| On 6 August 1861, the Indian High Courts Act was passed by British Parliament. The main objective of the High Courts Act was to abolish the Supreme Courts and the Sadar Adalats in the three Presidencies and to establish the High Courts in their place. At that time the law required that each High Court should consist of one Chief Justice and as many puisne Judges not exceeding 15 as Her Majesty might think it fit to appoint. The appointment of the judges of the High Court was during her Majestys pleasure. For such appointment one was required to be: |
| 1. a barrister/advocate with an experience of five years or more; or |
| 2. a member of the covenanted civil service of not less than 10 years; or |
| 3. a judicial officer not inferior to that of principal sadar amen or judge of small cause court for a period of not less than five years; or |
| 4. a pleader of a Sadar Court or High Court for a period of not less than 10 years. |
| A Supreme Court of Judicature was established at Fort William, Calcutta by an Act of Parliament in the year 1774. This Supreme Court replaced the Mayor's Court and remained the highest court of British Raj in India from 1774 to 1862. The jurisdiction of this court extended to the residents of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. With the establishment of the High Court of Calcutta this court was abolished. |
| After independence, the Supreme Court of India came into existence on 28 January 1950. Presently it is located on Tilak Marg in New Delhi. Before it moved to its present location, the Supreme Court of India functioned from the Parliament House. At the time of its inception the Supreme Court had one Chief Justice and seven other judges. Parliament had the power to increase the number of judges of the Supreme Court. As the work of the court increased and backlog of cases began to cumulate. Parliament increased the number of judges. Presently, the maximum possible strength is 31 (including the Chief Justice of India). In the early years of its functioning, all the judges of the Supreme Court used to sit together to hear the cases presented before them. Now they sit in the groups of two or three; each such group being called a "Bench". Larger "Benches" of five or even more judges is also formed occasionally, mainly to hear the matter of high importance or to settle the difference of opinion among the smaller Benches. In order to be appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court, a person must be a citizen of India and must have been, for at least five years, a judge of a High Court or of two or more such courts in succession, or an advocate of a High Court or of two or more such courts in succession for at least 10 years or he must be, in the opinion of the President, a distinguished jurist. A judge of the High Court may also be appointed as an ad-hoc judge of the Supreme Court. Practice and procedure of the Supreme Court is governed by the Supreme Court Rules, 2013 which are framed under Article 145 of the Constitution. |
A) 21
B) 28
C) 31
D) 37
Correct Answer: C
Solution :
(c) Presently, the maximum possible strength is 31 (including the Chief Justice of India).
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