The Supreme Court of India

1937–1950

The Federal Court of India

The Supreme Court's predecessor

The Federal Court was set up on 1 October 1937 under the Government of India Act 1935. It had original jurisdiction over disputes between the Centre and the provinces, appellate jurisdiction over constitutional questions from the High Courts, and advisory jurisdiction; appeals from it lay to the Privy Council in London. Its Chief Justices were Sir Maurice Gwyer, Sir Patrick Spens and H.J. Kania, who became the first Chief Justice of India.

• Set up: 1 October 1937, in the Chamber of Princes, Parliament House.
• First Chief Justice: Sir Maurice Gwyer.
• Last Chief Justice: H.J. Kania.

1949

Ending Appeals to the Privy Council

Judicial independence from London

Until independence, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London was the final court of appeal for India. The Constituent Assembly, sitting as the legislature, passed the Abolition of Privy Council Jurisdiction Act 1949, which transferred its jurisdiction to the Federal Court and ended appeals to London. Article 395 left this Act unrepealed.

• Abolition of Privy Council Jurisdiction Act, 1949.

28 January 1950

Inauguration of the Supreme Court

Two days after the Republic

The Supreme Court was inaugurated on 28 January 1950, two days after the Constitution came into force, in the Chamber of Princes in the Parliament House, where the Federal Court had sat. The Court began with Chief Justice H.J. Kania and five other judges: Saiyid Fazl Ali, M. Patanjali Sastri, Mehr Chand Mahajan, B.K. Mukherjea and S.R. Das.

• Inaugurated: 28 January 1950.
• Venue: Chamber of Princes, Parliament House.
• Began with six judges, though eight were sanctioned.

1958

The Supreme Court Building

Designed as the scales of justice

The Court sat in Parliament House until 1958, when it moved to its present building on Tilak Marg, New Delhi. The building was designed by Ganesh Bhikaji Deolalikar, the first Indian to head the Central Public Works Department, in an Indo-British style. Its plan is shaped like a pair of scales: the central wing is the centre beam, with the Chief Justice's court at its heart, and the two side wings are the pans.

• Moved to Tilak Marg in 1958.
• Architect: Ganesh Bhikaji Deolalikar.
• The layout represents the scales of justice.

Yato Dharmastato Jayah

The Supreme Court's motto

The Supreme Court's motto, "Yato Dharmastato Jayah" ("Where there is dharma, there is victory"), comes from the Mahabharata. It appears on the Court's emblem beneath the Lion Capital of Sarnath and the Dharma Chakra.

• Source: the Mahabharata.