Hierarchy of civil and criminal courts in India

1. One integrated judiciary

Unlike the United States, India has a single, unified hierarchy of courts. The same courts apply Union and State laws. At the top is the Supreme Court; below it a High Court for each State or group of States; below each High Court the subordinate courts of the districts. Why it matters to a law student: the hierarchy decides where a case begins, where an appeal lies, and which decisions bind which court (Unit IV).

2. The Supreme Court

• Established by Article 124; consists of the Chief Justice of India and other judges as Parliament fixes by law.
• Original jurisdiction (Article 131) in disputes between the Union and States.
• Writ jurisdiction (Article 32) for enforcement of fundamental rights.
• Appellate jurisdiction in constitutional (Article 132), civil (Article 133) and criminal (Article 134) matters, and the wide discretionary power of special leave to appeal from any court or tribunal (Article 136).
• Advisory jurisdiction on a reference by the President (Article 143).
• Its law binds all courts (Article 141). It is a court of record (Article 129).

3. The High Courts

• A High Court for each State (Article 214); some are common to two or more States or Union territories (Article 231). The Karnataka High Court sits at Bengaluru, with permanent benches at Dharwad and Kalaburagi.
• Writ jurisdiction under Article 226, wider than Article 32 because it extends to “any other purpose”.
• Superintendence over all courts and tribunals in its territory (Article 227) and control over the subordinate courts (Article 235).
• Appellate and revisional jurisdiction in civil and criminal matters; it confirms death sentences passed by Sessions Courts.

4. The civil courts

Below the High Court, the structure of civil courts is fixed by State law. In Karnataka it is the Karnataka Civil Courts Act, 1964. The usual ladder:

1. District Court — presided over by the (Principal) District Judge, the principal civil court of original jurisdiction in the district (Article 233 governs appointment of district judges). Additional District Judges share the work. It hears appeals from the courts below.
2. Court of the Senior Civil Judge (formerly Civil Judge, Senior Division) — suits above the pecuniary limit of the lower court; some appeals.
3. Court of the Civil Judge (formerly Civil Judge, Junior Division, or Munsiff) — the lowest grade, trying suits of smaller value.
4. Small Causes Courts in some cities, for petty money claims, with no regular appeal.

Rules of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 tie this together: every suit must be instituted in the court of the lowest grade competent to try it (section 15); a first appeal lies from an original decree (section 96); a second appeal lies to the High Court only on a substantial question of law (section 100). Specialised forums sit alongside the civil courts: Family Courts, Commercial Courts, consumer commissions, Motor Accidents Claims Tribunals and Lok Adalats.

5. The criminal courts under the BNSS

Section 6 of the BNSS provides that, besides the High Courts and courts constituted under other laws, there shall be in every State the following classes of criminal courts:

1. Courts of Session (Sessions Judge, Additional Sessions Judge, Assistant Sessions Judge);
2. Judicial Magistrates of the first class (including the Chief Judicial Magistrate at the head of the magistracy in each district);
3. Judicial Magistrates of the second class; and
4. Executive Magistrates (District Magistrate, Sub-Divisional Magistrate and others, with preventive and order-keeping functions, not trials).

The BNSS dropped the separate category of Metropolitan Magistrates that the CrPC had for metropolitan areas.

Which court tries an offence is shown in the First Schedule to the BNSS. Serious offences (murder, rape, dacoity) are “triable by Court of Session” and are committed to it by the Magistrate.

6. The two ladders side by side

In practice the same judicial officer often holds both posts: the District Judge is usually also the Sessions Judge, and a Civil Judge is usually also a Judicial Magistrate of the first class. Hence the familiar designation “Civil Judge and JMFC” in Karnataka.

How this is examined

For the 10-mark question, give the integrated structure, the Supreme Court and High Courts with their Articles, the civil ladder with the CPC rules on institution and appeal, the BNSS classes with the sentencing table, and close with the link to precedent. For a 6-mark note the side-by-side table with two lines on each court is enough.