Court of Record - Indian Laws - General

Expression Court of Record The Constitution does not define Court of Record . This expression is well recognised in jurisdical world. In Jowitt s Dictionary of English Law, Court of Record is defined as: A court whereof the acts and judicial proceedings are enrolled for a perpetual memorial and testimony, and which has power to fine and imprison for contempt of its authority. In Wharton s Law Lexicon, Court of Record is defined as: Courts are either of record where their acts and judicial proceedings are enrolled for a perpetual memorial and testimony and they have power to fine and imprison; or not of record being courts of inferior dignity, and in a less proper sense the King s Courts--and these are not entrusted by law with any power to fine or imprison the subject of the realm, unless by the express provision of some Act of Parliament. These proceedings are not enrolled or recorded. In Words and Phrases (Permanent Edition) Vol. 10 page 429, Court of Record is defined as under: Court of Record is a court where acts and judicial proceedings are enrolled in parchment for a perpetual memorial and testimony, which rolls are called the record of the court, and are of such high and supereminent authority that their truth is not to be questioned. Halsbury s Laws of England Vol. 10 page 319, states: Another manner of division is into courts of record and courts not of record. Certain Courts are expressly declared by statute to be courts of record. In the case of courts not expressly declared to be courts of record, the answer to the question whether a court is a court of record seems to depend in general upon whether it has power to fine or imprison, by statute or otherwise, for contempt of itself or other substantive offences; if it has such power, it seems that it is a court of record........ proceedings of a Court of record preserved in its archives are called records, and are conclusive evidence of that which is recorded therein. DELHI JUDICIAL SERVICE ASSOCIATION TIS HAZARICOURT, DELHI ET - 1991 (9) TMI 346 - SUPREME COURT