Judiciary and Federalism Questions for CDS

Structure of Indian Judiciary

India has a single integrated judiciary with the Supreme Court at the top, High Courts at the state level, and subordinate courts below. Unlike the US, India does not have separate federal and state court systems. The Supreme Court sits in New Delhi and consists of the Chief Justice of India (CJI) plus up to 33 other judges (total 34 sanctioned strength as per current law).

• Supreme Court established under Article 124. Original strength was 8 judges; now 34.
• High Courts established under Article 214. They have original, appellate, and supervisory jurisdiction.
• Article 141: Law declared by Supreme Court is binding on all courts in India.
• Article 142: Supreme Court can pass any order to do complete justice — its extraordinary power.
• District Courts are the principal subordinate courts; they handle most civil and criminal cases.
• CJI is appointed by President; convention is to appoint the seniormost judge of the Supreme Court.

Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has three main types of jurisdiction. Original jurisdiction means it hears certain cases directly, not on appeal. Appellate jurisdiction covers appeals from High Courts. Advisory jurisdiction means the President can ask for its opinion on legal questions under Article 143.

• Original jurisdiction (Article 131): Disputes between Centre and State or between two or more States.
• Writ jurisdiction (Article 32): Citizens can directly approach Supreme Court for enforcement of Fundamental Rights. This right itself is a Fundamental Right.
• Appellate jurisdiction: Civil, criminal, and constitutional matters from High Courts.
• Advisory jurisdiction (Article 143): President seeks Supreme Court opinion — but opinion is NOT binding.
• Review jurisdiction (Article 137): Supreme Court can review its own judgments.
• Public Interest Litigation (PIL) is a judicial innovation — not mentioned in Constitution but widely used.

Judicial Review and Independence

Judicial Review is the power of courts to examine the constitutionality of laws and executive actions. If a law violates the Constitution, the Supreme Court can strike it down. This power is implied in Articles 13, 32, and 136. Judicial independence is protected through security of tenure, fixed salaries charged to Consolidated Fund of India, and a collegium system for appointments.

• Article 13: Laws inconsistent with Fundamental Rights are void — the foundation of Judicial Review.
• Judges of Supreme Court can only be removed by impeachment — motion in both Houses with special majority.
• Salaries of SC and HC judges are charged to Consolidated Fund — not voted by Parliament, ensuring independence.
• Collegium system: Judges appoint judges — CJI plus 4 senior-most SC judges recommend appointments.
• NJAC (National Judicial Appointments Commission) was struck down in 2015 as unconstitutional.
• Basic Structure Doctrine: Parliament cannot amend the basic structure of Constitution (Kesavananda Bharati, 1973).

Federal Structure of India

India is described as a Union of States, not a federation of states. Dr. Ambedkar chose this phrase deliberately to signal that the Union is indestructible even if states can be reorganised. India follows a quasi-federal model — federal features with a strong unitary bias. The Constitution distributes powers via three lists in the Seventh Schedule.

• Union List (List I): 98 subjects — only Parliament can legislate. Includes defence, foreign affairs, atomic energy.
• State List (List II): 59 subjects — only State Legislatures can legislate. Includes police, public order, agriculture.
• Concurrent List (List III): 52 subjects — both can legislate, but Centre prevails in conflict. Includes education, forests, marriage.
• Residuary powers vest with the Centre (Article 248) — unlike USA where residue goes to states.
• In national interest, Parliament can legislate on State List subjects (Article 249) with Rajya Sabha resolution.
• Article 356 (President's Rule) — Centre can take over state administration; a strong unitary feature.

Centre-State Relations

Centre-State relations are covered in Parts XI and XII of the Constitution. They cover legislative, administrative, and financial relations. The Sarkaria Commission (1983) and Punchhi Commission (2007) recommended reducing Centre's overreach and strengthening cooperative federalism. GST Council is a modern example of cooperative federalism.

• Article 256: States must follow Central laws; Centre can give directions to states.
• Article 257: Centre can give directions to states for protection of railways and national communications.
• Finance Commission (Article 280) recommends distribution of tax revenues between Centre and States.
• Inter-State Council (Article 263) can be set up by President for coordination — currently exists.
• Governors are appointed by President and act as a link between Centre and State — often a point of controversy.
• Zonal Councils are statutory bodies (not constitutional) set up under States Reorganisation Act 1956 for regional coordination.

Landmark Cases — Must Know for CDS

CDS frequently asks about landmark Supreme Court cases that shaped the Constitution. Know the case name, year, and the principle it established. These are direct one-liner questions.

• Kesavananda Bharati (1973): Basic Structure Doctrine — Parliament cannot destroy the basic structure.
• Maneka Gandhi (1978): Article 21 right to life expanded; procedure must be fair, just, reasonable.
• SR Bommai (1994): Imposed limits on misuse of Article 356 — President's Rule subject to judicial review.
• Minerva Mills (1980): Reaffirmed Basic Structure; balance between Fundamental Rights and DPSPs is basic structure.
• Vishaka (1997): Guidelines on sexual harassment at workplace — became law via POSH Act 2013.
• Golaknath (1967): Parliament cannot amend Fundamental Rights — later overruled by Kesavananda Bharati.

• Confusing Article 32 (Supreme Court writ jurisdiction — itself a Fundamental Right) with Article 226 (High Court writ jurisdiction — wider but not a Fundamental Right). CDS loves this distinction.
• Thinking residuary powers go to States like in the USA. In India, residuary powers go to the Centre under Article 248.
• Mixing up Union List, State List, and Concurrent List subject counts. Remember 98-59-52 (descending, like stairs going down).
• Assuming the Supreme Court's advisory opinion under Article 143 is binding on the President — it is NOT binding.
• Confusing Sarkaria Commission (Centre-State relations) with Finance Commission (tax devolution). Both relate to Centre-State but are completely different bodies.

• Lists memory hook — 98-59-52: think of it as a countdown ladder. Union gets the most (98), States get middle (59), Concurrent is last (52). U-S-C = Upward to downward.
• Article 32 vs 226: 32 is for Supreme Court and is itself a Fundamental Right — think SC = Special Court, Special Right. 226 is High Court — wider but ordinary right.
• KASHMV for landmark cases: Kesavananda, AK Gopalan, SR Bommai, Maneka, Minerva, Vishaka — these six cover 80 percent of case-based questions.
• Federal features of India mnemonic WRIST: Written Constitution, Rigid Constitution, Independent Judiciary, Supremacy of Constitution, Two levels of government. Unitary bias = CAGE: Central residue, Article 356, Governor as agent, Emergency provisions.

• CDS GK section typically has 3-4 direct questions from Judiciary and 2-3 from Federalism per paper. Article numbers are asked directly — memorise Articles 124, 131, 141, 142, 143, 214, 226, 248, 249, 280, 356.
• Landmark case questions follow a pattern: a principle is described and you must identify the case, or the case name is given and you pick the correct principle. Study cases as name-principle pairs only.
• Centre-State relations questions often come camouflaged as current affairs — for example, a dispute between a state and the Centre about a subject. Map it to the correct List in the Seventh Schedule.
• Writ jurisdiction questions are very common. Know all five writs: Habeas Corpus (produce the body), Mandamus (command to perform duty), Prohibition (stop inferior court), Certiorari (quash order), Quo Warranto (by what authority). Memory trick: HM PCQ — He Might Possibly Certify Quickly.
• Avoid spending more than 40 seconds per question in this area. These are pure recall questions — either you know it or you do not. If unsure between two options, the more specific or restrictive answer is usually correct in constitutional law questions.