One of the world's most powerful judicial structures is the Indian Judiciary. The Judiciary derives its authority from India's Constitution. To check the abuse of the powers bestowed by the Legislature or the Executive, the presence of Courts is necessary. The Indian Judiciary, along with being a custodian of the constitutional rights of the people, is the protector of the Constitution of India. With a fairly long and complex hierarchy of courts, the judiciary is well defined. The judicial system has been set up in such a way that it meets the needs of every single individual in the country. In India, the judicial system is in the shape of a pyramid, with the top of the hierarchy being the Supreme Court. The hierarchy has been established in such a way that it is possible for a person to enter the courts from a remote area to settle their disputes. The scheme is well prepared to deal with problems relating to the Union and the laws of the state.
JUDICIAL COURTS HIERARCHY
THE CRIMINAL COURT’S HIERARCHY IN INDIA IS AS OBSERVES:
Under Article 124 of Part V and Chapter IV of the Constitution of India, the Supreme Court of India-the Supreme Court of India, being the apex court of India, was created.
The High Courts of India- At the second level of the hierarchy, the high courts are. They are governed by Article 141 of the Indian Constitution and are bound by the Apex Court's judgment.
INDIA’S LOWER COURTS HAVE BEEN LISTED AS FOLLOWS:
· Metropolitan tribunals
· Court of Sessions
· Metropolitan Magistrate Chief
· Metropolitan Judge First Class
COURTS IN THE CITY
· Court of Sessions
· Judicial Magistrate in First Class
· Judicial Magistrate in Second Class
· Magistrate Executive
IN INDIA, CONSTITUTION OF CRIMINAL COURTS
THE SESSIONS JUDGE- The creation of the Sessions Court is addressed in Section 9 of the CrPc. The Sessions Court, which must be chaired by a judge appointed by the High Court, is constituted by the State Government. The High Court appoints Judges for Additional and Assistant Sessions. As ordered by the High Court, the Court of Sessions usually sits in such a position or place. In any specific case, however, if the Court of Session is of the opinion that it would have to deal with the convenience of the parties and witnesses, it shall, after the agreement of the prosecution and the accused, preside over its sessions at any other venue.
THE JUDGE OF THE ADDITIONAL/ ASSISTANT SESSIONS-These is appointed by a specific state's High Court. In the absence of the Sessions Judge, they are liable for cases relating to killings, burglary, dacoity, pick-pocketing, and other such cases.
THE JUDICIAL MAGISTRATE-There shall be as many as first and second class Judicial Magistrates in any district that is not a metropolitan area. The High Courts shall name the Presiding Officers. Each Judicial Magistrate must be subordinate to the Judge of the Sessions.
CHIEF JUDICIAL MAGISTRATE - With the exception of the Metropolitan Region, the first-class Judicial Magistrate shall be called Chief Judicial Magistrate. The Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate can only be designated as the Judicial Magistrate of the First Degree.
METROPOLITAN MAGISTRATE - In metropolitan areas, they are created. There is the authority of the High Courts to select the presiding officers. The chief metropolitan magistrate is appointed by the Metropolitan Magistrate. Under the directions of the Sessions Judge, the Metropolitan Magistrate shall act.
EXECUTIVE MAGISTRATE - An Executive Magistrate shall be appointed by the State Government in accordance with Section 20 in each district and in each metropolitan area and one of them shall become a District Magistrate.
CRIMINAL COURT’S POWER
1. THE COURT OF APEX
The ultimate court, at the top of the justice structure, is the Supreme Court. In our country, it has the highest judicial authority.
Article 131 of the Federal Court grants the Supreme Court the power of original jurisdiction to settle the conflict between the Centre and the States or between the two States.
INTERPRETATION OF THE CONSTITUTION-Only the Supreme Court has the power to address a question based on any Constitution-related matter.
Power of Judicial Review (Article 137)- The Judiciary is subject to an inspection of all the laws passed.
The Supreme Court of Appeal is the highest court of appeal in India. It has the power to hear appeals from all the cases that lie in our country's numerous High Courts and subordinate courts. According to Articles 132(1), 133(1), and 134 of the Constitution, a certificate of the grant shall be given in respect of any decision, declaration, or final order in any of the High Court's cases concerning the question of law.
The following types can be used to make appeals to the Supreme Court: -
· Matters of the Constitution
· Civilian Affairs
· Crime Instances
· Petition for Special Leave
2. ABOUT THE HIGH COURTS
Initial Jurisdiction-The complaint can be filed directly in the High Courts in certain matters. This is regarded as the High Court's initial jurisdiction. For example, in cases relating to fundamental rights, marriage, and divorce.
Appellate Jurisdiction- For disputes that arise from the trial court, the Supreme Court is the Appellate Court.
Supervisory Jurisdiction-This applies to the authority of the High Court's general superintendence over all subordinate courts' matters.
In the Constitution of India, the powers of the different courts have been highlighted. The power and duties of the subordinate criminal courts were given, apart from those courts, under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, as referred to in section 6.
The Session Court
· First Class Judicial Magistrate and in every metropolitan area, a metropolitan magistrate
· Judicial Magistrate in Second Class
· Magistrates Executive
Under the Code of Criminal Procedure, listed below, the jurisdiction of the various subordinate courts is set out in section 26-35.
Section 26 applies to the list of courts eligible to prosecute crimes. According to Section 26, any offense referred to in the Indian Penal Code can be prosecuted by:
· The Supreme Court
· Return to the Court of Session
· As defined in the First Schedule of the Code of Criminal Procedure, every other Court of Justice
While it must be ensured that any crime committed pursuant to section 376, section 376A, section 376B, section 376C, section 376D and also section 376E of the Indian Penal Code is brought before a female judge.
3. COURT OF SESSIONS
The Sessions Court, which must be chaired by a judge appointed by the High Court, is constituted by the State Government. The High Court appoints Judges for Additional and Assistant Sessions. As ordered by the High Court, the Court of Sessions usually sits in such a position or places.
4. COURT OF MAGISTRATES
Usually, the magistrate judges are appointed by the High Court. Juvenile jurisdiction (Section 27)-Any person under the age of sixteen who is a juvenile is exempted from the death penalty and life imprisonment.
CHANGES TO BE INCORPORATED IN THE CURRENT ALLOCATION OF POWER BETWEEN THE COURTS:
There are currently no legal rules in India on the issuance of death sentences in criminal cases. Moreover, in most of the offenses, either the maximum or minimum penalty was specified only. It was left to the judge to determine, in each specific case, what the exact term of punishment should be. In cases with similar situations, there is no uniform proceeding or performance for the judges to issue a specific sentence. Even in cases with identical evidence, the quantum of punishment varies. Therefore, the judges should be given a standardized layout showing the parameters on which their decisions should be based.
COMPLETION
In India, the Constitution of India retains absolute power and importance. It is therefore important to provide protections for its security, and therefore the courts have been granted different powers to establish a check and to ensure that no authority abuses its powers and infringes on other realms. The courtrooms are the places where citizens can recognize their complaints and settle their disagreements over the failure of other government structures.
The hierarchy of the courts has been established in such a way that when a conflict occurs, it becomes convenient for anyone living in this country to knock on the doors of the courts. It offers a forum for people to appeal to higher courts in the event that the lower courts believe that justice has been denied to them. India is a country where there is a large population. Therefore, this new judiciary system needs to flourish and promote its process, so that people can easily approach it so that justice is granted to all the citizens of this country.