Manipur (Courts) Act, 1955
No: 56 Dated: Dec, 30 1955
THE MANIPUR (COURTS) ACT, 1955
ACT NO. 56 OF 1955
An Act to provide for the establishment of a Judicial Commissioner’s Court and other Courts in Manipur.
BE it enacted by Parliament in the Sixth Year of the Republic of India as follows:—
CHAPTER I
PRELIMINARY
1. Short title, extent and commencement.—(1) This Act may be called the Manipur (Courts) Act, 1955.
(2) It extends to the whole of the Union territory of Manipur.
(3) It shall come into force on such date as the Chief Commissioner may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint.
2. Definitions.—In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—
(i) “Chief Commissioner” means the Chief Commissioner of Manipur;
(ii) “civil suit” includes every suit of a civil nature not expressly or impliedly classed otherwise by any law for the time being in force;
(iii) “district court” means the court of the district judge and includes the court of the additional district judge;
(iv) “hill areas” mean such areas in the hill tracts of the Union territory of Manipur as the Chief Commissioner may, by notification in the Official Gazette, declare to be hill areas;
(v) “small cause suit” means a suit of the nature cognizable by a court of small causes under the Provincial Small Cause Courts Act, 1887(9 of 1887);
(vi) “value” in relation to a suit means the amount or value of the subject-matter of the suit.
CHAPTER II
COURT OF THE JUDICIAL COMMISSIONER
3. Establishment of the Court of the Judicial Commissioner.—There shall be established for the 1 Union territory of Manipur a court to be known as the Court of the Judicial Commissioner for Manipur which shall consist of the Judicial Commissioner and the Additional Judicial Commissioner, if any.
4. Appointment of Judicial Commissioner and Additional Judicial Commissioner.—(1) The Judicial Commissioner and the Additional Judicial Commissioner, if any, shall be appointed by, and shall hold office during the pleasure of, the President.
(2) A person shall not be appointed as Judicial Commissioner or Additional Judicial Commissioner unless he is qualified to be appointed as a Judge of a High Court under clause (2) of article 217 of the Constitution or unless he was, immediately before the commencement of this Act, the Judicial Commissioner of Manipur.
5. Casual vacancy in the office of the Judicial Commissioner.— On the occurrence of a vacancy in the office of the Judicial Commissioner, the Additional Judicial Commissioner, if any, or if there is no Additional Judicial Commissioner, the senior-most district judge shall, pending the appointment of the Judicial Commissioner, act as the Judicial Commissioner.
6. Rank, precedence and responsibility of Judicial Commissioner.—The Judicial Commissioner shall have rank and precedence before the Additional Judicial Commissioner and shall be responsible for the administration of, and generally for the distribution of business in, the Court of the Judicial Commissioner.
7. Exercising of jurisdiction by Judicial Commissioner and Additional Judicial Commissioner.— Subject to such orders as the Judicial Commissioner may make as regards the distribution of business between himself and the Additional Judicial Commissioner, the jurisdiction of the Court of the Judicial Commissioner may be exercised by the Judicial Commissioner or by the Additional Judicial Commissioner.
8. Civil and criminal jurisdiction of the Court of the Judicial Commissioner.—Save as otherwise provided by this Act or any other law for the time being in force, the Court of the Judicial Commissioner shall, with reference to any civil or criminal proceeding under any law for the time being in force in the Union territory of Manipur, be the highest court of appeal, revision or reference.
9. Registrar and ministerial officers of the Court of the Judicial Commissioner.—(1) The Judicial Commissioner may appoint a Registrar and such other ministerial officers as may be necessary for the administration of justice by the Court of the Judicial Commissioner and for the exercise of the powers and the performance of the duties conferred or imposed on the Court by or under this Act or any other law for the time being in force.
(2) The Judicial Commissioner may make rules for delegating to the Registrar such powers and duties of a judicial, quasi-judicial or non-judicial nature as he thinks fit; and the ministerial officers shall exercise such powers and perform such duties of a quasi-judicial or non-judicial nature as the Judicial Commissioner may direct.