Subordinate courts: structure, appointment and High Court control

Detail

1. Place in the judicial pyramid

• Subordinate courts are all the courts below the High Court. They form the base of India's single, integrated judiciary. This means one chain of courts: the Supreme Court at the top, then the High Courts, then district courts and the courts below them. India does not have separate federal and state court systems.
• District courts do three things:
• try cases that arise in the district;
• hear appeals from the lower courts in the district;

• try serious criminal offences.

• Subordinate courts below the district court handle the everyday civil and criminal cases.

• All of them work under the High Court's superintendence (the High Court watches over them and corrects them).
• Most citizens meet the judiciary at this level. Courts at every level do three jobs (NCERT Class 7):
• settle disputes between citizens, between a citizen and the government, and between governments;
• interpret laws, which means explaining what a law means in a real case;
• protect rights, so any citizen whose rights are violated can go to court.

2. Civil side

• Civil cases are about property, contracts, money, family matters and similar disputes between people.

• The usual order, from top to bottom: 1. District Judge: the highest civil court in the district. It also hears appeals. 2. Civil Judge (Senior Division), also called Subordinate Judge in some states. 3. Civil Judge (Junior Division) or Munsiff: the entry-level civil court.

• Small causes courts hear low-value money claims through a short, simple process.

• The names and money limits differ between states. They are fixed by state civil courts laws, such as the Bengal, Agra and Assam Civil Courts Act, 1887 and the Bombay Civil Courts Act, 1869.

3. Criminal side under the BNSS 2023

• The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023 (Act No. 46 of 2023) replaced the CrPC 1973 with effect from 1 July 2024 [5].

• Section 6 of the BNSS lists four classes of criminal courts in every state [5]: 1. Courts of Session; 2. Judicial Magistrates of the first class; 3. Judicial Magistrates of the second class; 4. Executive Magistrates.

• The old separate Metropolitan Magistrate category is gone.

Court	Who sits	Maximum sentence
Sessions Court	Sessions Judge, Additional Sessions Judge, Assistant Sessions Judge	Any sentence allowed by law. A death sentence must be confirmed by the High Court
Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM)	A first-class magistrate whom the High Court names as CJM in each district [5]	Any sentence except death, life imprisonment, or more than 7 years in prison [5]
Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC)	Judicial officer	Up to 3 years in prison, a fine up to ₹50,000, both, or community service [5]
Judicial Magistrate Second Class	Judicial officer	Up to 1 year in prison and/or a fine up to ₹10,000, or community service

• Sessions court: the top criminal trial court in a district. When the district judge tries criminal cases, the same judge is called the Sessions Judge.
• Judicial magistrate: a judicial officer who tries less serious criminal cases. Judicial magistrates are part of the judicial service and are controlled by the High Court.
• Who reports to whom [5]:
• the CJM is subordinate to the Sessions Judge;

• every other judicial magistrate is subordinate to the CJM, under the general control of the Sessions Judge.

• Community service is a new kind of punishment under the BNSS. The convicted person does unpaid work that benefits the community instead of going to jail [5].

4. Executive magistrates and Art. 50

• Executive magistrate: a government officer, such as the District Magistrate (DM) or the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM), who keeps public order. Executive magistrates are officials of the executive branch, not judges.
• What they do:
• maintain public order;

• issue prohibitory orders (orders banning gatherings or certain acts in an area) under BNSS s.163 (old CrPC s.144).

• What they do not do: they do not try criminal cases.

• Why the split exists:
• Art. 50 (a Directive Principle) asks the state to separate the judiciary from the executive in public services.
• Before 1973, executive magistrates also tried cases.
• The CrPC 1973 gave all trial work to judicial magistrates under the High Court.

• The BNSS 2023 keeps this split.

• Exam trap: Executive Magistrates are still named as a "class of criminal court" in BNSS s.6 [5], but they do not try cases.

5. Constitutional scheme: Part VI, Chapter VI (Arts. 233-237)

Art. 233: district judges

• The Governor appoints, posts and promotes district judges in consultation with the High Court [2].
• A direct recruit (someone not already in Union or state service) must:
• have been an advocate or pleader for at least 7 years; and

• be recommended by the High Court [2].

• District judge: the head of the district's judiciary. The same person is the Sessions Judge on the criminal side.

Art. 233A: the validation clause

• In Chandra Mohan v. State of U.P. (1966), the Supreme Court cancelled some district judge appointments in U.P. because the High Court had not been properly consulted.
• The 20th Amendment (1966) added Art. 233A [4]. It made those appointments and the judgments of those judges valid again [4].

Art. 234: other judicial officers

• The Governor appoints judicial officers below the district judge, such as civil judges and magistrates.
• The Governor does this under rules made after consulting both the State Public Service Commission and the High Court.

Art. 235: High Court's control over subordinate courts

• The High Court controls district courts and the courts below them [3].
• This control covers posting, promotion and leave of judicial officers below the district judge [3]. It also covers discipline.
• In the Constituent Assembly, this provision was defended on the ground of separation of powers. It placed the state's courts under the High Court instead of the executive [3].

Arts. 236-237: definitions and extension

• Art. 236 defines terms:
• "District judge" includes judges of city civil courts, additional and assistant district judges, chief judges of small causes courts, chief presidency magistrates and sessions judges.

• "Judicial service" means a service made up only of people meant to fill the post of district judge and the civil judicial posts below it.

• Art. 237 lets the Governor, by public notification, apply this chapter to magistrates as well.

6. Superintendence and Parliament's role

• Art. 227: High Court's power of superintendence. The High Court supervises all courts and tribunals in its territory. Military tribunals are excluded.
• Art. 227 compared with Art. 235:
• Art. 227 is about how courts work. The High Court can correct their proceedings and call for records.

• Art. 235 is about the people who staff the courts: their posting, promotion, leave and discipline.

• Art. 247: Parliament may set up additional courts to better administer laws it has made. An example is a court for a Union subject.

7. Recruitment and service conditions

Civil judges

• Civil judges are recruited through state judicial service exams, run by the High Court or the State PSC.
• Three-year practice rule: the Supreme Court considered whether candidates for JMFC / Civil Judge (Junior Division) must first practise at the bar for a minimum period, and whether that period should be two or three years [9]. In May 2025 it restored a 3-year minimum practice rule (verify current).

District judges

• District judges are filled from three channels, in the 50:25:25 pattern set in All India Judges Association (2002):
• 50% by promotion;
• 25% by a limited competitive exam among serving judicial officers;

• 25% by direct recruitment from the bar.

• This pattern was later varied (verify current).

Pay

• In the All India Judges Association case, the Supreme Court ordered a separate Judicial Pay Commission for the subordinate judiciary. It also gave directions to keep pay, pension and training uniform across states [6].
• Second National Judicial Pay Commission (SNJPC):
• approved by the Union Cabinet in 2017 [6];
• headed by Justice P. Venkatarama Reddi (former Supreme Court judge), with Justice R. Basant (former Kerala High Court judge) as Member [6];
• aimed to make pay and service conditions uniform across states and UTs [6];
• filed the main part of its report (4 volumes on pay, pension and allowances) on 29 January 2020 [7];

• recommended a pay matrix with a multiplier of 2.81 on existing pay [7].

• In All India Judges Association v. Union of India (2024 INSC 26, 4 January 2024), the Supreme Court ordered the SNJPC pay recommendations to be carried out [8].

Cross-references: vacancies, infrastructure and pendency are covered in §8. The All India Judicial Service (AIJS) alternative is covered in §12.

Prelims Hooks

• Art. 233: the Governor appoints district judges in consultation with the High Court. A direct recruit needs 7 years as an advocate and the High Court's recommendation.
• Art. 233A was added by the 20th Amendment (1966) to validate appointments struck down in Chandra Mohan (1966).
• Art. 234: judicial officers below the district judge are appointed after consulting both the State PSC and the High Court. Under Art. 233, the PSC is not consulted for district judges.
• Art. 235 (control over posting, promotion, leave and discipline) is about the people. Art. 227 (superintendence over all courts and tribunals except military ones) is about the work of courts.
• BNSS s.6 names four classes of criminal courts. Executive Magistrates are one of them, even though they do not try cases. There is no Metropolitan Magistrate.
• CJM: up to 7 years. JMFC: up to 3 years, a fine up to ₹50,000, or community service. JM-II: up to 1 year and/or a fine up to ₹10,000.
• A Sessions Court may pass a death sentence, but it must be confirmed by the High Court.
• Prohibitory orders now come under BNSS s.163 (old CrPC s.144) and are issued by executive magistrates.
• Art. 50 (separating the judiciary from the executive) was put into effect for criminal courts by the CrPC 1973.
• SNJPC: Justice P.V. Reddi; report filed in 2020; pay multiplier 2.81.

Mains Points

• Independence through High Court control:
• Arts. 233-235 take control of the lower judiciary away from the state executive and give it to the High Court.
• The Governor's role is formal. Since Chandra Mohan, "consultation with the High Court" has been treated as binding.

• The weak spot: Art. 234 still involves the State PSC, and infrastructure funding depends on the state government.

• Who should become a judge:

• The 3-year practice rule says new judges need courtroom experience to handle litigants well.

• Critics say the rule keeps out bright graduates, especially women and first-generation lawyers, who cannot afford years of low-paid practice.

• Separation of executive and judicial magistrates:

• The split under Art. 50 and the CrPC 1973 protects fair trials.

• But executive magistrates' wide preventive powers (BNSS s.163) are often criticised as overused, for example in internet shutdowns and repeated prohibitory orders.

• Uniform service conditions:

• Judicial pay commissions and the All India Judges Association directions try to build a national standard for state judiciaries.
• This supports the case for the AIJS. It also raises a federal concern, because the Supreme Court is setting the pay that states must fund.