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The Federal Court of India was a judicial body, established in India in 1937 under the provisions of the Government of India Act 1935 , with original, appellate and advisory jurisdiction. It functioned until the Supreme Court of India was established in 1950. Although the seat of the Federal Court was at Delhi, however, a separate Federal Court of Pakistan was established in Pakistan in Karachi after the Partition of India. There was a right of appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London 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. [1]
The Federal Court came into being on 1 October 1937. The seat of the court was the Chamber of Princes in the Parliament building in Delhi. It began with a Chief Justice and two puisne judges. The first Chief Justice was Sir Maurice Gwyer and the other two judges were Sir Shah Muhammad Sulaiman and M. R. Jayakar. It functioned until the establishment of the Supreme Court of India on 28 January 1950, two days after India was declared a republic.
| Number | Name | Period of office | Length of term (days) | Bar | Appointed by | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sir Maurice Gwyer | 1 October 1937 | 25 April 1943‡ | 2,032 | Inner Temple | The Marquess of Linlithgow |
| Acting | Sir Srinivas Varadachariar | 25 April 1943 | 7 June 1943 | 43 | ||
| 2 | Sir Patrick Spens | 7 June 1943 | 14 August 1947 | 1,529 | Inner Temple | |
| 3 | Sir H. J. Kania | 14 August 1947# | 26 January 1950 | 896 | Bombay High Court | The Viscount Mountbatten of Burma |
Chief justices of British dependencies | ||
|---|---|---|
| Overseas territories | | |
| Crown Dependencies | ||
| Former (Africa) | ||
| Former (Americas) |
| |
| Former (Asia) | ||
| Former (Australasia) | ||
| Former (Europe) | ||
| Former (Oceania) | ||
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 August 1833 to hear appeals formerly heard by the King-in-Council, the Privy Council formerly acted as the court of last resort for the entire British Empire, other than for the United Kingdom itself.
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The Supreme Court of India 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 except for personal laws, and also has the power of judicial review. The Chief Justice of India is the Head and Chief Judge of the Supreme Court, which consists of a maximum of 34 judges, and has extensive powers in the form of original, appellate and advisory jurisdictions. New judges here are uniquely nominated by existing judges and other branches of government have neglible say.
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