courts building was laid on 29 October 1954 by Rajendra Prasad. The Court moved into the building in 1958, in 1979, two new wings - the East Wing and the West Wing - were added to the complex. On 20 February 1980, a bronze sculpture of 210 centimeter height was installed in lawn of the Supreme Court. On the book, a balance is shown, which represents dispensation of justice to all. The sculpture was made by the renowned artist Chintamoni Kar The design of the Courts seal is reproduced from the wheel that appears on the abacus of the Sarnath Lion capital of Asoka with 24 spokes, the inscription in Sanskrit yatodharmastato jayah means whence law, thence victory. It is also referred to - as the wheel of righteousness, encompassing truth, goodness, Supreme Court Rules,2013 entitle only those advocates who are registered with the supreme court, called Advocates-on-Record to appear, act and plead for a party in the court
2.
New Delhi
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New Delhi is the capital of India and one of Delhi citys 11 districts. The National Capital Region is a larger entity comprising the entire National Capital Territory along with adjoining districts. The foundation stone of the city was laid by George V and it was designed by British architects, Sir Edwin Lutyens and Sir Herbert Baker. The new capital was inaugurated on 13 February 1931, by Viceroy, New Delhi has been selected as one of the hundred Indian cities to be developed as a smart city under Prime Minister of India Narendra Modis flagship Smart Cities Mission. Calcutta was the capital of India during the British Raj until December 1911, Delhi had served as the political and financial centre of several empires of ancient India and the Delhi Sultanate, most notably of the Mughal Empire from 1649 to 1857. During the early 1900s, a proposal was made to the British administration to shift the capital of the British Indian Empire, as India was officially named, from Calcutta on the east coast, to Delhi. The Government of British India felt that it would be easier to administer India from Delhi in the centre of northern India. The land for building the new city of Delhi was acquired under the Land Acquisition Act 1894. The foundation stone of New Delhi was laid by King George V and Queen Mary at the site of Delhi Durbar of 1911 at Kingsway Camp on 15 December 1911, during their imperial visit. Large parts of New Delhi were planned by Edwin Lutyens, who first visited Delhi in 1912, the contract was given to Sobha Singh. The original plan called for its construction in Tughlaqabad, inside the Tughlaqabad fort, construction really began after World War I and was completed by 1931. The city that was later dubbed Lutyens Delhi was inaugurated in ceremonies beginning on 10 February 1931 by Lord Irwin, Lutyens designed the central administrative area of the city as a testament to Britains imperial aspirations. Soon Lutyens started considering other places, however, it was rejected by the Viceroy when the cost of acquiring the necessary properties was found to be too high. The central axis of New Delhi, which faces east at India Gate, was previously meant to be a north-south axis linking the Viceroys House at one end with Paharganj at the other. During the projects early years, many believed it was a gate from Earth to Heaven itself. Eventually, owing to space constraints and the presence of a number of heritage sites in the North side. A site atop the Raisina Hill, formerly Raisina Village, a Meo village, was chosen for the Rashtrapati Bhawan, then known as the Viceroys House. The reason for this choice was that the hill lay directly opposite the Dinapanah citadel, which was considered the site of Indraprastha
3.
President of India
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The President of the Republic of India is the Head of State of India and the Commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. The oath of the President is taken in the presence of the Chief Justice of India, the President resides in an estate known as the Rashtrapati Bhavan situated in Raisina Hill in New Delhi. The presidential retreats are The Retreat in Chharabra, Shimla and Rashtrapati Nilayam in Hyderabad, the 13th and current President is Pranab Mukherjee, who was elected on 22 July 2012, and sworn in on 25 July 2012. He is also the first Bengali to be elected as President, India achieved independence from the British on 15 August 1947, initially as a Dominion within the Commonwealth of Nations with George VI as king, represented in the country by a governor-general. Still, following this, the Constituent Assembly of India, under the leadership of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, the Constitution of India was eventually enacted on 26 November 1949 and came into force on 26 January 1950, making India a republic. The offices of monarch and governor-general were replaced by the new office of President of India, the constitution of the Republic of India gave the President the responsibility and authority to defend and protect the constitution of India and its rule of law. Invariably, any action taken by the executive or legislature entities of the constitution shall become law only after Presidents assent, the president shall not accept any actions of the executive or legislature which are unconstitutional. The president is the foremost, most empowered and prompt defender of the constitution, the primary duty of the President is to preserve, protect and defend the constitution and the law of India as made part of his oath. The President is the head of all independent constitutional entities. All his actions, recommendations and supervisory powers over the executive and legislative entities of India shall be used in accordance to uphold the constitution, there is no bar on the actions of the President to contest in the court of law. Legislative power is vested by the Parliament of India of which the president is the head. The President of the Republic summons both the Houses of the Parliament and prorogues them and he can dissolve the Lok Sabha. The President inaugurates Parliament by addressing it after the general elections, the Presidential address on these occasions is generally meant to outline the new policies of the government. All bills passed by the Parliament can become laws only after receiving the assent of the President per Article 111, after a bill is presented to him, the President shall declare either that he assents to the Bill, or that he withholds his assent from it. As a third option, he can return a bill to Parliament, if it is not a money bill, when, after reconsideration, the bill is passed accordingly and presented to the President, with or without amendments, the President cannot withhold his assent from it. Article 143 gave power to the president to consult the Supreme Court about the validity of any issue. These are in the nature of interim or temporary legislation and their continuance is subject to parliamentary approval, ordinances remain valid for no more than six weeks from the date the Parliament is convened unless approved by it earlier. Re-promulgation of ordinances after failing to get approval within stipulated time of the houses of parliament is unconstitutional act by the President
4.
Term of office
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A term of office is the length of time a person serves in a particular elected office. In many jurisdictions there is a limit on how long terms of office may be before the officeholder must be subject to re-election. Some jurisdictions exercise term limits, setting a number of terms an individual may hold in a particular office. Being the origin of the Westminster system, aspects of the United Kingdoms system of government are replicated in other countries. The monarch serves as head of state until his or her death or abdication, in the United Kingdom Members of Parliament in the House of Commons are elected for the duration of the parliament. Following dissolution of the Parliament, an election is held which consists of simultaneous elections for all seats. For most MPs this means that their terms of office are identical to the duration of the Parliament, an MP elected in a by-election mid-way through a Parliament, regardless of how long they have occupied the seat, is not exempt from facing re-election at the next general election. The Septennial Act 1715 provided that a Parliament expired seven years after it had been summoned, prior to the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 parliaments had no minimum duration. Parliaments could be dissolved early by the monarch at the Prime Ministers request, the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 mandated that Parliaments should last their full five years. Early dissolution is possible, but under much more limited circumstances. Hereditary peers and life peers retain membership of the House of Lords for life, Lords Spiritual hold membership of the House of Lords until the end of their time as bishops, though a senior bishop may be made a life peer upon the end of their bishopric. The devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are variations on the system of government used at Westminster, the office of the leader of the devolved administrations has no numeric term limit imposed upon it. However, in the case of the Scottish Government and the Welsh Assembly Government there are fixed terms for which the legislatures can sit and this is imposed at four years. Elections may be held before this time but only if no administration can be formed, offices of local government other regional elected officials follow similar rules to the national offices discussed above, with persons elected to fixed terms of a few years. Federal judges have different terms in office, however, the majority of the federal judiciary, Article III judges, such as those of the Supreme Court, courts of appeal, and federal district courts, serve for life. The terms of office for officials in state governments according to the provisions of state constitutions. The term for state governors is four years in all states but Vermont and New Hampshire, the National Conference of State Legislatures reported in January 2007 that among state legislatures,44 states had terms of office for the lower house of the state legislature at two years. Five had terms of office at four years,37 states had terms of office for the upper house of the state legislature at four years
5.
Constitution of India
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The Constitution of India is the supreme law of India. It is the longest written constitution of any country in the world. The nation is governed by it, B. R. Ambedkar is regarded as its chief architect. It was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 26 November 1949, with its adoption, the Union of India became the modern and contemporary Republic of India replacing the Government of India Act,1935 as the countrys fundamental governing document. To ensure constitutional autochthony, the framers of the repealed the prior Acts of the British Parliament via Article 395 of the constitution. India celebrates its coming into force on 26 January each year and it declares India a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic, assuring its citizens of justice, equality, and liberty, and endeavours to promote fraternity among them. The major portion of the Indian subcontinent was under British rule from 1857 to 1947, when the Constitution of India came into force on 26 January 1950, it repealed the Indian Independence Act. India ceased to be a dominion of the British Crown and became a democratic republic. The date of 26 January was chosen to commemorate the Purna Swaraj declaration of independence of 1930. Articles 5,6,7,8,9,60,324,366,367,379,380,388,391,392,393 and 394 of the Constitution came into force on 26 November 1949 and it is drawn from many sources. Keeping in mind the needs and conditions of India its framers borrowed different features freely from previous legislation viz and it was drafted by the Constituent Assembly, which was elected by elected members of the provincial assemblies. The 389 member Constituent Assembly took almost three years to complete its task of drafting the Constitution for independent India, during which. Of these,114 days were spent on the consideration of the draft Constitution, on 29 August 1947, the Constituent Assembly set up a Drafting Committee under the Chairmanship of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar to prepare a draft Constitution for India, while deliberating upon the draft Constitution, the assembly moved, discussed and disposed of as many as 2,473 amendments out of a total of 7,635 tabled. Ambedkar, Sanjay Phakey, Jawaharlal Nehru, C, there were more than 30 members of the scheduled classes. Frank Anthony represented the Anglo-Indian community, and the Parsis were represented by H. P. Modi, the Chairman of the Minorities Committee was Harendra Coomar Mookerjee, a distinguished Christian who represented all Christians other than Anglo-Indians. Ari Bahadur Gurung represented the Gorkha Community, prominent jurists like Alladi Krishnaswamy Iyer, Benegal Narsing Rau and K. M. Munshi, Ganesh Mavlankar were also members of the Assembly. Sarojini Naidu, Hansa Mehta, Durgabai Deshmukh, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, the first temporary 2-day president of the Constituent Assembly was Dr Sachchidananda Sinha
6.
Law of India
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Law of India refers to the system of law in modern India. India maintains a common law system inherited from the colonial era. During the drafting of the Indian Constitution, Indian laws also adhere to the United Nations guidelines on human rights law, certain international trade laws, such as those on intellectual property, are also enforced in India. Indian personal law is complex, with each religion adhering to its own specific laws. In most states, registering of marriages and divorces is not compulsory, separate laws govern Sikhs, Hindus, Muslims, Christians, and followers of other religions. The exception to rule is in the state of Goa, where a uniform civil code is in place, in which all religions have a common law regarding marriages, divorces. As of January 2017, there were about 1,248 laws, ancient India represented a distinct tradition of law, and had a historically independent school of legal theory and practice. The Arthashastra, dating from 400 BC and the Manusmriti, from 100 AD, were influential treatises in India, manus central philosophy was tolerance and pluralism, and was cited across Southeast Asia. Early in this period, which culminated in the creation of the Gupta Empire, relations with ancient Greece, the appearance of similar fundamental institutions of international law in various parts of the world show that they are inherent in international society, irrespective of culture and tradition. With the advent of the British Raj, there was a break in tradition, as a result, the present judicial system of the country derives largely from the British system and has few, if any, connections to Indian legal institutions of the pre-British era. The Constitution of India, which came into effect on 26 January 1950 is the lengthiest written constitution in the world and it provides details of the administration of both the Union and the States, and codifies the relations between the Federal Government and the State Governments. Also incorporated into the text are a chapter on the rights of citizens. The constitution prescribes a federal structure of government, with a defined separation of legislative and executive powers between the Federation and the States. Each State Government has the freedom to draft its own laws on subjects classified as state subjects, laws passed by the Parliament of India and other pre-existing central laws on subjects classified as central subjects are binding on all citizens. The Indian Penal Code formulated by the British during the British Raj in 1860, the Code of Criminal Procedure,1973 governs the procedural aspects of the criminal law. Jury trials were abolished by the government in 1960 on the grounds they would be susceptible to media and this decision was based on an 8-1 acquittal of Kawas Nanavati in K. M. Nanavati vs. State of Maharashtra, which was overturned by higher courts, in February 2011, the Supreme Court of India ruled that criminal defendants have a constitutional right to counsel. Capital punishment in India is legal, the last execution was conducted on July 30,2015, when the mastermind of 1993 Bombay serial blast, the terrorist Yakub Memon, was hanged in Nagpur
