Question

'India has an integrated judiciary'. What does this statement mean?

Answer 1

Hint: Integrated judiciary means that the decisions of the higher courts of a State are binding on all its subordinate courts. Judiciary plays an important role in India as an organ of the government which settles disputes and protects the fundamental rights mentioned in the Constitution.

Complete answer: India has an integrated judiciary means that the higher courts have supreme authority over all other courts in the country. In the Indian case, the Supreme Court is the supreme of all other courts and is the supreme guardian of the law of the land. It hears cases that come as an appeal from the High Courts when an individual or a group is not satisfied with the decisions of the High Court.
The Supreme Court is the supreme of all courts and the decisions of the Court are binding by all. The jurisdiction of the Supreme Court is of fivefold – Original Jurisdiction, Writ Jurisdiction, Appellate Jurisdiction, Advisory Jurisdiction and Revisory Jurisdiction. The Supreme Court enjoys the power to express its opinion on an issue referred by the President seeking its opinion under Article 143 of the Indian Constitution.
The High Court is the head of a States’ judicial administration. In India, there are 25 High Courts and Calcutta High Court is the first High Court of the country. The judges of the High Court are appointed by the President, as he is solely responsible for the appointment of any judge in a High Court. The President might consult the Governor of the State, the acting Chief Justice of India and Chief Justice of that particular state in matters relating to the appointment of judges.

Note: Both the courts have different types of jurisdiction. The jurisdiction of the Supreme Court is five-fold - Original, Writ, Appellate, Advisory, Revisory whereas the High Court enjoys three types of jurisdiction - Original, Appellate and Writ Jurisdiction.