1. This judgment will dispose of Civil revision Petitions Nos. 94 105 and 167 of 1981 and 12 of 1982, wherein two common questions of law: one whether the transferee court is a validly constituted court: and two whether Honourable the Chief Justice could have transferred to it the case pending before a Civil court of competent jurisdiction by exercising the administrative powers of the High Court, have arisen for determination. Both these questions have been answered by the transferee courts against the petitioners, hence these revision petitions.

2. In Civil Revision Petition No. 94 a civil suit was pending in the court of Sub Registrar (Munsiif) Jammu. On its redesignation as the court of First Additional Munsiff (P.M.) Jammu the suit was transferred to the court of Forest Magistrate, Jammu, Similarly, in Civil Revision No. 105 a civil suit was pending in the Sub Judge (CJM) Jammu On its redesignation as the Court of First Additional Subordinate Judge. Jammu, the suit was transferred to the court of Municipal Magistrate, Jammu. In Civil Revision No. 167 a civil suit was pending in the Court of City Judge, Jammu, On its redesignation as the Court of Second Civil Subordinate Judge, Jammu, this suit was transferred to the Court of special Mobile Magistrate, Passenger Tax and Shops Establishment, Jammu. Likewise, in Civil Revision petition No. 12 a civil suit was pending in the court of District Judge, Jammu. On its redesignation as the court of First Additional District and Sessions Judge, Jammu the suit was transferred to the court of Special Judge, Anti corruption Jammu.

3. In exercise of its power u/s 18 of the Civil Courts Act, 1977 hereinafter to be referred to as the Act, the High Court may whenever the business pending before a Munsiff requires the aid of an Additional Munsiff for its speedy disposal appoint as Additional Munsiff with the previous sanction of the Government to exercise all the powers of a Munsiff. It is common ground that the Forest Magistrate before he was appointed to the said post was a Munsiff duly appointed by the Government. He has been appointed by the High Court as First Additional Munsiff with the previous sanction of the Government. There is, therefore, noting wrong with his appointment. The contention raised on behalf of the petitioner, however, was that the Additional Munsiff appointed under Sub-Section (2) of Sec. 18 can discharge only those function which the Munsiff with the approval of the District Judge may assign to him. For this, reliance was placed upon the following expression occurring in Sub-section (2)............and such Munsiff shall discharge any of the functions which the Munsiff with the approval of the District Judge may assign to him and in the exercise of these functions he shall exercise all the powers of the Munsiff. For what I am going to hold in regard to the powers of the High Court to transfer cases to courts subordinate to it in exercise of its administrative powers it is not necessary to dispose of this contention on its merits, at this stage. This point will be incidentally fealt with while dealing with the question of the aforesaid powers of the High Court at the later stage of this judgment. Suffice it to say that the transferee court of First Add. Munsiff (F. M.) Jammu is a court of Munsiff within the meaning of Sub-section (2).

4. U/S 17 of the Act, the number of Subordinate Judges is to be fixed by the Govt. In consultation with the High Court. This section does not limit the appointment of a Subordinate Judge in a District to one only. The number of such Judges has necessarily to be fixed keeping in view the volume of the work in the District. If the Govt. is of the opinion that one subordinate Judge cannot cope with the work in a District it may in consultation with the High Court appoint more than one subordinate Judge in a single District. In case it does so, the Judges for their proper identification, may be designated as first Civil subordinate Judge Secon

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