- Indian Heritage
- Culture
- Modern Indian history
- The Freedom Struggle
- Post-independence
- Indian Society
A. population and associated issues
B. poverty and developmental issues
C.urbanization
7. Geographical features
8.Indian Constitution
9. Polity
Diamond Jubilee celebration of Supreme Court
History
The Supreme Court of India is the apex judicial body under the Constitution of India. Article 124 of the Constitution states that “There shall be a Supreme Court of India.” The Supreme Court came into existence on 26 January 1950 with the coming into force of the Constitution. The Supreme Court initially functioned from the old Parliament House till it moved to the present building located on Tilak Marg, New Delhi in 1958.
On 28 January 1950, two days after India became a Sovereign Democratic Republic, the Supreme Court was inaugurated. The inauguration took place in the Chamber of Princes in the old Parliament building where the Federal Court of India sat for 12 years from 1937 to 1950.
The inaugural proceedings began at 9:45 am. It was attended by the first Chief Justice of India, Harilal J. Kania and Judges of the Federal Court – Justices Saiyid Fazl Ali, M. Patanjali Sastri, Mehr Chand Mahajan, Bijan Kumar Mukherjea and S.R. Das, the Chief Justices of the High Courts of Allahabad, Bombay, Madras, Orissa, Assam, Nagpur, Punjab, Saurashtra, Patiala and the East Punjab States Union, Mysore, Hyderabad, Madhya Bharat and Travancore-Cochin.
The proceedings were also graced by the Prime Minister of India, ambassadors and diplomatic representatives of foreign States, the Attorney General of India M.C. Setalvad, the Advocate Generals of Bombay, Madras, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, East Punjab, Orissa, Mysore, Hyderabad, and Madhya Bharat and a large number of advocates. To ensure that the Rules of the Supreme Court were published and the names of all the Advocates and agents of the Federal Court were brought on the rolls of the Supreme Court, the inaugural proceedings were put as part of the record of the Supreme Court.
After its inauguration on 28 January 1950, the Supreme Court commenced its sittings in a part of the old Parliament House. The Court moved into a new building in 1958. The first President of India Dr. Rajendra Prasad inaugurated the present building of the Supreme Court of India on 4 August 1958. The building is shaped to project the image of scales of justice. It has a 27.6 metre high dome and a spacious colonnaded verandah. The Central Wing of the building is the centre beam of the scales. The Chief Justice’s Court is the largest of the courts located in the centre of the Central Wing. There is a life size figure of Mahatma Gandhi, the apostle of truth and non-violence in the courtyard opposite the Chief Justice’s Court. The statue was unveiled by the 26th Chief Justice of India, Justice A.M. Ahmadi on 1 August 1996. There is also a 7-foot tall statue of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar which was unveiled by Hon’ble President of India, Smt. Droupadi Murmu in the presence of the 50th Chief Justice of India, Dr. Justice D.Y. Chandrachud on 26 November 2023. The statue honours the architect of the Constitution and captures him in a lawyer’s gown, holding a copy of the Constitution in his hand. To visit the building, one may book a guided tour from the Supreme Court website or obtain the visitor’s pass from the SuSwagatam portal or the front desk of the Supreme Court.
Three extensions were made to the original building- for the first time in 1979, then in 1994, and again in 2015. In 1979, two New Wings – the East Wing and the West Wing were added to the complex. There are 19 courtrooms in the various wings of the building. In 1994, the second extension of the building was made which connected the East and the West Wings.The third extension – the New Extension Block near the Supreme Court Museum was inaugurated by the then Chief Justice of India, Justice H.L. Dattu on 4 November 2015 and some of the Sections from the existing building were shifted to the new building. On 17 July 2019, Hon’ble President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated the Additional Building Complex of the Supreme Court of India. The additional complex, with a total built up area of 1,80,700 sq. mts. has five functional blocks and one service block. The curvature of the building rises from the ground level in the colour scheme and sandstone external cladding, drawing inspiration from the original architecture of the Supreme Court. The Additional Building Complex also houses the New Judges’ Library.
The original Constitution of 1950 envisaged a Supreme Court with a Chief Justice and 7 puisne Judges – leaving it to Parliament to increase this number. In the early years, all the Judges of the Supreme Court sat together (en banc) to hear the cases presented before them. Considering the increase in workload, Parliament increased the number of Judges from 8 in 1950 to 11 in 1956, 14 in 1960, 18 in 1978, 26 in 1986, 31 in 2009 and 34 in 2019 (current strength). Today, the Judges sit in Benches of two and three and come together in larger Benches of 5 and more (Constitution Bench) to decide any conflicting decisions between benches of the Supreme Court or any substantial questions concerning the interpretation of the Constitution.
The proceedings of the Supreme Court are conducted in English. The practice and procedure of working of the Registry on the judicial side is regulated by the Supreme Court Rules, 2013 and Handbook on Practice and Procedure and Office Procedure. The Supreme Court Officers and Servants (Conditions of Service and Conduct) Rules, 1961 contains the rules with respect to the conditions of service and conduct of the staff attached to the Supreme Court of India.
10. Governance
A. institutions
B. regulatory
C. Government policies
One Nation One Election
Elections to the House of the People and Legislative Assemblies of States were mostly held simultaneously from 1951-52 to 1967 after which this cycle got broken and now, elections are held almost every year and within a year too at different times, which result in massive expenditure by the Government and other stakeholders, diversion of security forces and other electoral officers engaged in such elections from their primary duties for significantly prolonged periods, disruption in developmental work on account of prolonged application of Model Code of Conduct, etc.
The Law Commission of India in its 170th Report on Reforms of the Electoral Laws observed that: “This cycle of elections every year, and in the out of season, should be put an end to. We must go back to the situation where the elections to Lok Sabha and all the Legislative Assemblies are held at once. It is true that we cannot conceive or provide for all the situations and eventualities that may arise whether on account of the use of Article 356 (which of course has come down substantially af ter the decision of Supreme Court in S.R. Bommai vs Union of India) or for other reasons, yet the holding of a separate election to a Legislative Assembly should be an exception and not the rule. The rule ought to be ‘one election once in five years for Lok S abha and all the Legislative Assemblies.
The Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice in its 79th Report on ‘Feasibility of Holding Simultaneous Election to the House of People (Lok Sabha) and State Legislative Assemblies’ submitted in December, 2015 has also examined the matter and recommended an alternative and practical method of holding simultaneous elections in two phases.
In view of the above and in the national interest it is desirable to have simultaneous elections in the country. The Government of India hereby constituted this High Level Committee [hereinafter referred to as ‘HLC’] to examine the issue of simultaneous elections and make recommendations for holding simultaneous elections in the country.
D. role of NGOs
E. measures
11. Social Justice
A. Welfare schemes
Empowering Persons with Disabilities
B Health
C. Education
D. Human Resources
VIKSIT BHARAT@2047
In line with the Prime Minister’s vision to actively involve the youth of the country in the formulation of national plans, priorities and goals of the country, ‘Viksit Bharat @2047: Voice of Youth’ initiative will provide a platform to the youth of the country to contribute ideas to the vision of Viksit Bharat @2047. The workshops will be a key step towards initiating the process of engaging youth to share their ideas and suggestions for Viksit Bharat @2047.
Viksit Bharat @2047 is the vision to make India a developed nation by 2047, the 100th year of independence. The vision encompasses various aspects of development, including economic growth, social progress, environmental sustainability, and good governance.
E. poverty and hunger
12. International relations
A. India and its neighbourhood
B. groupings and agreements
International Customs Day
World Customs Organization
On 30 June 2007, the Council of the World Customs Organization (WCO) decided to accept the request of the European Union to join the WCO as of 1st July 2007. This decision grants to the European Union rights and obligations on an interim basis akin to those enjoyed by WCO Members. Full accession will be possible once an amendment to the Convention establishing a Customs Co-operation Council, allowing economic and customs unions to join is ratified by the 172 current Members of the organisation.
The WCO plays an important role in promoting international customs co-operation and addressing new challenges for customs and trade. It is deeply involved in designing and implementing policies worldwide that integrate measures, which help ensure supply chain security, combat counterfeiting, promote trade and development, as well as guarantee efficient collection of customs revenues. Membership of the WCO highlights and confirms the central role and competence of the EU in international discussions on customs issues including customs reform. EU involvement in the WCO will focus on the full spectrum of customs issues, in particular the following broad areas:
- Nomenclature and classification in the framework of the Harmonised system;
- Origin of goods;
- Customs value;
- Simplification and harmonisation of customs procedures and trade facilitation;
- Development of supply chain security standards;
- Development of IPR enforcement standards;
- Capacity building for customs modernisation and reforms, including in the context of development cooperation;
- Mutual Administrative Assistance for the prevention, investigation and repression of customs offences.
The EU is a contracting party to several WCO Conventions, and contributes to the work of this organisation, including by ensuring presence and coordination with the Member States in defining and representing EU positions in the relevant bodies managing these conventions.
The European Union held the Vice-Chairmanship of the World Customs Organisation’s Europe region for two years from July 1st 2014 to July 16th 2016.
C.Indian diaspora
13. Economic Development
A. Government Budgeting
B. industrial
E.issues
14. Technology
15. Environment
16. Security
17. Disaster Management