What is the appellate system in India ?

An appellate system is the constitutional and procedural provision that lets a party aggrieved by a court's decision have that decision reviewed by a higher court in the judicial hierarchy — moving from a subordinate court up through the higher courts and, where permitted, the Supreme Court.

In India, this hierarchy runs from the trial or subordinate courts up through the High Courts, with the Supreme Court as the final court of appeal. Beyond the ordinary appeal routes available under civil and criminal procedure, the Constitution separately gives the Supreme Court a wide discretionary power to grant special leave to appeal against any judgment, decree, or order passed by any court or tribunal in India. Whatever the exact route, the appellate system is exactly this mechanism — a structured provision for appeal to a higher court against the decision of a lower court.

• Applying for judicial services (entering the judiciary through a recruitment exam) is a matter of appointment, not of reviewing an existing court order — it does not describe an appeal at all.

• Parliament is the legislative body that makes laws; it has no constitutional power to sit in appeal over a court's judgment, since that would violate the separation of powers between the legislature and the judiciary.

• The Executive Head of the State (the President or a Governor) exercises functions such as pardon and clemency, not appellate review of court decisions — appellate authority rests with the higher courts, not the executive.