Contents

1. High Court 210

1.1. Organization of High Court 210

1.2. Eligibility Criteria for High Court Judges 210

1.3. Tenure of Judges 210

1.4. Appointment of Judges 211

1.5. Oath 211

1.6. Salaries of Judges 212

1.7. Removal of Judges 212

1.8. Transfer of Judges 212

1.9. Jurisdiction and Powers of High Court 212

1.9.1. Original Jurisdiction 212

1.9.2. Writ Jurisdiction 213

1.9.3. Appellate Jurisdiction 213

1.9.4. Power of Superintendence 213

1.9.5. A Court of Record 214

1.9.6. Power of Judicial Review (Art. 13 and Art. 226) 214

2. Subordinate Courts 214

2.1. Gram Nyayalayas Act, 2008 215

2.1.1. Structure 215

2.1.2. Jurisdiction 216

2.1.3. Procedure followed by Gram Nyayalayas 216

2.1.4. Appeal against the decision of Nyayalayas 216

2.1.5. Issue with Gram Nyayalayas 216

2.2. Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) 216

2.2.1. Tools of Alternative Dispute Redressal 217

2.2.2. Advantages of ADRs 217

2.2.3. Disadvantages of ADRs 217

2.2.4. High Level Committee on institutionalization of arbitration 217

3. The National Legal Services Authority 218

3.1. NALSA Eligibility Criteria for Free Legal Services 219

4. Lok Adalats 219

4.1. Levels of Lok Adalat 219

4.2. Types of Lok Adalat 220

4.3. Criticism of Lok Adalats 220

5. Fast Track Courts (FTCs) 220

5.1. Evolution and Structure 220

5.2. Challenges 221

6. Commercial Courts 221

6.1. Key features of the 2015 Act 221

6.2. Significance 222

6.3. Issues 222

6.4. The 2018 Amendment to the Act 223

7. All India Judicial Service (AIJS) 223

7.1. Historical background 223

7.2. Rationale for AIJS 223

7.3. Arguments against AIJS 224

8. Judicial Activism and Judicial Overreach 224

8.1. Difference between Judicial Activism and Judicial Overreach 224

8.2. Examples of Judicial Activism in India 225

8.2.1. Persons in custody to be debarred from contesting elections 225

8.2.2. MPs, MLAs to be Disqualified on Date of Criminal Conviction 226

8.2.3. SC Ruling on Appointments in Central Information Commission 226

8.2.4. Supreme Court’s Ruling on Fixed Tenure for Bureaucrats 226

8.2.5. Voter’s right to cast negative vote 227

8.2.6. The VVPAT Ruling 227

8.2.7. Ruling on Election Manifesto 227

8.2.8. Stay on Caste-Based Rallies in UP 228

8.2.9. Ruling on Nomination Papers 228

8.2.10. Judgment on Commutation of Death Sentence 229

8.2.11. Supreme Court’s Ruling on Acid Sale 229

8.2.12. Interlinking of Rivers 229

8.2.13. Earlier Cases of Judicial Activism 229

9. Comparison between the Supreme Court and High Court 231

10. Previous Year UPSC GS Prelims Questions 232

11. Previous Year UPSC GS Mains Questions 235

12. Previous Year GS Mains Questions 235

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