The Ministry of Law and Justice is a cabinet ministry in the government of India. It has three departments: the Legislative Department, the Department of Legal Affairs, and the Department of Justice. These departments are in charge of legal matters, legislative activities, and the administration of justice in India. The Department of Legal Affairs is in charge of giving advice to the Central Government’s different Ministries, while the Legislative Department is in charge of writing the main laws for the Central Government. The Cabinet Minister of Law and Justice, Arjun Ram Meghwal, is in charge of the ministry. The President of India chose him based on a suggestion from the Prime Minister of India. Dr. B. R. Ambedkar was the first Law and Justice minister of an independent India. He worked in Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s cabinet from 1947 to 1951.
History
The Ministry of Law and Justice is the oldest part of the Indian government. It dates back to 1833, when the British Parliament passed the Charter Act 1833, when India was still ruled by the British. For the first time, the Act gave all governing power to one person, the Governor General in Council. From 1834 to 1920, the Governor General in Council made laws for the country based on this power and the power given to him by section 22 of the Indian Councils Act of 1861. After the Government of India Act of 1919 went into effect, the Indian Legislature made under that law was in charge of making laws. After the Government of India Act of 1919, the Government of India Act of 1935 was passed. With the passing of the Indian Independence Act in 1947, India became a “dominion.” From 1947 to 1949, the “dominion legislature” made laws based on section 100 of the Government of India Act of 1935, which was changed by the India (Provisional Constitution) Order of 1947. When the Constitution of India went into effect on January 26, 1950, it gave the Parliament of India the power to make laws.
Organisation
The Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules of 1961 cover the different offices that work under the Ministry of Law and Justice of Government of India. According to these Rules, the Ministry is made up of the following divisions.
*The Legal Affairs Department
*Legislative Department
*Justice Department.
The Legal Affairs Department
The main jobs of the Department of Legal Affairs are to give advice and to go to court. In particular, the Department is in charge of the following tasks.
1.Give advice to Ministries on legal issues, such as how to read the Constitution and the laws, how to transfer property, and how to hire lawyers to represent the Union of India in High Courts and lower courts where the Union of India is a party.
2.The Attorney General of India, the Solicitor General of India, and other Central Government law officers of the States whose services are shared by the Ministries of the Government of India.
3.Handling cases in the Supreme Court and High Courts on behalf of the Central Government and the Governments of States that are part of the Central Agency Scheme.
4.Agreements with other countries for the service of summonses in civil cases, the execution of civil court orders, the enforcement of support orders, and the management of the estates of foreigners who die in India without a will.
5.Allowing officers to sign contracts and promises on behalf of the President, as allowed by Article 299(1) of the Constitution, and letting officers sign and prove complaints or written statements in cases brought by or against the Central Government.
6.Indian Legal Service.
7.Agreements and treaties with other countries about civil law.
8.Commission on Law.
9.Legal Profession, which includes the Advocates Act of 1961 (Act 25 of 1961) and the people who are allowed to work in High Courts.
10.Changes to the Supreme Court’s authority and giving it more power; who can practice before the Supreme Court; references to the Supreme Court under Article 143 of India’s Constitution.
11.How the Notaries Act of 1952 (Public Law 53 of 1952) is run.
12.Income-tax Appellate Tribunal.
13.Foreign Exchange Appellate Tribunal.
14.Help for the poor by the law.
The main office of the Department is in New Delhi. It also has Branch Secretariats in the towns of Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, and Bengaluru.
Legislative Department
The main job of the Legislative Department is to write all of the main laws for the Central Government. This includes Bills to be introduced in Parliament, Ordinances to be issued by the President, measures to be passed as President’s Acts for States under the President’s rule, and Regulations to be made by the President for Union territories. It also has to do with the Representation of the People Act 1950 and the Representation of the People Act 1951, which are laws about voting. In addition, the Constitution’s Seventh Schedule, List III, gives it the responsibility of handling things like personal law, contracts, proof, etc. This Department is also in charge of making sure that the laws passed by Parliament are always up to date. The Allocation of Business Rules say that this Department is in charge of the following tasks.
1.The writing of Bills, including the work of Draftsmen in Select Committees, the writing and publishing of Ordinances and Regulations, the passing of State Acts as President’s Acts when needed, and the review of Statutory Rules and Orders (except for notifications under clause (a) of section 3, section 3A, and section 3D of the National Highways Act, 1956 (48 of 1956)).
2.Constitution Orders; notices about putting Constitution (Amendment) Acts into force.
3.(a) Publication of Central Acts, Ordinances, and Regulations; (b) Publication of official Hindi versions of Central Acts, Ordinances, Orders, Rules, Regulations, and Bye-laws listed in Section 5(1) of the Official Languages Act, 1963 (19 of 1963).
4.Compilation and release of Central Acts, Ordinances, Regulations, General Statutory Rules and Orders, and other similar books that haven’t been thrown out yet.
5.Elections to Parliament, state legislatures, the president and vice president’s offices, and the Election Commission.
6.Make a list of standard law terms and publish them so that they can be used as much as possible in all official languages.
7.Make official Hindi versions of all Central Acts, Ordinances, and Regulations, as well as all rules, regulations, and orders made by the Central Government under these Acts, Ordinances, and Regulations.
8.Making plans for the translation of Central Acts, Ordinances, and Regulations made by the President into the official languages of the States and for the translation of all State Acts and Ordinances into Hindi if the original texts are in a language other than Hindi.
9.Putting out law books and legal magazines in Hindi.
10.Marriage and divorce; babies and children; adoption, wills, intestate, and succession; joint family and partition.
11.Transfer of property other than agricultural land (excluding benami deals and the registration of deeds and documents).
12.Contracts, but not ones that have to do with farming land.
13.Wrongs that can be fixed.
14.Bankruptcy and being unable to pay.
15.Trusts and trustees, administrators, general trustees, and official trustees.
16.Proof and swearing.
17.Civil Procedure, including Time Limitation and Arbitration.
18.Gifts to charities and religious organizations, as well as religious schools.
The Ministry of Justice
The Department of Justice is in charge of making sure that judges are appointed to the different courts in India, keeping track of their terms and rules of service, and making changes to them, among other things. The Allocation of Business Rules say that this Department has to do the following things:[5]
1.The appointment, resignation, and removal of the Chief Justice of India and Judges of the Supreme Court of India; their salaries, leave of absence rights (including leave allowances), pensions, and travel expenses.
2.The appointment, resignation, and replacement of the Chief Justice and Judges of High Courts in the States, as well as their salaries, leave rights (including leave pay), pensions, and travel allowances.
3.The appointment of Judicial Commissioners and Judicial officers in Union Territories.
4.The Supreme Court’s constitution, organization, and fees. This does not include the court’s authority and powers, but it does include contempt of court.
5.The structure and organization of the High Courts and the Courts of Judicial Commissioners, except for the rules about their officers and employees.
6.The way justice is done.
7.The All India Judicial Service was made.
8.The terms of service for District Judges and other members of the Union Territories’ Higher Judicial Service.
9.Adding a Union Territory to a High Court’s area of jurisdiction or taking a Union Territory out of a High Court’s area of jurisdiction.
10.Adding a Union Territory to a High Court’s area of jurisdiction or taking a Union Territory out of a High Court’s area of jurisdiction.
11.The appointment, resignation, and removal of the Chief Justice of India and the Judges of the Supreme Court of India, as well as their salaries and leave of absence rights (including the rules of service of the judges and other related areas), are some of the things that this department is in charge of. This department is also responsible for creating the All India Judicial Service.