With reference to the Supreme Court as the Apex Court of the country, answer the following:
Explain the Supreme Court as a Court of Record.
Topic: Court of Record
Answer
The Supreme Court is a Court of Record in two senses:
(1) Its judgements, proceedings and acts are RECORDED AND PRESERVED for perpetual memory and testimony. These records are of evidentiary value and cannot be questioned in any court; they are printed and published, and may be cited as PRECEDENTS before all other courts, which are bound to decide cases in the light of the Supreme Court’s judgements.
(2) As a Court of Record it has the power to PUNISH FOR CONTEMPT of itself — by fine or imprisonment — so that its authority and dignity are maintained.
Four marks, so develop BOTH senses rather than listing them. Each is worth about two marks. Candidates routinely give only the first sense and lose half the question. The contempt power is the part most often forgotten, and it follows directly from being a court of record: a court whose records bind everyone must be able to protect its own authority. The word PRECEDENT is the one to use — it explains why the records matter rather than merely that they exist.