Tag: the high courts and subordinate courts of india

The Governor of the state appoints the judges of subordinate courts. He/she takes this decision in consultation with the Chief justice of the High Court of the concerned State.

Sessions courts are the subordinate courts that deal with the matters which are criminal in nature. Thus, it is the Sessions court which has the power to give death sentence as a punishment to some serious crimes. However, the punishment of death sentence given by the Sessions court cannot be carried out without confirmation by the High Court of that state.

A tehsildar is a tax officer, in-charge of collecting land revenue-related taxes from tehsil. A tehsildar is also called Executive Magistrate of his/her tehsil. The Tehsildar's Court deals with the cases relating to the assessment of land revenue and property tax.

There are two types of taxes in India, direct tax, and indirect tax. Direct taxes are directly paid to the Government of India. Indirect taxes are levied on goods and services and not on citizens. Land tax is a direct tax and any dispute regarding it are taken up on Land tax board.

In India, there is a system of single undivided and co-ordinated judiciary. In this system, the Supreme Court is placed at the top above all the other courts. Below the Supreme Court, the High Courts of different states are placed. All the other courts which are below the High Courts in their position are termed as the 'subordinate courts' in the judicial system of India. 

The appointment procedure to the lower judiciary is done by the state public service commissions or through the high courts (PCSJ). The appointment involves written examination and interview. If both are cleared, the candidate becomes a judge in the lower judiciary.

Civil Judge (senior division or class I) is also called a subordinate judge who stands below the District judge. Sometimes District judge is vested with powers of Assistant session judge then he enjoys both civil and criminal jurisdiction. Sometimes due to lack of proper administration and number of required judges in the district the civil judge senior division is also given charge of the Chief Judicial Magistrate and then his power becomes concurrent to the CJM. 

The Governor appoints the judges of subordinate courts in consultation with the Chief Justice of the High Court of the concerned State. A necessary qualification for direct entry level to become a District Judge is minimum of seven years of practice as a lawyer at the bar. The candidature is considered upon a written examination and oral interview by a committee of High Court judges. The appointment of district judges is notified by the State Government.

District Courts in India take care of judicial matters at the District level. Below District Courts, there are lower courts called Munsif's Courts and Small Causes Courts. Below District Courts, Special courts or Tribunals also exist for the sake of providing effective and speedy justice (especially in administrative matters) as well as for specialised expertise relating to specific kind of disputes. These courts are administratively and judicially controlled by the District Courts.

The District Judge is the highest judicial authority in the district. He possesses original and appellate jurisdiction in both civil and criminal matters. The District judge exercises both judicial and administrative functions. He supervises all the subordinate courts in the district and maintains the leaves and service records of all those working under him.