Report No. 32
5. Articles of the Constitution.-
The Articles of the Constitution relevant to the subject may be referred to-
Articles 233-237 of the Constitution deal with Subordinate Courts. Article 233(1) runs as follows:-
"233. Appointment of District Judges.-(1) Appointments of persons to be, and the posting and promotion of, district judges in any State shall be made by the Governor of the State in consultation with the High Court exercising jurisdiction in relation to such State.".
Article 233(2) is not relevant for our purpose, as it deals with the eligibility for appointment as a district judge of a person not already in the service of the Union or the State.
Article 233A, inserted by a recent amendment1, seeks to validatel2 appointments, postings, promotions and transfers made in the past in the posts of District Judges without complying with Articles 233 and 235.
Article 234 deals with the recruitment of persons other than district judges to the judicial service, and is not directly relevant for the present purpose.
Article 235, which deals with the "control over subordinate courts", is the most important Article for our purpose, and will be discussed in detail later3 .
Article 236 is an interpretation clause, applicable to the groups of Articles (233 to 237) with which we are concerned, and defines the expression "district judge" as including, inter alia, a chief presidency magistrate, an additional chief presidency magistrate, sessions judge, additional sessions judge and assistant sessions judge.
Article 237 deals with the applicability of the provisions of the Chapter to certain classes of magistrates, on a public notification being issued under the Article by the Governor.
1. The Constitution (Twentieth Amendment) Act, 1966 (22nd December, 1966).
2. See para. 24, infra for the text of Article 233A.
3. See para. 9 et seq., infra.
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