Constitution of India · Part VI: The States · Chapter VI: Subordinate Courts
Article 236: Interpretation
In plain words
In this Chapter, "district judge" includes city civil court judges, additional, joint and assistant district judges, chief judges of small cause courts, chief and additional chief presidency magistrates, and sessions, additional sessions and assistant sessions judges. "Judicial service" means a service made up only of people meant to fill the post of district judge and lower civil judicial posts.
A simplified explanation, prepared with AI assistance from the official text below and checked automatically against it for numbers and cross-references. The official text is the law and prevails over this summary. Not legal advice.
Official text
In this Chapter—
(a) the expression “district judge” includes judge of a city civil court, additional district judge, joint district judge, assistant district judge, chief judge of a small cause court, chief presidency magistrate, additional chief presidency magistrate, sessions judge, additional sessions judge and assistant sessions Judge;
(b) the expression “judicial service” means a service consisting exclusively of persons intended to fill the post of district judge and other civil judicial posts inferior to the post of district judge.
Source: India Code (Legislative Department), the official text of the Constitution of India. As amended up to the Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023. Text as on 10 September 2026. Words in square brackets [ ] were inserted or substituted by later amending Acts, and *** marks words omitted by an amendment. The amendment footnotes are not reproduced here. Official text on India Code.
Supreme Court judgments citing the article 236
-
Tosh Kumar Sharma v. High Court of Judicature at Allahabad & Ors.
Issue arose as regards the correctness of the order passed by the High Court rejecting the claim raised for appointment by the appellant to the post of Additional District and Sessions Judge in the Uttar Pradesh Higher…
- Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited v. A. Balakrishnan & Anr.
- Madras Bar Association v. Union of India and Anr.
- Hari Niwas Gupta v. State of Bihar and Another
- Ambalal Sarabhai Enterprises Ltd. v. K. S. Infraspace Llp & Anr.
- Telangana Judges Association & Anr. v. Union of India & Ors.
- The Gauhati High Court Through the Registrar General v. Goto Ete & Others
- Sunil Samdaria v. Union of India Through Its Secretary, Ministry of Law and Justice and Others
- Vijay Kumar Mishra and Anr. v. High Court of Judicature at Patna and Ors.
- Madras Bar Association v. Union of India and Another
- Deepak Aggarwal v. Keshav Kaushik and Others
- State of Gujarat and Anr. v. Gujarat Revenue Tribunal Bar Association and Anr.
- Union of India and Others v. S. Srinivasan
- J.S. Yadav v. State of U.P. & Anr.
- Ajit Kumar v. State of Jharkhand & Ors.
- S.D. Joshi & Ors. v. High Court of Judicature at Bombay & Ors.
- State of Kera La v. B.Renjith Kumar & Ors.
- M/S. Associated Indem Mechanical P. Ltd. v. West Bengal S.S.I.D.C. Ltd. and Ors.
- M.P. Gangadharan and Anr. v. State of Kerala and Ors.
- State of Bihar and Anr. v. Bal Mukund Sah and Ors.
- The State of Maharashtra v. Labour Law Practitioners Association and Ors.
- Sh. P.K. Sarin and Anr. Etc. Etc v. State of U.Pand Ors Etc.
- Supreme Court Advocates-On-Record Association and Anr. v. Union of India
- R.M. Gurjar and Anr. v. High Court of Gujarat and Ors.
- Kumar Padma Prasad v. Union of India and Ors.
- All India Judges' Association v. Union of India