Supreme Court of India

The Supreme Court of India is the supreme judicial authority and the highest court in India. It is the highest appellate court for all civil and criminal cases in India. The court is led by the Chief Justice of India and has a maximum sanctioned strength of 33 judges excluding the chief justice. It was established on 28 January 1950, two days after India became a republic, and replaced the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council as the highest court of appeal. It has operated from the Supreme Court building in New Delhi since 1958. With expansive authority to initiate actions and wield appellate jurisdiction over all courts and the ability to invalidate amendments to the constitution, the Supreme Court of India is widely acknowledged as one of the most powerful supreme courts in the world.

Established under the Constitution of India, the Supreme Court has extensive powers in the form of original, appellate and advisory jurisdictions. As the apex constitutional court, it takes up appeals primarily against verdicts of the High Courts of various states and tribunals. As an advisory court, it hears matters which are referred by the president of India. It also has the power of judicial review, in which the court invalidates both ordinary laws as well as constitutional amendments as per the basic structure doctrine that it developed in the 1960s and 1970s.

As mandated by the constitution, the Supreme Court is required to safeguard the fundamental rights of citizens and to settle legal disputes among the central government and various state governments. Its decisions are binding on other Indian courts as well as the union and state governments. As per the Article 142 of the constitution, the court has the inherent jurisdiction to pass any order deemed necessary in the interest of complete justice which becomes binding on the president to enforce.