Question 60 of 77 · Judiciary
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Structurally, the judiciary in India is organised as a:

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Answer: Option B — Three-tier hierarchy

Detailed Solution

The Indian judiciary is organised as a hierarchy with three main levels: the Supreme Court at the top, the High Courts at the state level, and the district courts and other lower courts below them.

The three levels:

  • Supreme Court: the highest court of the country, established under Article 124.
  • High Courts: the highest courts in the states, established under Article 214.
  • District and lower courts: the courts in districts and talukas, which deal with most civil and criminal cases at the first stage.

Lower courts:

  • Civil side: District Judge, Senior Civil Judge and Junior Civil Judge (Munsiff).
  • Criminal side: Sessions Judge, Chief Judicial Magistrate and Judicial Magistrates.
  • In metropolitan cities, there are Metropolitan Magistrates.
  • Revenue courts deal with land revenue matters.

Hierarchy and precedents:

  • Decisions of the Supreme Court are binding on all courts in India (Article 141).
  • Decisions of a High Court are binding on all lower courts in that state.

Appeals:

Appeals generally lie from lower courts to the High Court and from the High Court to the Supreme Court.

Special courts and tribunals:

Besides the regular courts, there are special courts and tribunals, such as Family Courts, Consumer Commissions, the National Green Tribunal, Administrative Tribunals and Lok Adalats.

Source:

The Indian judicial structure is largely based on the system developed under British rule and the Government of India Act, 1935.

Independence of the judiciary:

The judiciary is independent of the executive and legislature, with security of tenure, fixed salaries and the power of judicial review.

Pendency of cases:

Crores of cases are pending in Indian courts, most of them in district and lower courts.

Why not the other options?

  • ✗India's judiciary has three main levels, not two or four.

Quick tip

Remember: Indian judiciary = three tiers: Supreme Court → High Courts → district and lower courts.

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Judiciary — Preparation

This question tests your understanding of Judiciary, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.

This topic covers the Indian judiciary: the Supreme Court, High Courts and subordinate courts, the appointment and removal of judges, the collegium system, original, appellate and advisory jurisdiction, judicial review, public interest litigation, and bodies such as Lok Adalats and tribunals. Exams test the article that establishes the Supreme Court (Article 124), its advisory jurisdiction (Article 143), the power of High Courts to issue writs (Article 226), and the process for removing judges. Landmark judgments and the first holders of key judicial posts are also common, especially in law entrance exams such as CLAT and MAH LAW CET. Practise the judiciary questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.