India
The justice system of India
A federation whose Seventh Schedule makes police, prosecution and prisons State subjects while the criminal codes are national — with an integrated judiciary on top.
Facts on this page were checked against their sources on .
The Constitution directs the State to separate the judiciary from the executive (Article 50), and the Seventh Schedule (Article 246) divides legislative power. In the State List, "Public order" (Entry 1), "Police" (Entry 2) and "Prisons, reformatories, Borstal institutions… and persons detained therein" (Entry 4) are exclusive State subjects. In the Concurrent List, "Criminal law" (Entry 1), "Criminal procedure" (Entry 2) and "Administration of Justice; constitution and organisation of all courts, except the Supreme Court and the High Courts" (Entry 11A) are shared, with the Union prevailing — which is how a single set of criminal codes applies nationwide.
The same idea, explained generally
- What is justice?
Justice is the principle that people should be treated according to rules that apply equally to everyone, decided by bodies that are authorised, constrained, and answerable. This guide explains what that means institutionally.
- What is the rule of law?
The rule of law is the principle that everyone, including the government, is subject to law that is public, applied equally, and interpreted by independent courts. This guide explains what it requires and what it does not.
- What do courts do?
Courts resolve disputes, test the state’s case against individuals, interpret law, and review public decisions. This guide explains those functions and why judicial independence is structural.
Sources
Sources
The Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2024)
Government of India, Ministry of Law and Justice (Legislative Department) · Legislation · 1950-01-26 · link verified 2026-07-27
The official Constitution of India PDF (Ministry of Law and Justice, "As on 1st May, 2024"), fetched and text-extracted; the Seventh Schedule entries and the cited articles were re-confirmed verbatim in two independent passes. Supports the federal division of legislative power under the Seventh Schedule (Article 246): List II (State List) Entry 1 "Public order", Entry 2 "Police (including railway and village police)", Entry 4 "Prisons, reformatories, Borstal institutions… and persons detained therein" — so police, public order and prisons are exclusive STATE subjects; List III (Concurrent List) Entry 1 "Criminal law…", Entry 2 "Criminal procedure…", Entry 11A "Administration of Justice; constitution and organisation of all courts, except the Supreme Court and the High Courts" — so the criminal codes and subordinate-court organisation are concurrent (national); and List I (Union List) Entry 8 "Central Bureau of Intelligence and Investigation". Also supports Article 50 (separation of the judiciary from the executive), Article 124 (the Supreme Court of India), Article 141 (Supreme Court law binding on all courts), Article 214 ("There shall be a High Court for each State"), and Article 235 (High Court control over district and subordinate courts).
Press Information Bureau (Government of India) — the three new criminal laws (BNS, BNSS, BSA)
Press Information Bureau, Government of India · Government publication · 2024-07-30 · link verified 2026-07-27
The Government of India's Press Information Bureau release (PRID 2039055), fetched and re-confirmed by curl. Supports that the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023 (BNS), the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023 (BNSS) and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023 (BSA) "were notified in the Gazette of India on 25th December, 2023" and came into force "from 1st of July, 2024" (with a narrow exception), replacing the Indian Penal Code 1860, the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 and the Indian Evidence Act 1872. Establishes the enacted, in-force national criminal codes.