Bill amending nomenclature of Munsiffs, Subordinate Judge moved in LA
Jammu, Feb 11: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday introduced “The Jammu and Kashmir State Civil Courts (Amendment) Bill, 2026”, aimed at aligning the nomenclature of Munsiffs and Subordinate Judge with Civil Judge (Junior Division) and Civil Judge (Senior Division) as it existed in other States and Union Territories.
The Chief Minister is also the in-charge Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs.
The Bill, introduced by the Chief Minister in the J&K Legislative Assembly, aims at amending a Bill to amend the Jammu and Kashmir State Civil Courts Act, (Svt) 1977 (L A Bill No. 03 of 2026).
As per the statement of objects and reasons, the Jammu and Kashmir Civil Courts Act, (Svt) 1977, was enacted to consolidate and amend the laws relating to the civil courts in Jammu and Kashmir, thereby streamlining the administration of justice and establishing a formal hierarchy and structure for the subordinate judiciary.
The Act formally established a structured hierarchy of civil courts below the High Court, including the District Court (principal Civil Court of original jurisdiction), Court of Additional Judge, Court of Subordinate Judge, and Court of Munsiff.
lt also defines the pecuniary (monetary) and territorial jurisdiction of these various courts, including the original and appellate jurisdictions of the District Judges and the High Court.
The nomenclature of Munsiffs and Subordinate Judge only exists in Jammu and Kashmir, whereas in other States and Union Territories, the expression Civil Judge (Junior Division) and Civil Judge (Senior Division) is being used for Munsiffs and Subordinate Judges.
More so, the pecuniary Jurisdiction of Munsiffs is fixed as Rs 15,000 under section 2l (2) of the said Act, which is very low.
It is in this context High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh with Full Court recommendation, proposed amendments to align the nomenclature of Munsiffs and Subordinate Judge with Civil Judge (Junior Division) and Civil Judge (Senior Division) as it exists in other States and Union Territories.
Besides the pecuniary jurisdiction of Munsiffs has also been proposed to be Rs 10 lakh in the amendment bill.
The Bill has already been published in an extraordinary issue of the Official Gazette.
