Subordinate Court

Constitutional Provisions

Part VI (Articles 233 to 237) of the Constitution has the following provisions to control the organization of subordinate courts and preserve their independence from the executive.

Appointment of District Judges (Article 233):

  • The Governor of the State, in consultation with the High Court does appointments, posting, and promotion of district judges in the State.
  • The following qualifications should be present in anyone seeking to be appointed as a district judge:
    • He/she should not already be in the service of the Central or the State Government.
    • He/she should have been an advocate or a pleader for seven years.
    • He/she should be recommended by the High Court for the appointment.

 Appointment of Judges Other Than The District Judges (Article 234):

  • The Governor of the State appoints people (other than district judges) to the State's judicial service after consulting with the State Public Service Commission and the High Court.

Control over Subordinate Courts (Article 235)

  • The High Court has jurisdiction over district courts and other subordinate courts, including the posting, promotion, and leave of personnel in the state's judicial service who occupy any office lower than that of the district judge.

Interpretation of the Terms (Article 236):

  • Under Article 236, the expression ‘district judge’ includes judge of a city civil court, additional district judge, joint district judge, assistant district judge, chief judge of a small cause court, chief presidency magistrate, additional chief presidency magistrate, sessions judge, additional sessions judge, and assistant sessions judge.
  • The term "judicial service" refers to a group of people who are solely responsible for filling district judge and other civil judicial positions below that of the district judge.
  • The Governor may direct that any class or classes of magistrates in the state be subject to the above-mentioned provisions relating to people in the state judicial service.

Structure and Jurisdiction

Subordinate Courts:

  • The States define the subordinate judiciary's organizational structure, jurisdiction, and terminology. As a result, they vary slightly from State to State. Generally, underneath the High Court, there are three tiers of civil and criminal courts.

District Court

  • The district judge is the district's highest judicial authority with original and appellate authority in both civil and criminal issues.
  • To put it another way, the district judge also serves as the sessions judge. He/she is known as the district judge when dealing with civil issues and the sessions judge when dealing with criminal cases.
  • Both judicial and administrative authorities are exercised by the district judge and also have supervisory authority over all of the district's subordinate courts.
  • The High Court hears appeals against his/her directives and judgments. Any penalty, including life imprisonment and capital punishment, can be imposed by the session’s judge (death sentence). However, whether or not there is an appeal, any capital punishment he/she imposes must be confirmed by the High Court.

Lower Courts:

  • On the civil side, the Subordinate Judge’s Court is located below the District and Sessions Court, while on the criminal side, the Chief Judicial Magistrate’s Court is located beneath the District and Sessions Court.
  • In civil cases, the subordinate judge has unrestricted pecuniary jurisdiction while the chief judicial magistrate rules on criminal matters that carry a maximum sentence of seven years in jail.
  • The Court of Munsiff, on the civil side, and the Court of Judicial Magistrate, on the criminal side, are the lowest levels.
  • The munsiff has limited jurisdiction and only decides minor civil issues of the low monetary stake while a judicial magistrate is a person who hears criminal proceedings which are punishable by a sentence of up to three years in jail.
  • On the civil side, there are city civil courts (chief judges) in various metropolitan cities, and on the criminal side, there are courts of metropolitan magistrates.
  • Small Causes Courts have been established in several States and presidential towns. These courts make quick decisions in civil matters with low stakes. Their decisions are final, although the High Court can overturn them.