Subordinate courts play a crucial role in the Judicial system of India. The establishment of these courts dealing with a variety of civil, criminal and revenue cases ensures that there is distributed responsibility among various courts in handling the legal issues and that justice can be easily accessed. Operating under the supervision of High Courts, subordinate courts are regulated by Articles 233-237 which are incorporated in Chapter VI of Part VI.
CLASSIFICATION OF SUBORDINATE COURTS
The High courts take up the first place in the hierarchy of State’s judicial system followed by subordinate courts or lower courts. The Subordinate courts may be divided into following:
Subordinate Civil Courts
The hierarchy of civil court is generally District Judge Court, Subordinate Judge court, Munsiff court, and small causes court. The matters like property disputes, succession, divorce, etc. are dealt with by these courts. The punishment given by these courts is limited to imposing fines.
Subordinate Criminal Courts
The Criminal Courts comprise of District session court, chief judicial magistrate court, and judicial magistrate court. Cases involving rape, murder, theft, etc. which are violation of law are tried by these courts. The punishment awarded can be imprisonment with fine and even death penalty.
Subordinate Revenue Courts
The Board of Revenue, Commissioner & Collector, Tehsildar make up the Subordinate Revenue Courts. Cases of land revenue are considered by the Revenue court.
KEY ASPECTS : ARTICLE 233-237
Article 233
- Appointments, Postings, Promotion of district judges shall be made by the governor with consultation of the High Court of that particular state.
- Minimum seven years as an advocate or pleader followed by a recommendation for appointment by High court is a mandatory eligibility criterion for being appointed as a district judge.
Article 233A
- Appointments, postings, promotion ,transfers made or judgement ,decree etc. passed before Twentieth amendment, 1966, shall be deemed valid even if they are not in accordance with Article 233 & 235.
Article 234
- While appointing persons other than district judges to state judicial service , the Governor must follow the rules framed by him .
- He must consult the State Public service commission and High Court of that State in doing so.
Article 235
- High Courts have control over district courts or courts subordinate to them, in matters including posting, promotion, granting leaves relating to persons of judicial service.
- However this provision does not take away their right to appeal if it is provided by rules governing their service.
Article 236
- The term “district judge” includes- judge of a city civil court, additional district judge, additional sessions judge, assistant district judge, assistant sessions judge, sessions judge, joint district judge, chief judge of a small cause court, chief presidency magistrate, and additional chief presidency magistrate.
- A service where persons are in the posts of district judge, and other inferior civil judicial posts is termed as judicial service.
Article 237
- The governor may pass a public notification for making the provisions or rules applicable to specific classes of magistrates.
- He can make modifications and fix a date from which these rules will take effect for being applicable to those classes of magistrates.
CASE LAWS:
- State of Assam v. Ranga Muhammad: State government’s notification for transferring judges without consulting the High courts was challenged in this case. The court observed that the power to transfer already appointed district judges is with the High Court as mentioned in Article 235 and not with the governor. The court said that no consultation took place rendering the transfers irregular.
- Chandra Mohan v. State of Uttar Pradesh: Supreme court stated that the independence of subordinate courts must be protected as they are closely in contact with people and the articles in chapter VI of part VI were introduced for the same purpose.
- State of West Bengal vs Nripendra Nath Bagchi: The case ruled that an inquiry into conduct of an Additional and sessions judge by an executive officer without consulting High court is in contravention of Article 235 which gives control to High court over Subordinate courts.
CHALLENGES
- High Pendency level: Of over 4.5 crore cases pending across courts as of 2021, 87.6% cases were pending in subordinate courts. ‘Justice delayed is justice denied’ is a statement almost all people are aware of but whether it is being followed or not is highly uncertain.
- Vacancy level: The ratio of the number of cases to the number of judges is not balanced resulting in high pendency level.
- Lack of infrastructural facilities: Lack of basic amenities such as proper toilets, lack of space etc are serious issues that are frequently observed at lower courts.
- Corruption: The number of complaints on Judicial functioning which also included corruption complaints received on CPGRAMS were 1631 during 2017 to 2021. Also, there is a high likelihood that many instances of corruption have happened without being reported.
MOVING FORWARD:
Allocation of financial resources to lower judiciary for developing its infrastructural facilities, appointment and selection of more judges, easier access and simple procedure for filing complaints by people about issues like corruption are the need of the hour.
END NOTE:
- The subordinate courts which form an essential part of Indian judicial hierarchy are regulated by Articles 233-237 of the constitution.
- The challenges present in the functioning of these courts can be tackled with appropriate solutions.
FAQs:
1.What is the difference between civil courts and criminal courts?
The Key difference between these courts lie on the cases dealt and fine imposed by them. The civil court deals with cases of property, divorce etc and imposes only fine as a punishment whereas the criminal court deals with cases of murder, rape, kidnapping, etc. and may award imprisonment, death penalty or fine as punishment.
2.What articles of the Indian constitution regulate the subordinate courts?
Articles 233-237 of the constitution incorporated in chapter VI of Part XVI
3.Who can make postings, appointments,etc. of district judges?
Governor in consultation with the High court of that state.
4.Who has authority over matters relating to district judges who have already been appointed?
High Courts.
MCQ’s:
1.Which Court addresses the cases where there is violation of law?
a)civil courts
b)criminal courts
c)revenue courts
Answer:b) criminal courts
- Which part of the constitution contains articles for regulating subordinate courts?
a. Part II
b.Part IV
c.Part VI
Answer:c) Part VI
- Which article interprets the terms, “district judge” and” judicial service”?
a.Article 233A
b.Article 236
c.Article 237
Answer: b) Article 236
- As per article 234, whom should the governor consult before making appointments of persons other than district judges?
a)State Public Service Commission & High Court.
b) Prime minister & High Court
c) Chief justice of the Supreme court & High Court.
Answer: a)State Public Service Commission & High Court.
- What is the minimum time period where a person should be a pleader or an advocate for the purpose of being appointed as a district judge?
a.6 years
b.1 year
c.7 years
Answer: c) 7 years
Also Read- ARTICLES 214 TO 231: HIGH COURTS IN INDIA
WRITTEN BY – Veera Syamala Devi Nandikanuma
EDITOR – Vishakha Khatri
