Original jurisdiction means the power to hear and determine a dispute in the first instance. The Supreme Court has been given exclusive original jurisdiction which extends to disputes (a) between the Government of India and one or more States, (b) between the Government of India and one or more States on one side and one or more States on the other, (c) between two or more States. However, this jurisdiction shall not extend to a dispute arising out of the treaty, agreement, etc. which is in operation and excludes such jurisdiction. The jurisdiction is extremely wide, provided the dispute is a justiciable one. The intention of the Constitution-makers is that such disputes should not be subjected to several tiers of the judicial hierarchy, but should come, for once and for all, before the highest court of the land.