Subordinate Courts
Articles 233 to 237 in Part VI of the Indian Constitution make the following provisions to regulate the organisation of Subordinate Courts and to ensure their independence from the executive.
The expressions “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, sessions judge, additional sessions judge and assistant sessions judge.
The expression “judicial service” means a service consisting exclusively of persons intended to fill the post of district judge and other civil judicial posts inferior to the post of district judge.
Table of Content💻
Structure and Jurisdiction
Broadly speaking, there are 3 tiers of civil and criminal court below the High Court. This is shown as follows:
High Court
District and Sessions Judge’s Court
Civil Side
Subordinate Judge’s Court
Munsiff’s Court
Criminal Side
Chief Judicial Magistrate’s Court
Judicial Magistrate’s Court
The district judge is the highest judicial authority in the district. In other words, the district judge is also the sessions judge.
When he deals with civil cases, he is known as the district judge and when he presides over criminal cases, he is called the sessions judge.
The sessions judge has the power to impose any punishment including life imprisonment and even the capital punishment ( death sentence ) though it is subject to confirmation by the High Court.
Under the District and Sessions court stands the court of Subordinate Judge on the civil side and the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate on the criminal side.
At the lowest level, on the civil side, is the court of Munsiff and on the Criminal side, is the court of Judicial Magistrate.
In some Metropolitan cities, there are city civil courts ( Chief Judges ) on the civil side and the courts of Metropolitan Magistrates on the Criminal side.
In some states, Panchayat Courts try petty civil and criminal cases. They are variously known as Nyaya Panchayar, Gram Kutchery, Adalati Panchayat, Panchayat Adalat and so on.
Articles | Subject Matter |
233 | Appointment of district judges |
233A | Validation of appointments of, and judgements, etc. delivered be certain district judges. |
234 | Recruitment of persons other than district judges to the Judicial Service. |
235 | Control over Subordinate Courts |
236 | Interpretation |
237 | Applications of the provisions of this Chapter to certain classes or classes of Magistrates. |
Lok Adalats
The Lok Adalat is a forum where the cases ( or disputes ) which are pending in a court or which are at pre-litigation stage ( not yet brought before a court ) are compromised or settled in an amicable manner.
Meaning:
According to the Supreme Court in the case of P.T. Thomas Vs. Thomas Job, 2005.
The ‘Lok Adalat’ is an old form of adjudicating system that prevailed in ancient India. The word ‘Lok Adalat’ means ‘People’s Court’ and is based on Gandhian Principles. It is one of the components of the ADR ( Alternative Dispute Resolution ) system. The Court takes years together to settle even petty cases. The Lok Adalat, therefore, provides alternative resolution or device for expeditions and inexpensive justice.
The Experiment of ‘Lok Adalat’ as an alternate mode of dispute settlement has come to be accepted in India, as a viable, economic, efficient, and informal one.
Statutory Status
The institution of Lok Adalat has been given Statutory status under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987. The Act makes the following provisions:
A Lok Adalat shall have jurisdiction to determine and to arrive at a compromise or settlement between the parties to a dispute in respect of:
Any case pending before any court; or
Any matter which falls within the jurisdiction of any court and is not brought before such court.
Various matters such as Matrimonial/Family Disputes, Bank Recovery cases, Pension cases, Criminal ( Compoundable Offences ) cases, Housing Finance cases, Land Acquisition cases, Labour Disputes, Workmen’s Compensation cases, Housing Board and Slum Clearance cases, Consumer Grievances cases, Electricity matters, Disputes relating to Telephone Bills, Municipal matters including House Tax cases, Disputes with cellular companies, etc are being taken up in the Lok Adalats.
The Lok Adalat shall have the same powers as are vested in a civil court under the code of a Civil Procedure ( 1908 ) while trying a suit in respect of the following matters:
The summoning and enforcing the attendance of any witness examining him on oath;
The discovery and production of any document;
The reception of evidence on affidavits;
The requisitioning of any public record or document from any court or office; and
Such other matters as may be prescribed.
Also, all proceedings before a Lok Adalat shall be deemed to be judicial proceedings within the meaning of the Indian Penal Code ( 1860 ) and every Lok Adalat shall be deemed to be a Civil Court for the purpose of the Code of Criminal Procedure ( 1973 ).
Benefits:
According to the Supreme Court, the benefits under Lok Adalat are as follows:
There is no court fee and if the court fee is already paid the amount will be refunded if the dispute is settled at Lok Adalat.
The basic features of Lok Adalat are procedural flexibility and speedy trial of disputes. There is no strict application of procedural laws like the Civil Procedure Code and the Evidence Act while assessing the claim by Lok Adalat.
The parties to the dispute can directly interact with the judge through their counsel which is not possible in regular courts of law.
The award by the Lok Adalat is binding on the parties it has the status of a device of a civil court and it is non-appealable, which does not cause a delay in the settlement of disputes finally.
The Law Commission of India summarised the advantages of ADR ( Alternative Dispute Resolution ) in the following way:
It is less expensive.
It is less time-consuming.
It is free from technicalities vis-a-vis conducting cases in law courts.
Parties are free to discuss their differences of opinion without any fear of disclosure before any law courts.
Parties have the feeling that there is no losing or winning side between them but at the same time their grievance is redressed and their relationship is restored.
Permanent Lok Adalats
Reasons:
The reasons for the establishment of Permanent Lok Adalats are as follows:
The Legal Services Authorities Act, of 1987 was enacted for providing free and competent legal Services to the weaker sections of society or other disabilities and to organise Lok Adalats to ensure that the operation of the legal system promotes justice on a basis of equal opportunity.
The system of Lok Adalat, has proved effective for resolving disputes in a spirit of conciliation outside the courts.
However, the major drawback in the existing system of organisation of Lok Adalats is that the system of Lok Adalats is mainly based on compromise or settlement between the parties. If the parties do not arrive at any compromise or settlement and eventually the parties have to seek remedy in a court of law which causes unnecessary delay in the dispensation of justice.
The cases which arise in relation to public utility services need to be settled urgently so that people get justice without delay even at pre-litigation stage and thus would result in reducing the workload of the regular courts to a great extent.
It is, therefore, proposed to amend the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 to set up Permanent Lok Adalats for providing a compulsory pre-litigative mechanism for conciliation and settlement of cases relating to public utility services.
Features:
The salient features of the new institution of Permanent Lok Adalats are as follows:
The Permanent Lok Adalat shall consist of a Chairman who is or has been a district judge or additional district judge or has held judicial office higher in rank than that of the district judge and two other persons having adequate experience in public utility services.
The Permanent Lok Adalat shall exercise jurisdiction in respect of one or more public utility services.
The pecuniary jurisdiction of the Permanent Lok Adalat shall be up to rupees ten lakhs. However, the Central Government may increase the said pecuniary jurisdiction from time to time
The Permanent Lok Adalat shall have not jurisdiction in respect of any matter relating to any offence not compoundable under any law.
Any party to the dispute may make an application to the Permanent Lok Adalat, before the dispute is brought before any court and after an application is made, no party shall invoke jurisdiction of any court in the same dispute.
In case parties to the dispute fail to reach an agreement, the Permanent Lok Adalat shall decide the dispute on merits.
Every award made by the Permanent Lok Adalat shall be final and binding on all the parties thereto and shall be by a majority of the persons constituting the Lok Adalat.
Family Courts
The Family Courts Act, 1984 was enacted to provide for the establishment of family courts with a view to promote conciliation and secure speedy settlement of disputes relating to marriage and family affairs.
Reasons:
The reasons for the establishment of separate family courts are as follows:
Several associations and organisations have urged from time to time that Family Courts be set up for the settlement of family disputes, where emphasis should be laid on conciliation and achieving socially desirable results and adherence to rigid rules of procedure and evidence should be eliminated.
The law commission in its 59th report ( 1974 ) had also stressed that in disputes concerning the family, the Court ought to adopt an approach radically different from ordinary civil proceedings and that it should make reasonable efforts at settlement before the commencement of the trial. The code of Civil Procedure was amended in 1916 to provide for a special procedure to be adopted in suits or proceedings relating to matters concerning the family.
However, not much use has been made by the courts in adopting this conciliatory procedure and the same adversary approach prevails. The need was, therefore, felt in the public interest, to establish Family Courts for speedy settlement of family disputes.
Therefore, the main objectives and reasons for setting up Family Courts are:
To create a specialized court which will exclusively deal with family matters. Thus expertise and expeditions disposal are two main factors for establishing such a court;
To institute a mechanism for conciliation of the disputes relating to family;
To provide an inexpensive remedy; and
To have flexibility and an informal atmosphere in the conduct of proceedings.
Features:
The Salient features of the Family Courts Act, 1984 are as follows:
It provides for the establishment of Family Courts by the State Governments in consultation with the High Courts.
It makes it obligatory on the State Governments to set up a Family Court in every city or town with a population exceeding one million.
It enables the State Governments to set up Family Courts in other areas also, if they deem it necessary.
It exclusively provides within the jurisdiction of the Family Courts the matters relating to:
Matrimonial relief, including nullity of marriage, judicial separation, divorce, restitution of conjugal rights, or declaration as to the validity of marriage or as to the matrimonial status of any person;
The property of the spouses or of either of them;
Declaration as to the legitimacy of any person;
Guardianship of a person or the custody of any minor; and
Maintenance of wife, children, and parents.
It makes it obligatory on the part of the Family Court to endeavour, in the first instance, to effect a reconciliation or a settlement between the parties to a family dispute. During this stage, the proceedings will be informal and rigid rules of the procedure shall not apply.
It provides for the association of social welfare agencies, counselors, etc., during the conciliation stage and also secures the service of medical and welfare experts.
It provides that the parties to a dispute before a Family Court shall not be entitled, as of right, to be represented by a legal practitioner. However, the Court may, in the interest of justice, seek assistance of a legal expert as amicus curiae ( latin: friend of court ).
It simplifies the rules of evidence and procedure so as to enable a Family Court to deal effectively with a dispute. It provides for only one right of appeal which shall lie to the High Court.
Gram Nyayalayas
The Gram Nyayalayas Act, 2008 has been enacted to provide for the establishment of the Gram Nyayalayas at the grass roots level for the purposes of providing access to justice to the citizens at their doorsteps and to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen due to social, economic, or other disabilities.
Reasons:
The reasons for the establishment of Gram Nyayalayas are as follows:
Access to justice by the poor and disadvantaged remains a worldwide problem despite diverse approaches. In our country, Article 39A of the Constitution directs the State to ensure that the operation of the legal system promotes justice, on a basis of equal opportunity and shall provide free legal aid to ensure that opportunities are not denied by reasons of economic disabilities.
In the recent post, the Government has taken various measures to strengthen the judicial system, inter alia, by simplifying the procedural laws; incorporating various alternative dispute resolution mechanisms such as arbitration, conciliation and mediation; conducting of Lok Adalatas, etc. These measures are required to be strengthened further.
The Law Commission of India in its 114th report on Gram Nyayalaya suggested establishment of Gram Nyayalayas so that speedy, inexpensive and substantial justice could be provided to the common man. The Gram Nyayalayas Act, 2008 is broadly based on them.
Justice to the poor at their doorstep is a dream of the poor. Setting up of the Gram Nyayalayas in the rural areas would bring to the people of rural areas speedy, affordable, and substantial justice.
Features:
The Salient features of the Gram Nyayalayas Act are as follows:
The Gram Nyayalaya shall be the court of Judicial Magistrate of the first class and its presiding officer ( Nyayadhikari ) shall be appointed by the State Government in consultation with the High Court.
The Gram Nyayalaya shall be established for every Panchayat at intermediate level or a group of contiguous Panchayats at intermediate level in a district.
The Nyayadhikaris who will preside over these Gram Nyayalayas are strictly judicial officers and will be drawing the same salary, deriving the same powers as First Class Magistrates under High Courts.
The Gram Nyayalaya shall be a Mobile Court and shall exercise the powers of both Criminal and Civil Courts.
The seat of the Gram Nyayalaya will be located at the headquarters of the intermediate Panchayat, they will go to villages, work there and dispose of the cases.
The Gram Nyayalaya shall try criminal cases, civil suits, claims or disputes which are specified in the First Schedule and the Second Schedule to the Act.
The Central as well as the State Governments have been given power to amend the First Schedule and the Second Schedule of the Act, as per their respective legislative competence.
The Gram Nyayalaya shall follow summary procedure in criminal trials.
The Gram Nyayalayas shall exercise the powers of a Civil Court with certain modifications and shall follow the special procedure as provided in the Act.
The Gram Nyayalayas shall try to settle the disputes as far as possible by bringing about conciliation between the parties and for this purpose, it shall make use of the conciliators to be appointed for this purpose.
The judgement and order passed by the Gram Nyayalayas shall be deemed to be a decree and to avoid delay in its execution, the Gram Nyayalaya shall follow summary procedure for its execution.
The Gram Nyayalaya shall not be bound by the rules of evidence provided in the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 but shall be guided by the principles of natural justice and subject to any rule made by the High Court.
An appeal in criminal cases shall lie to the Court of Session, which shall be heard and disposed of within a period of 6 months from the date of filling of such appeal.
An appeal in civil cases shall lie to the District Court which shall be heard and disposed of within a period of 6 months from the date of filing of the appeal.
A person accused of an offence may file an application for plea bargaining.
Establishment:
Under the Gram Nyayalayas Act, 2008, it is for the State Government to establish Gram Nyayalayas in consultation with the respective High Courts.
The majority of States have now set up regular courts at the Taluka level.
Further, the reluctance of police officials and other state functionaries to invoke jurisdiction of Gram Nyayalayas, lukewarm response of the Bar, non-availability of notaries and stamp vendors, and the problem of concurrent jurisdiction of regular courts are other issues indicated by the States which are coming in the way of operationalization of the Gram Nyayalayas.
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