The Regulations and Acts mentioned in the schedule to this Act hereby repealed to the extent specified in the third column of the same schedule.

In this Act

Local Government Local Government means the Lieutenant Governor of the Lower Provinces, or the Lieutenant Governor of the North-Western Provinces, of the said Presidency, as the case may be;

High Court High Court means the High Court of Judicature at Fort William, or the High Court of Judicature of the North-Western Provinces of the said Presidency, as the case may be; and

District Judge District Judge means the Judge of a principal civil court of original jurisdiction.

This Act extends only to the territories for the time being respectively under the Governments of the Lieutenant Governor of the Lower Provinces and the Lieutenant Governor of the North-Western Provinces of the said Presidency.

The present Principal Sadr Am ns shall be the first Subordinate Judges, and (subject to any alteration of the hunts of their local jurisdiction which may he made by the Local Government) shall severally exercise the jurisdiction of Subordinate Judges under this Act within the local limits within, which, immediately before the passing of this Act, they respectively exercised the jurisdiction of Principal Sadr Am ns.

First Munsifs. The present Sadr Am ns and Munsifs shall he the first Munsifs, and (subject to any alteration of the limits of their local jurisdiction which may he made by the Local Government) shall severally exercise the jurisdiction of Munsifs under this Act within the local limits within which, immediately before the passing of this Act, they respectively exercised the jurisdiction of Munsifs.

Whenever the office of a Subordinate Judge under this Act is vacant, the Local Government may appoint to the office such person as it thinks proper.

Whenever the office of a Munsif under this Act is vacant, the High Court shall nominate such person as it thinks fit to fill such office, and the Local Government shall appoint him accordingly.

It shall be lawful for the Local Government, with the sanction of the Governor General of India in Council, to make rules as to the qualifications of persons to he nominated Munsifs under this Act, and from time to time to alter and add to the rales so made.

When such rules shall have been made, no person, notwithstanding anything hereinbefore contained, shall be nominated to the office of Munsif, unless he possesses the qualifications prescribed by the said rules.

Any District Judge, on the occurrence within his jurisdiction of any vacancy in the office of Munsif, may, pending the orders of the High Court thereon, appoint such person as he thinks fit to Act in such office, And he shall forthwith report to the High Court the occurrence of every such vacancy and of every such appointment.

Every person hereafter appointed under this Act shall, on his first appointment, and previously to entering on the duties of his office, subscribe, before the District Judge to whose control he is subject, the following declaration:

I, A.B., appointed Subordinate Judge [or Munsif] of do solemnly declare that I will faithfully perform the duties of my office to the best of my ability, knowledge and judgment.

Every Subordinate Judge and Munsif under this Act shall he deemed to he a Civil Court within the meaning of the Code of Civil Procedure and of this Act.

All ministerial officers of the Courts of Subordinate Judges and Munsifs shall be nominated and appointed by those Courts respectively, subject to the approval of the District Judge within whose jurisdiction such Courts are situate.

Every such Court may, by order, fine, suspend or dismiss any of its ministerial officers who is guilty of any misconduct or neglect in the performance of the duties of his office. But every such order shall be subject to appeal to the District Judge; and the rules for the time being applicable to appeals to the Court, of Session from orders of the Criminal Courts subordinate thereto shall apply to all appeals under this section.

Nothing in this section shall exempt the offender from any penal or other consequences to which he may be liable under any other law in for the time being.

The High Court may, whenever it sees urgent necessity for so doing, suspend any Subordinate Judge under its control.

Whenever the High Court suspends any such Subordinate Judge, it shall forthwith report to the Local Government the circumstances of such suspension, and the Local Government may direct him to he removed from his office, or make such other order as the case may require.

Any District Judge may, whenever he sees urgent necessity for so doing, suspend any Munsif under his control.

Whenever the District Judge suspends any such Munsif, he shall forthwith send to the High Court a full report of the case with the evidence, and the High Court shall make such order in the matter as it thinks fit.

The High Court may at any time by order remove from his office or suspend any Munsif subject to its control.

The Local Government may define and from time to time vary the local limits of the jurisdictions of Subordinate Judges and Munsifs.

Every Court under this Act shall have the same jurisdiction over all proceedings pending in the Court for which it shall have been substituted, as the Principal Sadr Am n, Sadr Am n or Munsif (as the case may be) of such Court would have had if this Act had not been passed:

Provided that every Munsif exercising jurisdiction under this Act within the local limits, of a Sadr Mtmsif shall have jurisdiction over all proceedings pending in, the Court of the Sadr Am n immediately before the passing of this Act.

(a.) Munsifs.

Munsifs are empowered to try all original suits cognizable by the Civil Courts of which the subject-matter does not exceed in amount or value rupees one thousand.

In all such suits in which an appeal is, for the time being, allowed by law, an appeal shall lie from the decision of the Munsif to the District Judge to whose control he is subject.

(b.) Subordinate Judges.

Subordinate Judges are empowered to try all original suits cognizable by the Civil Courts of which the subject-matter exceeds in amount or value rupees one thousand, and (if the District Judge shall have referred them under the Code of Civil Procedure) suits of which the subject-matter is of any less amount or value.

The Local Government may invest any Subordinate Judge with the powers of a Munsif under section thirteen, and may define and from time to time vary the local limits within which such powers are to he exercised.

Every District Judge may from time to time, subject to the orders of the High Court, refer to any Subordinate Judge under his control any appeals pending before him from decisions passed by Munsifs under section thirteen; and such Subordinate Judge shall hear and dispose of such appeals accordingly.

In suits decided by any Subordinate Judge in the exercise of his original jurisdiction, of which the amount or value of subject-matter does not exceed rupees five thousand, an appeal shall lie to the District Judge to whose control such Subordinate Judge is subject.

Appeals to High Court from Subordinate Judges. In all other suits decided by any Subordinate Judge, whether in the exercise of his original or appellate jurisdiction, the appeal from the decision of such Judge shall he direct to the High Court.

The High Court may from time to time by order authorize the Judge of any District Court to transfer to a Subordinate Judge or Munsif subject to the control of such District Court any civil proceedings (not being suits), or any class of such proceedings, specified in such order and which may be then pending, or may be thereafter instituted, in such District Court.

All proceedings so transferred shall be disposed of by the Subordinate Judge or Munsif (as the case may he) according to the rules prescribed for the guidance of District Judges in the like cases:

Provided that an appeal from the order of the Subordinate Judge or Munsif in such cases shall lie to the District Judge, and a special appeal from his order thereon shall lie to the High Court, if an appeal from the decision of the Judge in such proceedings is allowed by the law in force for the time being.

(c.) Small Came Court Powers.

The Local Government may invest, within such local limits as it shall from time to time appoint, any Subordinate Judge with the jurisdiction of a Judge of a Court of Small Causes, for the trial of suits cognizable by such Courts, up to the amount of rupees five hundred, and any Munsif with the same jurisdiction up to the amount of rupees fifty, and may, whenever it thinks fit, withdraw such jurisdiction from the Subordinate Judge or Munsif so invested.

Section 51 of Act No. XI of 1865 (to consolidate and amend the law relating to Courts of Small Causes beyond the local limits of the ordinary original civil jurisdiction of the High Courts of Judicature) shall he read as if, for the words Principal Sudder Ameen, the words Subordinate Judge were substituted.

SCHEDULE.