The Federal Court of India was a judicial body, established in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

in 1937 under the provisions of the ''

Government of India Act 1935 The Government of India Act, 1935 was an Act adapted from the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It originally received royal assent in August 1935. It was the longest Act of (British) Parliament ever enacted until the Greater London Authority ...

'', with original, appellate and advisory jurisdiction. It functioned until the

Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme judicial authority of India and is the highest court of the Republic of India under the constitution. It is the most senior constitutional court, has the final decision in all legal matters ...

was established in 1950. Although the seat of the Federal Court was at

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

, however, a separate Federal Court of Pakistan was established in Pakistan in

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

after the

Partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...

. There was a right of appeal to the

Judicial Committee of the Privy Council The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is the highest court of appeal for the Crown Dependencies, the British Overseas Territories, some Commonwealth countries and a few institutions in the United Kingdom. Established on 14 Augus ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

from the Federal Court of India. The Federal Court had exclusive original jurisdiction in any dispute between the Central Government and the Provinces. Initially, it was empowered to hear appeals from the High Courts of the provinces in the cases which involved the interpretation of any Section of the Government of India Act, 1935. From 5 January 1948 it was also empowered to hear appeals in those cases, which did not involve any interpretation of the Government of India Act, 1935.

History

The Federal Court came into being on 1 October 1937. The seat of the court was the

Chamber of Princes The Chamber of Princes (''Narendra Mandal'') was an institution established in 1920 by a royal proclamation of King-Emperor George V to provide a forum in which the rulers of the princely states of India could voice their needs and aspirations ...

in the Parliament building in Delhi. It began with a Chief Justice and two puisne judges. The first Chief Justice was Sir

Maurice Gwyer Sir Maurice Linford Gwyer, (25 April 1878 – 12 October 1952) was a British lawyer, judge, and academic administrator. He served as Vice-Chancellor of Delhi University from 1938 to 1950, and Chief Justice of India from 1937 to 1943). He is cr ...

and the other two judges were Sir

Shah Muhammad Sulaiman Sir Shah Muhammad Sulaiman (3 February 1886 – 12 March 1941) (popularly known as Sir Shah Sulaiman or Sir Sulaiman) was the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court from 16 March 1932 to 30 September 1937 and was the first Indian and one of t ...

and

M. R. Jayakar Mukund Ramrao Jayakar (M.R. Jayakar) (13 November 1873 – 10 March 1959, Bombay) was the first Vice-Chancellor of the University of Poona. He was a lawyer, scholar and politician. He was a prominent freedom fighter. Jayakar was born in a Marat ...

. It functioned until the establishment of the

on 28 January 1950, two days after India was declared a republic. *^‡ – Date of Resignation *^# – On 14 August 1947 Federal Court partitioned into the federal courts of India and Pakistan

Notes

External links

''Federal Court (Enlargement of Jurisdiction) Act, 1947''
{{British dependencies chief justices, state = collapsed *** 1937 establishments in British India Courts and tribunals established in 1937 1950 disestablishments in India Judiciary of India Judiciary of Pakistan

History

See also

Notes

Further reading

External links