Subordinate or Lower Courts-

• Articles 233 to 237 in Part VI of the Constitution mentions about them.

• The nomenclature of these subordinate courts differs from State to State but broadly there is uniformity in terms of the organizational structure and is discussed below-

Civil courts-

Hierarchy (from top to bottom)-

• District Judge or District and Sessions Judge -> Sub JudgeFamily Courts-> Munsif

Criminal Courts

Hierarchy (from top to bottom)-

• Sessions Judge or District and Sessions Judge->Metropolitan Magistrate(1^st 2^nd and 3^rd class)

Revenue Courts

Hierarchy (from top to bottom)-

• Revenue Courts->Board of Revenue->Commissioner-> Collector->Naib Tehsildar

Civil cases pertain to disputes between two or more persons regarding property, breach of agreement or contract, divorce etc..

Criminal cases relate to violation of laws. These cases involve theft, dacoity, rape, pickpocketing, physical assault, murder, etc.

Appointment of District Judges-

A person to be appointed as district judge should have the following qualifications:

(a) He should not already be in the service of the Central or the state government.

(b) He should have been an advocate or a pleader for seven years.

(c) He should be recommended by the high court for appointment.

Other Points

Appointment of other Judges(Article 234) –

• It is made by the governor of the state after consultation with the State Public Service Commission and the high court.

Article 235-Control over subordinate courts

• The control over district courts and courts subordinate thereto including the posting and promotion of, and the grant of leave to, persons belonging to the judicial service of a State and holding any post inferior to the post of district judge shall be vested in the High Court

Articles related to Subordinate courts-

Article 233 -

• Appointment of district judges.

Article 233A -

• Validation of appointments of, and judgements, etc., delivered by certain district judges.

Article 234-

• Recruitment of persons other than district judges to the judicial service.

Article 235-

• Control over subordinate courts

Article 236 –

• Interpretation

Article 237-

• Application of the provisions of this chapter to a certain class or classes of Magistrates.