Union Government — President, PM & Parliament

Why This Chapter Matters

Judiciary and elections together account for a steady 4 to 6 marks in most RRB NTPC papers, and Panchayati Raj questions from the 73rd and 74th Amendments show up almost every attempt, usually as a single numeric fact question like "how many members sit on a Gram Panchayat" or "how many seats are reserved for women." The trap that catches the most students here is treating the Supreme Court, High Courts, and Election Commission as unrelated topics with unrelated numbers, when in fact most exam questions test the same handful of comparisons: appointment process, retirement age, and removal procedure, applied to three or four different offices.

This chapter covers the structure and powers of the Supreme Court and High Courts, the concept of judicial review and the writ jurisdiction that flows from it, the Election Commission and how Indian elections actually run, and finally the two amendments that gave India its modern local governance system: the 73rd (rural, Panchayati Raj) and the 74th (urban, Municipalities). Treat the numbers in this chapter like phone numbers you dial often — repetition, not just reading, is what makes them stick.

The Supreme Court of India

The Supreme Court, established under Article 124, sits at the apex of the Indian judiciary and began functioning on 28 January 1950, two days after the Constitution came into force. It is the final court of appeal and the guardian and interpreter of the Constitution.

Composition: The Supreme Court originally had a Chief Justice and 7 other judges. Parliament has increased this over time; as of the current sanctioned strength, the Court has the Chief Justice of India (CJI) and up to 33 other judges, a number Parliament can revise by law.

Appointment: Judges of the Supreme Court are appointed by the President, following the collegium system, a judicially evolved process (not written in the original Constitution text) where the CJI and a group of senior-most judges recommend names for appointment and transfer.

Eligibility to be a Supreme Court judge: Must be a citizen of India, and either have been a judge of a High Court (or two or more High Courts in succession) for at least 5 years, or an advocate of a High Court for at least 10 years, or be, in the President's opinion, a distinguished jurist.

Retirement age: 65 years.

Removal: A Supreme Court judge can be removed only through impeachment — a motion passed by a special majority in both Houses of Parliament on grounds of proved misbehaviour or incapacity, exactly the same procedure used for High Court judges. This is a very hard bar deliberately, protecting judicial independence from political pressure.

Analogy: Think of judicial removal like trying to move a fixed deposit before maturity — the process is deliberately made slow, layered, and difficult, so that no one does it on impulse or for a minor disagreement.

Exam trap: Students often confuse the retirement ages of Supreme Court judges (65) and High Court judges (62). A simple trick: Supreme Court is the "bigger" number in prestige, so give it the bigger retirement age too — 65 for Supreme Court, 62 for High Court.

Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court:

• Original jurisdiction: Disputes between the Government of India and one or more states, or between states themselves (Article 131).
• Writ jurisdiction: Under Article 32, for enforcement of Fundamental Rights.
• Appellate jurisdiction: Hears appeals from High Courts in constitutional, civil, and criminal matters.
• Advisory jurisdiction: Under Article 143, the President can seek the Supreme Court's opinion on questions of law or fact; this opinion is advisory and not binding.
• Court of record: Its judgments are recorded and can be cited as precedent in every court in India; it can also punish for contempt of itself.

High Courts

Every state has a High Court, under Article 214, though a single High Court can also have jurisdiction over more than one state or Union Territory (for example, the Punjab and Haryana High Court serves two states and a Union Territory together, and several northeastern states share the Gauhati High Court's jurisdiction area).

Appointment: High Court judges are appointed by the President in consultation with the CJI, the collegium, and the Governor of the concerned state.

Eligibility: Citizen of India, and either a judicial officer for 10 years, or an advocate of a High Court for 10 years.

Retirement age: 62 years.

Jurisdiction: High Courts have original, appellate, and writ jurisdiction. The writ jurisdiction of High Courts under Article 226 is actually wider than the Supreme Court's under Article 32, because a High Court can issue writs not only for enforcement of Fundamental Rights but for "any other purpose," covering ordinary legal rights too.

Exam trap: This is one of the most frequently tested facts in the entire chapter: High Court writ power (Article 226) is broader than Supreme Court writ power (Article 32), even though the Supreme Court sits above the High Courts in the judicial hierarchy. Power and rank do not always move together; here, the "lower" court actually has the wider legal toolkit for writs, even though its geographic reach (limited to its own state or territory) is narrower than the Supreme Court's.

Judicial Review and Writs

Judicial review is the power of courts to examine the constitutional validity of legislative and executive actions, and to strike down any law or action that violates the Constitution. This power flows from the Constitution's status as the supreme law of the land, and from Articles 13, 32, and 226 read together. The word "judicial review" does not appear verbatim in the Constitution, but the power is firmly established through decades of case law, most notably shaped by the basic structure doctrine from the Kesavananda Bharati case.

Analogy: Judicial review works like a quality-control inspector at the end of a factory line. Parliament and state legislatures manufacture laws; the judiciary checks whether the finished product matches the blueprint (the Constitution) before it is allowed to reach the shelves (be enforced on citizens).

The five writs, already introduced in the Fundamental Rights chapter, deserve one more close look here because judiciary questions test their precise meaning:

• Habeas Corpus ("you may have the body"): Compels production of a person who has been detained, to check the legality of the detention.
• Mandamus ("we command"): Directs a public official or body to perform a duty it is legally obligated to perform, but has failed to do.
• Prohibition: Issued by a higher court to a lower court or tribunal, ordering it to stop proceedings that exceed its jurisdiction. Issued before the lower court gives its judgment.
• Certiorari: Also issued to a lower court or tribunal, but used to quash an order already passed that exceeded jurisdiction. Issued after the decision.
• Quo Warranto ("by what authority"): Questions the legal right of a person to hold a public office.

Memory hook: Remember prohibition and certiorari as "before and after" twins — prohibition stops a lower court before it overreaches, certiorari cancels the overreach after it already happened. Same family of writs, opposite timing.

Exam trap: Quo Warranto is the only writ among the five that can be sought against a private individual occupying a public office wrongfully; the other four are aimed at government bodies, officials, or courts.

Election Commission of India

The Election Commission of India (ECI), established under Article 324, is the constitutional body responsible for conducting free and fair elections to Parliament, State Legislatures, and the offices of President and Vice-President. It does not conduct elections to Panchayats and Municipalities; those fall under separate State Election Commissions, created by the 73rd and 74th Amendments.

Exam trap: This distinction between the Election Commission of India and State Election Commissions is a favourite trick. ECI handles Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, state assemblies, and presidential and vice-presidential elections. Panchayat and municipal elections are conducted by a separate State Election Commission in each state, established under Article 243-K (for Panchayats) and Article 243-ZA (for Municipalities).

Composition: Originally a single-member body, the ECI became a multi-member body from 1989 onward and now normally functions with the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and two Election Commissioners, all appointed by the President. When more than one commissioner sits, decisions are taken by majority vote among them, with the CEC having no special veto.

Term and removal: Election Commissioners hold office for six years or until age 65, whichever is earlier. The CEC can be removed only through the same impeachment process as a Supreme Court judge, giving the office strong protection from executive pressure. Other Election Commissioners, however, can be removed by the President on the CEC's recommendation, a lighter safeguard than what protects the CEC.

Functions of the ECI:

• Superintendence, direction, and control of elections to Parliament, state legislatures, and the offices of President and Vice-President.
• Preparation and periodic revision of electoral rolls.
• Allotment of election symbols to political parties and candidates.
• Recognition of national and state political parties.
• Enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct during election periods.
• Determination of constituency boundaries in coordination with the Delimitation Commission.

Electoral process highlights:

• Universal adult suffrage: Every citizen aged 18 years or above, subject to a few disqualifications (unsound mind, certain criminal convictions, corrupt election practices), can vote.
• Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) have been used across India in general elections since well over two decades, along with the VVPAT (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail) system, which lets a voter confirm their vote was recorded correctly.
• A candidate contesting a Lok Sabha election must be at least 25 years old; for a Rajya Sabha or state Legislative Council seat, at least 30 years old.
• Delimitation of constituencies (redrawing boundaries based on population) is carried out by a separate Delimitation Commission, not by the ECI itself, though the two bodies work closely.

Memory hook: Picture Indian elections as a large wedding function with two separate teams: the Election Commission of India is the team managing the main hall (Parliament and state assemblies, plus the President and Vice-President), while each state's own State Election Commission manages the smaller side rooms (Panchayats and Municipalities) independently.

Panchayati Raj — The 73rd Amendment

The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992, gave constitutional status to rural local self-government, adding Part IX (Articles 243 to 243-O) and the Eleventh Schedule (listing 29 subjects that can be devolved to Panchayats). It came into force on 24 April 1993, a date now celebrated every year as National Panchayati Raj Day.

Analogy: Before 1993, Panchayats existed in many states but functioned like a tenant without a lease — present, but without any guaranteed legal security. The 73rd Amendment handed them a permanent lease, written directly into the Constitution, that no state government could casually cancel.

Three-tier structure: Every state with a population above 20 lakh must set up a three-tier Panchayati Raj system:

1. Gram Panchayat — village level.
2. Panchayat Samiti (or Block/Mandal Panchayat) — intermediate, block level.
3. Zila Parishad — district level.

Key provisions:

• Direct elections to all three tiers, once every five years. If a Panchayat is dissolved earlier, fresh elections must be held within six months.
• Reservation: Seats reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in proportion to their population in the area, and not less than one-third of total seats reserved for women, including within the SC/ST reserved seats. Several states have since raised the women's reservation to 50%, though the constitutional floor set nationally remains one-third.
• Gram Sabha: A body of all registered voters within a village, forming the foundation of the entire Panchayati Raj structure. The Gram Sabha is where the idea of grassroots democracy is most literal — every adult resident is automatically a member, no election needed.
• State Election Commission conducts Panchayat elections (Article 243-K).
• State Finance Commission, constituted every five years, reviews the financial position of Panchayats and recommends how tax revenue should be shared between the state and local bodies (Article 243-I).
• Eleventh Schedule lists 29 subjects, including agriculture, land improvement, minor irrigation, animal husbandry, rural housing, drinking water, and poverty alleviation, that states may transfer to Panchayats.

Exam trap: The reservation floor is "not less than one-third" for women, a phrase students often round incorrectly to "half." One-third is the constitutional minimum; anything above it is a state's own additional generosity, not a Union-mandated requirement.

Memory hook: Remember the three tiers by height, like a building: Gram (ground floor, village), Samiti (middle floor, block), Zila (top floor, district) — climb up the building and you climb up the levels of rural governance.

Municipalities — The 74th Amendment

Passed alongside the 73rd, the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992, gave constitutional status to urban local bodies, adding Part IX-A (Articles 243-P to 243-ZG) and the Twelfth Schedule (listing 18 subjects for urban local governance). It also came into force on 1 June 1993.

Three types of urban local bodies, decided by population and characteristics of the area:

1. Nagar Panchayat — for a transitional area, moving from rural to urban character.
2. Municipal Council (Municipality) — for a smaller urban area.
3. Municipal Corporation — for a larger urban area, typically a big city.

Key provisions, largely mirroring the Panchayati Raj structure:

• Direct elections every five years, with fresh elections within six months of premature dissolution.
• Reservation of seats for SCs, STs, and not less than one-third for women, matching the Panchayat provision exactly.
• Wards Committees for larger municipal areas with a population of three lakh or more, bringing governance closer to individual neighbourhoods.
• State Election Commission conducts municipal elections too, the same body that conducts Panchayat elections in that state.
• Twelfth Schedule lists 18 functional subjects, including urban planning, water supply, public health, sanitation, slum improvement, and fire services.

Exam trap: The Eleventh Schedule (Panchayats) lists 29 subjects, while the Twelfth Schedule (Municipalities) lists 18 subjects. Students frequently swap these two numbers under exam pressure since both start with "1" — anchor it by remembering rural governance touches more varied areas of life (agriculture, irrigation, forestry, and more) than urban governance does, so it naturally has the longer list.

Analogy: If the 73rd Amendment gave villages a constitutional lease, the 74th Amendment did exactly the same for towns and cities, just with a different set of neighbours (Nagar Panchayat, Municipal Council, Municipal Corporation instead of Gram Panchayat, Panchayat Samiti, Zila Parishad).

Comparing the Two Amendments

Both amendments were pushed through by the government of P.V. Narasimha Rao and share an almost identical DNA: constitutional status, direct elections every five years, reservation for SCs, STs, and women, a State Election Commission to run their elections, and a State Finance Commission to manage their money. The only real differences are geography (rural versus urban), the names of the tiers, and the length of the subject list handed to each.

Exam trap: Both amendments were passed in 1992 but came into force in 1993 at slightly different dates: 73rd on 24 April 1993, 74th on 1 June 1993. A gap of about five weeks separates the two commencement dates, and exam-setters occasionally test this exact detail.

Quick Revision — One-Line Facts

• The Supreme Court was established under Article 124 and began functioning on 28 January 1950.
• Supreme Court judges retire at 65 years; High Court judges retire at 62 years.
• Supreme Court judges are appointed by the President following the collegium system.
• Judges of both the Supreme Court and High Courts can be removed only through impeachment.
• Article 131 gives the Supreme Court original jurisdiction over Centre-state and inter-state disputes.
• Article 143 gives the Supreme Court advisory jurisdiction, invoked by the President; its opinion is not binding.
• Article 214 establishes a High Court for every state; some High Courts serve more than one state.
• Article 226 gives High Courts writ jurisdiction wider than the Supreme Court's Article 32 power.
• Judicial review derives from Articles 13, 32, and 226, and the basic structure doctrine.
• The five writs are habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, certiorari, and quo warranto.
• Prohibition is issued before a lower court's decision; certiorari is issued after.
• Quo Warranto is the only writ that can target a private individual holding public office wrongfully.
• The Election Commission of India was established under Article 324.
• ECI conducts elections to Parliament, state legislatures, and the offices of President and Vice-President.
• Panchayat and Municipal elections are conducted by separate State Election Commissions, not the ECI.
• The ECI became a multi-member body from 1989, now with a CEC and two Election Commissioners.
• The Chief Election Commissioner can be removed only through the same impeachment process as a Supreme Court judge.
• Voting age in India is 18 years, under universal adult suffrage.
• A Lok Sabha candidate must be at least 25 years old; a Rajya Sabha candidate at least 30.
• Delimitation of constituencies is carried out by a separate Delimitation Commission, not the ECI.
• The 73rd Amendment Act, 1992, added Part IX and the Eleventh Schedule for Panchayati Raj.
• The 73rd Amendment came into force on 24 April 1993, observed as National Panchayati Raj Day.
• Panchayati Raj has three tiers: Gram Panchayat, Panchayat Samiti, and Zila Parishad.
• Not less than one-third of Panchayat and Municipal seats are reserved for women.
• Elections to Panchayats and Municipalities are held every five years, with fresh polls within six months of dissolution.
• The Eleventh Schedule lists 29 subjects for Panchayats.
• The 74th Amendment Act, 1992, added Part IX-A and the Twelfth Schedule for Municipalities.
• The 74th Amendment came into force on 1 June 1993.
• Three types of urban local bodies: Nagar Panchayat, Municipal Council, and Municipal Corporation.
• The Twelfth Schedule lists 18 subjects for Municipalities.
• A State Finance Commission is constituted every five years to recommend revenue sharing with local bodies.

Memory Tables

Table 1: Supreme Court vs High Court

Feature	Supreme Court	High Court
Establishing Article	124	214
Retirement Age	65 years	62 years
Writ Article	32 (Fundamental Rights only)	226 (Fundamental Rights and any other legal right)
Removal	Impeachment by Parliament	Impeachment by Parliament
Jurisdiction Scope	All of India	One or more states/UTs

Table 2: The Five Writs

Writ	Meaning	Used Against
Habeas Corpus	Produce the detained person	Detaining authority
Mandamus	Command to perform a duty	Public official or body
Prohibition	Stop proceedings before judgment	Lower court or tribunal
Certiorari	Quash an order after judgment	Lower court or tribunal
Quo Warranto	Challenge authority to hold office	Public official, including private individuals wrongfully in office

Table 3: 73rd vs 74th Amendment

Feature	73rd Amendment (Panchayati Raj)	74th Amendment (Municipalities)
Part Added	Part IX	Part IX-A
Schedule Added	Eleventh Schedule (29 subjects)	Twelfth Schedule (18 subjects)
Effective Date	24 April 1993	1 June 1993
Tiers	Gram Panchayat, Panchayat Samiti, Zila Parishad	Nagar Panchayat, Municipal Council, Municipal Corporation
Election Term	5 years	5 years
Women's Reservation	Not less than one-third	Not less than one-third

Practice MCQs

Q1. Under which article was the Supreme Court of India established? (a) Article 124 (b) Article 214 (c) Article 226 (d) Article 32

Q2. What is the retirement age for a High Court judge? (a) 60 years (b) 62 years (c) 65 years (d) 68 years

Q3. Which writ is issued to stop a lower court from exceeding its jurisdiction before it delivers judgment? (a) Certiorari (b) Mandamus (c) Prohibition (d) Quo Warranto

Q4. The advisory jurisdiction of the Supreme Court is provided under which article? (a) Article 131 (b) Article 143 (c) Article 226 (d) Article 32

Q5. Which body conducts elections to Panchayats and Municipalities? (a) Election Commission of India (b) Delimitation Commission (c) State Election Commission (d) State Finance Commission

Q6. The Election Commission of India became a multi-member body starting from which year? (a) 1950 (b) 1989 (c) 1993 (d) 2004

Q7. Which writ can be issued against a private individual wrongfully holding a public office? (a) Habeas Corpus (b) Mandamus (c) Certiorari (d) Quo Warranto

Q8. The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act added which Schedule to the Constitution? (a) Ninth Schedule (b) Tenth Schedule (c) Eleventh Schedule (d) Twelfth Schedule

Q9. How many subjects are listed in the Eleventh Schedule for Panchayats? (a) 18 (b) 22 (c) 29 (d) 12

Q10. What is the minimum proportion of seats reserved for women in Panchayats and Municipalities? (a) One-fourth (b) One-third (c) One-half (d) Two-thirds

Q11. The 74th Constitutional Amendment Act came into force on which date? (a) 24 April 1993 (b) 26 January 1993 (c) 1 June 1993 (d) 2 October 1993

Q12. Which of the following is the intermediate tier in the Panchayati Raj system? (a) Gram Panchayat (b) Panchayat Samiti (c) Zila Parishad (d) Gram Sabha

Q13. Writ jurisdiction of High Courts under Article 226 is best described as compared to the Supreme Court's Article 32 power: (a) Narrower in scope (b) Wider in scope (c) Identical in scope (d) High Courts have no writ power

Q14. How many subjects are listed in the Twelfth Schedule for Municipalities? (a) 18 (b) 29 (c) 12 (d) 22

Q15. The Chief Election Commissioner can be removed from office through which process? (a) A simple majority vote in the Lok Sabha (b) Impeachment, similar to a Supreme Court judge (c) Direct order of the President (d) Recommendation of the Prime Minister alone

Answer Key

Q	Answer	Reason
1	(a)	Article 124 establishes the Supreme Court, which began sitting on 28 January 1950.
2	(b)	High Court judges retire at 62, three years earlier than Supreme Court judges at 65.
3	(c)	Prohibition acts before judgment; certiorari acts after, to quash a wrongful order already passed.
4	(b)	Article 143 lets the President seek the Supreme Court's advisory opinion, which is not binding.
5	(c)	State Election Commissions, created by the 73rd and 74th Amendments, run Panchayat and Municipal polls, separate from the ECI.
6	(b)	The Election Commission became multi-member from 1989, moving beyond its original single-Commissioner design.
7	(d)	Quo Warranto questions the legal authority behind someone holding a public post, uniquely reachable against a private individual.
8	(c)	The 73rd Amendment added the Eleventh Schedule, listing 29 subjects devolvable to Panchayats.
9	(c)	The Eleventh Schedule lists 29 subjects, more than the Twelfth Schedule's 18 for urban bodies.
10	(b)	The Constitution sets not less than one-third as the reservation floor for women in local bodies.
11	(c)	The 74th Amendment took effect on 1 June 1993, about five weeks after the 73rd Amendment's 24 April 1993 date.
12	(b)	Panchayat Samiti sits at the block level, between the village-level Gram Panchayat and district-level Zila Parishad.
13	(b)	Article 226 covers Fundamental Rights plus any other legal right, making it broader than Article 32's Fundamental Rights-only scope.
14	(a)	The Twelfth Schedule lists 18 subjects for Municipalities, fewer than the Panchayats' 29.
15	(b)	The CEC enjoys the same impeachment-based removal protection as a Supreme Court judge, safeguarding independence.