Powers of High Court Judges vs. IAS Officers

 

                        Powers of High Court Judges vs. IAS Officers

 


Our initial question for this blog is who is more powerful between a high court judge and an IAS officer. The simplest way to reach our conclusion would be to understand what both the posts are, their responsibilities and their powers which can be then compared.

The High court is the highest court of appeal in India. According to the Indian constitution every state of the country must have a high court (also known as court of record) and each high court must constitutes of a chief justice. Currently there are 25 high courts in India. Powers, jurisdiction, and functions of high court are mentioned in Indian constitution from article 214 to article 231 but are not explicitly stated or explained. A high court judge is appointed to exercise the powers given to high court to resolve disputes among people related to interpretation of laws. Few powers of High court Judges would include-

*    Power to hear appeals from lower courts.

*    Power to issue writ petitions

*    Power to transfer cases from subordinate courts (art. 228)

*    Power to hear various kinds of cases filed in high court including civil and criminal cases.

 

Whereas, The Indian Administrative services (IAS) is one of the tree branches of All India Service. An IAS officer is tasked with implementation of policies made by central government and is a role with its fair share of powers and responsibility when compared to powers of high court judge. Powers of an IAS Officer are listed in the Code of Criminal Procedure (1973) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), National Disaster Management ACT (lists out the powers of an IAS office for directing the relief operations), Arms Act, Drug License Act and Essential Commodities Act also have given the power to IAS officers in different situations[1]. Few of these powers include-

*    Charge of administration of an entire district/state/department/ministry (depending on what position the IAS officer is at).

*    Power to give the first order in case of any calamity.

*    Power to distribute funds and resources required to implement government policies.[2]

 

Now that we have a fair idea of what roles, powers, and responsibility both positions have, we need to figure out who is more powerful amongst the two posts. But just like the saying goes we can’t compare apples with oranges just because both are fruits, we can’t compare a high court judge with an IAS officer either. We need to look at the fact that both are part of different bodies of government i.e., judiciary and executive. A high court judge is tasked with resolving issues arising amongst people related to law, interpreting the law in various ways and applying it to the society whereas an IAS officer is tasked with proper implementation of those laws and maintain order in the society. The only thing both have in common is making sure that peace and balance is maintained in the society and helping the citizens of the country. In conclusion, there is no answer to our initial question. One can’t determine who is more powerful between a high court judge and an IAS officer. It is simply the wrong question. What we could ask instead is, “which amongst the two positions is more subject to legislative control ” or simply “how easily can a high court judge or an IAS officer exercise their powers”.


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