Judiciary questions in general studies papers are rarely about law. They are about firsts, articles and numbers — who was the first Chief Justice, which article establishes the Supreme Court, what the retirement age is, which was the oldest High Court. All of these are fixed facts that never change, and they are worth separating from the parts of the topic that do change. This post gives the firsts, the articles, the structure and the landmark cases, followed by previous year questions.
Key Points (Quick Revision)
- Supreme Court came into existence on 26 January 1950; first Chief Justice was H. J. Kania
- Article 124 establishes the Supreme Court; Article 214 provides for High Courts in states
- Retirement age — Supreme Court judge 65, High Court judge 62
- First woman judge of the Supreme Court — Justice M. Fathima Beevi
- Calcutta High Court (1862) is the oldest High Court in India
1. Firsts in the Indian judiciary
| First | Who or what |
|---|---|
| First Chief Justice of India | Justice H. J. Kania |
| First Chief Justice of the Federal Court of India | Sir Maurice Gwyer |
| Last Chief Justice of the Federal Court | Sir Patrick Spens |
| First woman judge of the Supreme Court | Justice M. Fathima Beevi, appointed 1989 |
| First woman judge of a High Court in India | Justice Anna Chandy, in the Kerala High Court |
| First woman Chief Justice of a High Court | Justice Leila Seth, Himachal Pradesh High Court |
| Longest-serving Chief Justice of India | Justice Y. V. Chandrachud, about seven years |
| Shortest tenure as Chief Justice of India | Justice Kamal Narain Singh, seventeen days |
| Only Chief Justice of India to act as President of India | Justice M. Hidayatullah |
| Oldest High Court in India | Calcutta High Court, 1862 |
Three of these are asked far more than the rest. H. J. Kania as the first Chief Justice, Fathima Beevi as the first woman on the Supreme Court, and M. Hidayatullah, who acted as President of India while holding judicial office and later became Vice-President.
Keep the three women's firsts apart, because they are used as distractors for each other. Anna Chandy was the first woman judge in a High Court, Leila Seth the first woman Chief Justice of a High Court, and Fathima Beevi the first woman in the Supreme Court.
2. Constitutional articles on the judiciary
| Article | Provision |
|---|---|
| Article 124 | Establishment and constitution of the Supreme Court |
| Article 124(4) | Procedure for removal of a Supreme Court judge |
| Article 129 | Supreme Court as a court of record |
| Article 130 | Seat of the Supreme Court — Delhi, or elsewhere as the Chief Justice with the President's approval may appoint |
| Article 131 | Original jurisdiction — disputes between the Union and states |
| Article 132 to 134 | Appellate jurisdiction |
| Article 136 | Special leave to appeal |
| Article 137 | Power of review of its own judgments |
| Article 141 | Law declared by the Supreme Court is binding on all courts in India |
| Article 143 | Advisory jurisdiction — the President may seek the Court's opinion |
| Article 214 | High Courts for states |
| Article 226 | Power of High Courts to issue writs |
| Article 32 | Right to move the Supreme Court for enforcement of fundamental rights |
Article 32 is the most asked of all, and the fact attached to it is Dr B. R. Ambedkar's description of it as the heart and soul of the Constitution. The pairing examiners use most is Article 32 for the Supreme Court against Article 226 for High Courts — and the distinction that matters is that Article 226 is wider, since High Courts can issue writs for fundamental rights and for other purposes as well.
3. Structure, appointment and removal
| Item | Supreme Court | High Court |
|---|---|---|
| Established by | Article 124 | Article 214 |
| Appointed by | The President | The President |
| Retirement age | 65 years | 62 years |
| Oath administered by | The President or a person appointed by them | The Governor of the state |
| Removal | By order of the President after an address by both Houses, passed by a special majority, on grounds of proved misbehaviour or incapacity | |
The original strength of the Supreme Court was eight judges — the Chief Justice and seven others — and Parliament has increased it several times since. Because the sanctioned strength has been raised more than once, treat the current number as a figure to verify rather than to memorise from an old book.
No judge of the Supreme Court or a High Court has ever been removed through the constitutional process. Motions have been moved and have failed or lapsed, and in at least one case a judge resigned before the process concluded. That is itself a question, and the expected answer is that the removal process has never been completed.
Appointments are made through the collegium system, which is not written into the Constitution but was established through judicial decisions. The attempt to replace it with a National Judicial Appointments Commission was struck down by the Supreme Court in 2015.
4. Landmark cases worth knowing by name
| Case | What it settled |
|---|---|
| Kesavananda Bharati, 1973 | Established the basic structure doctrine — Parliament cannot amend the basic structure of the Constitution |
| Golaknath, 1967 | Held that Parliament could not amend fundamental rights; later overtaken |
| Minerva Mills, 1980 | Reaffirmed the basic structure and the balance between fundamental rights and directive principles |
| Maneka Gandhi, 1978 | Widened the meaning of personal liberty under Article 21 |
| S. R. Bommai, 1994 | Limited the misuse of President's Rule under Article 356 |
| Second and Third Judges Cases, 1993 and 1998 | Established and refined the collegium system |
| Fourth Judges Case, 2015 | Struck down the National Judicial Appointments Commission |
| Rupa Ashok Hurra, 2002 | Introduced the curative petition |
Kesavananda Bharati is the most asked case in Indian polity, and the expected answer is the basic structure doctrine and the year 1973. Keep Golaknath, Kesavananda and Minerva Mills as a sequence rather than as separate facts, because questions often ask which case came before or after which.
5. Other bodies and concepts asked with the judiciary
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Court of record | Judgments are recorded as precedent and the court can punish for its contempt |
| Judicial review | Power to examine the constitutionality of laws and executive action |
| Public Interest Litigation | Associated with Justice P. N. Bhagwati and Justice V. R. Krishna Iyer |
| Curative petition | The last remedy after a review petition is dismissed |
| Lok Adalat | Statutory forum for settlement under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 |
| Gram Nyayalaya | Village-level courts under the Gram Nyayalayas Act, 2008 |
| National Legal Services Authority | Provides free legal aid, under Article 39A |
Public Interest Litigation is asked by the two judges associated with its development, and Article 39A is the directive principle behind free legal aid, which is the link questions usually test.
6. Previous year questions
- Who was the first Chief Justice of India? — Justice H. J. Kania
- When did the Supreme Court of India come into existence? — 26 January 1950
- Which article establishes the Supreme Court? — Article 124
- What is the retirement age of a Supreme Court judge? — 65 years
- What is the retirement age of a High Court judge? — 62 years
- Who was the first woman judge of the Supreme Court? — Justice M. Fathima Beevi
- Who was the first woman Chief Justice of a High Court? — Justice Leila Seth
- Which is the oldest High Court in India? — Calcutta High Court, 1862
- Which Chief Justice of India also acted as President of India? — Justice M. Hidayatullah
- Which article makes Supreme Court judgments binding on all courts? — Article 141
- Under which article can the President seek the Supreme Court's opinion? — Article 143
- Which article did Ambedkar call the heart and soul of the Constitution? — Article 32
- Which case established the basic structure doctrine? — Kesavananda Bharati, 1973
- In which year was the National Judicial Appointments Commission struck down? — 2015
- What was the original strength of the Supreme Court? — Eight, the Chief Justice and seven judges
7. How to revise this topic
Split the topic into fixed and moving before you start. The firsts, the articles, the retirement ages, the landmark cases and the oldest High Court never change. The sanctioned strength of the Supreme Court, the number of High Courts and the serving Chief Justice do change, and those are the facts that make old notes wrong. Learn the first group once; check the second before any examination.
Learn the articles in pairs. 124 and 214 for establishment, 32 and 226 for writs, 141 and 143 for binding law and advisory opinion. Pairing them means one recall pulls the other, and it also prepares you for the comparison questions that ask which applies to the Supreme Court and which to a High Court.
Finally keep the three women's firsts and the three amendment cases as their own small clusters. Anna Chandy, Leila Seth and Fathima Beevi are constantly swapped in options, and so are Golaknath, Kesavananda Bharati and Minerva Mills.
8. Frequently Asked Questions
Who was the first Chief Justice of India?
Justice H. J. Kania, who took office when the Supreme Court came into existence on 26 January 1950. Before that, the Federal Court of India functioned from 1937, and its first Chief Justice was Sir Maurice Gwyer.
What is the retirement age of Supreme Court and High Court judges?
Sixty-five years for a Supreme Court judge and sixty-two for a High Court judge. This pair is asked constantly, usually with the two figures swapped in the options.
Who was the first woman judge of the Supreme Court?
Justice M. Fathima Beevi, appointed in 1989. She should not be confused with Justice Anna Chandy, the first woman judge in a High Court, or Justice Leila Seth, the first woman Chief Justice of a High Court.
What is the difference between Article 32 and Article 226?
Article 32 lets you move the Supreme Court for enforcement of fundamental rights and is itself a fundamental right. Article 226 lets High Courts issue writs both for fundamental rights and for other purposes, which makes its scope wider.
Has any judge ever been removed from the Supreme Court?
No. The removal process under Article 124(4) has never been completed. Motions have been moved and have failed or lapsed, and in one instance a judge resigned before the process concluded, which is the detail questions usually test.
For more Polity topics in simple language, see our Supreme Court of India and Important Articles of the Constitution posts, or browse the Polity section. Preparing for a specific exam? Start with the SSC CGL guide or join the 100 Hour GS Course.