In this blog, we are going to learn about the role of Supreme Court, its power, and its function. The Supreme Court is the foremost judicial body in our country. Composition The Chief Justice heads the Supreme Court and a maximum of twenty-five judges work with him or her. This number can be increased by an Act of Parliament. The President of India appoints Chief Justice. Then he appoints the other judges in consultation with the Chief Justice.

Eligibility

1. To be eligible to become a judge of the Supreme Court a person must be a citizen of India.
2. He or she must be an advocate with at least ten years of experience or a High Court judge of five years standing, or a distinguished jurist in the opinion of the President.
3. Judges of the Supreme Court serve till the age of sixty-five years, which is their retirement age.

Supreme Court - Power and Function

Let us discuss the role of supreme court. The Supreme Court has the power to pass judgment on three types of cases- �original�, �appellate� and �advisory�. It hears and gives rulings on both civil and criminal cases as well as those concerning the Constitution of India. There are certain cases that can only be decided by the Supreme Court.

They have to originate in the Supreme Court and are thus known as �original� cases. Among these are, disputes between two states, disputes between the Union Government and one or more State Governments, and cases concerning the violation of the Constitution by the government or anyone else. In this way, the Supreme Court functions as the protector of our Fundamental Rights.

�Appellate� cases are those which are appeals against the judgments of the High Courts. As the highest judicial authority, the Supreme Court has the power to review the decisions of the High Courts and give its own judgments. In its advisory capacity, the Supreme Court can give advice to the President on Constitutional issues when asked for it. However, the president is not bound to follow this advice.

The Supreme Court records and prints all its proceedings and judgments. Thus it also functions as the �Court of Record�. These judgments serve as laws and can be cited by the Lower Courts throughout the country.

Impartial Judiciary

For judges of the Supreme Court salaries and terms of service cannot be changed to their disadvantage. Only the president can remove them from office on grounds of misuse of office, proven misbehavior, or incapacity. To do this, both Houses of Parliament have to pass a motion containing the charges against the judge separately. This must be voted upon and passed by a two-thirds majority of members present and voting and not less than the majority of the total membership of the House.

Read More: Subordinate Courts: Types Of Lower Courts- The Judiciary, Class 8 Notes