Basic Concepts of Indian Legal System Pdf

Throughout history, India`s judicial system has undergone many changes. The main pillar and core is the Indian Constitution, which established the functioning of the entire judicial system in India. The rapid development of the country also requires major reforms of the judicial system. The Indian government is trying to remove the obstacles and the backlog. However, more progress still needs to be made. The law is a set of obligations and principles imposed by the government to ensure well-being and bring justice to society. India`s legal framework reflects the social, political, economic and cultural components of society. The common law system has its roots in the history of the legal system in India. The main sources of law in India are the constitution, statutes, customary law and judicial decisions of the supreme courts. Laws passed by Parliament may apply in whole or in part in India, while laws passed by state legislators generally apply within the borders of the states concerned.

This article was written by Tarini Kalra, a BBA-LL. B. student of the Fairfield Institute of Management and Technology associated with guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University in New Delhi. The article discusses in detail an overview of the Indian legal system. The federal system of the Indian Constitution decentralizes powers between the state and the center. Article 246 of the Seventh Schedule of the Indian Constitution establishes three lists that describe competence at each level: Smritis defines the obligations, practices and teachings of religion that an individual must practice in society. “Dharmashastra” is a Smriti and one of the original legal texts written in Sanskrit and containing information such as the principles of the law, the duties of the king, the nature of evidence and witnesses. The king was in charge and was advised by his ministers. The legal process was Vyavahāra under Hindu law. The stages of the judicial procedure were: the trial, the response, the hearing and the decision.

Manusmriti (200 BC – 200 AD), Yajnavalkya Smriti (200 – 500 AD), Naradasmriti (100 BC – 400 AD), Vishnu Smriti (700 – 1000 AD), Brhaspatismriti (200 – 400 AD) and Katyayanasmriti (300 – 600 AD). Chr.) are some of the important smritis of the Dharmashastra texts that have been used as precedents. “Manusmriti” is the ancient set of rules that binds a person through certain responsibilities and obligations. The framework of the judicial system was created throughout the era of dynasties to resolve various civil and criminal issues. The Indian Constitution established a bicameral system. It divides the legislature into Lok Sabha (House of the People) and Rajya Sabha (Council of States). Lok Sabha or the lower house is composed of representatives of the people elected by a universal right to vote for adults, while Rajya Sabha or the upper house is a permanent body that cannot be dissolved and is elected by the legislative members of the state. The judicial system was divided into District Diwani Adalats for civil cases and District Fauzdari Adalats for criminal cases and the Supreme Court of Calcutta was established under the Regulation Act of 1773 AD under the administration of Warren Hastings (1772-1785 AD). During the reign of the Mughal Empire, Mahakuma-e Adalat was found to do justice to the people. The Qur`an, the Sunnah and hadis, the Ijma and the Qiyas were the main sources of Muslim law.

Fiqh-e-Firoz Shahi and Fatwai-i-Alamgiri were the principles that determined the trial. The hierarchy of the justice system has been divided into: One of the most important challenges of the Indian justice system is the backlog of cases. The main cause of addiction is the increasing number of new cases and the slowness with which they are resolved. More than 4.7 crores of trials are pending before the courts at all levels of the judiciary as of May 2022. Nearly 1,82,000 cases have been pending for more than 30 years, of which 87.4 per cent have been before the lower courts and 12.4 per cent before the courts of first instance. According to data from the Department of Justice`s National Judicial Data Grid database, courts experienced a 27% increase in pendence between December 2019 and April 2022. At present, an insufficient number of judges are available to settle disputes. Statistics from the Ministry of Justice show that there were 400 vacancies with a staff of 708 as of June 2022 for judges of the Supreme Court of India and the Supreme Court, which is not enough to eliminate the backlog of pending cases in India. Given the rapid evolution of the country, there is an urgent need to reform the judicial system as well.

There is a legal maxim that delayed justice is denied justice. This is the basis of the right to a speedy trial and equal treatment, which aim to improve the legal system, since the injured party who has suffered the violation hopes for prompt and effective redress of the dispute. Legal issues are resolved too slowly, either because cases are too complex, because the existing system is too complex, or because of the overload of several cases. The reforms should aim at significantly improving the administrative functions of the judiciary. To increase the productivity of the judicial system, the Centre recommended measures such as increasing the number of working days for courts, establishing speedy courts and establishing Indian Judicial Services (ICT). The executive, local government, various economic improvements and administrative reforms should all be seen as part of a well-coordinated and integrated complementary reform initiative that ensures the improvement of the judicial system. Most importantly, legal changes in the country will be impossible to achieve without the institutional balance, unity and capacity of the state to exercise functions of regulation, supervision, economic, civil society and public democratic control. The Vedic, Bronze and Indus Valley civilizations have all contributed to the judicial system in India.

The first known source of law in India was classical Hindu law. The “Dharma” deals with legal and religious obligations. The main sources of Hindu law or “Dharma” are Veda, Smriti and Aâchâra. In a seminal case Kesavananda Bharati v. In the state of Kerala (1973), the Supreme Court defined the principle of the basic structure and ruled that the basic structure of the Indian Constitution could not be changed. The separation of powers is divided into 3 branches, legislative, executive and judicial, each with its own powers and responsibilities. The primary purpose of the separation of powers was to prevent the abuse of authority by a government agency. This model of separation of powers is called trias politica. The idea of this system was inspired by Montesquieu`s model in De l`esprit des Lois, 1747. In India, the separation of powers is nowhere mentioned rigidly, but is found in some parts of the Indian constitution. The details of the three branches are as follows: the Indian judicial system regulates the interpretation of laws and codes, as well as the settlement of disputes, and promotes fairness among the country`s citizens.