Chapter V MISCELLANEOUS

In the event of the death of the District Judge or of his/her being prevented from performing his/her duties by illness or otherwise or of his/her absence on leave from the station in which his/her court is held, the Additional District Judge of the district and if there are more than one Additional District Judge, the senior most among them and if there are no Additional District Judge in the district, the senior most Civil Judge (Senior Division)) in the district, shall, without interruption to his/her ordinary duties assume charge of the office of the Court of District Judge and while so in charge, perform the duties of the District Judge with respect to the filing of suits and appeals, receiving pleadings, execution of processes, return of plaints and the like, and shall continue in charge of the said court until the same is resumed by a Judge duly posted thereto.

In the event of death, suspension or temporary absence of any Civil Judge (Senior Division) or Civil Judge (Junior Division) the District Judge may empower any Civil Judge (Senior Division) or Civil Judge (Junior Division) in the district to perform such duties of such Civil Judge (Senior Division) or Civil Judge (Junior Division), as the case may be, as are specified in section 22 either at the place of such court or of his/her own court, but in every such case the registers and records of the two courts shall be kept distinct.

(1) The Civil Courts, except the Customary Courts in the State shall be closed on such days as may be notified by the High Court in consultation with the State Government as public holidays for the whole State or for such area in the State. (2) The Civil Courts in the State shall have such num ber of vacations in each year, as the High Court may, in consultation with the State Government, declare but the total number of days of such vacations shall not exceed fifteen days. (3) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act or in the Code, the High Court, may, by general or special order appoint the District Judge or an Additional District Judge or a Senior Civil Judge as vacation judge for the district and for the duration of the adjournment of the court of District Judge in any vacation or any part thereof and regulate the work to be discharged by the vacation judge. (4) The local limits of jurisdiction of the vacation judge shall be the same as those of the Court of District Judge concerned and his jurisdiction shall extend to all suits, appeals and other proceedings pending in or cognizable by any Civil Court in the district concerned. (5) The vacation judge shall hold his/her court at the place at which Court of District Judge is normally held and he/she shall have administrative control over all the staff of all civil courts in the district. (6) Notwithstanding, the appointment of a vacation judge, every Civil Court in the district shall during the period it is adjourned for any vacation be deemed to be closed for the purpose of section 4 of the Limitation Act, 1963 (Act 36 of 1963). (7) Appeal from the decree or order of a vacation judge shall, when such appeal is allowed by law, lie to the High Court. (8) On the reopening of any Civil Court after any vacation, all suits, appeals and other proceedings pending before the vacation judge shall stand transferred to the Civil Court concerned, in which it would have been instituted or pending but for the appointment of the Vacation Judge. Any decree, order or proceedings passed by the vacation judge shall be deemed to be a decree, order or proceedings passed by the Court concerned.

(1) The State Government, in consultation with the High Court may, by general or special order, invest any Civil Judge (Senior Division), within such local limits and subject to such pecuniary jurisdiction as may be specified in such order, with all or any of the powers of a District Judge or a Court of District Judge, as the case may be under the Indian Divorce Act, 1869 (4 of 1869) the Indian Succession Act, 1925 (39 of 1925), the Special Marriages Act, 1954 or the Guardian and wards Act, 1890 (8 of 1890) or such other Acts as may be deemed necessary. (2) Every order made by a Civil Judge (Senior Division) by virtue of the powers conferred upon him under sub-section (1) shall be subject to appeal to the Court of District Judge. (3) Every order of a Court of District Judge, passed on appeal under sub-section (2) from the order of a Civil Judge (Senior Division) shall be subject to an appeal to the High Court under the rules contained in the Code applicable to appeals from appellate decrees.

The High Court shall from time to time, in consultation with the Government, prescribe and regulate by rules, the fees to be taken for any process issued by any Civil Court other than Customary Court. Such rule may provide for payment of process fee in a lump sum in advance along with the plaint.

(1) The Government may, in consultation with the High Court, by notification make rules to carry out the purposes of this Act. (2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules may provide for all or any of the following matters, namely :- (a) the manner in which the proceedings of each Civil Court shall be kept and recorded ; (b) regulating the grant of certified copies of papers in Civil Courts ; (c) regulating the duties and functions of the ministerial staff and officers of the Civil Courts. (d) regulating the issue of licenses by the District Judge of the district to persons to act as petition writers in Civil Courts in that district and the conduct of business by them and the scale of fees to be charged by them.

(1) In the Assam Frontier (Administration of Justice) Regulation, 1945 (No. 1 of 1945), hereinafter referred to as the Principal Regulation, from the date of commencement of this Act;- (i) In section 15, the words "the Deputy Commissioner, the Assistant Commissioner and" shall be deleted. (ii) Sections 16, 17 shall be deleted. (iii) In section 24, for the words, "Assistant Commissioner", the words "District Sessions Court" shall be substituted. (iv) Sections, 25, 26, 27 and 28 shall be deleted. (v) In section 36, the words “the deputy Commissioner, the Assistant Commissioner and" shall be deleted. (vi) Sections 37, 38 and 39 shall be deleted. (vii) In section 40, for the existing entries, the following shall be substituted ;- "The village authorities shall try all suits without limit of value, in which both the parties are indigenous to the State of Arunachal Pradesh". (viii) In section 41, for the words and figures, "Rupees 500" the words and figures, "Rupees 5000" shall be substituted. (ix) In section 42, for the words and figures, "Rupees 5000" the words and figures "Rupees 50,000" shall be substituted. (x) Sub-section (2) of section 44 shall be deleted. (xi) Sub-section (2) of section 45 shall be deleted. (xii) Sections 46,47,48,49,50, 51, 52, 53 and 55 shall be deleted. (xiii) Sub-sections (2) and (3) of section 56 shall be deleted. (xiv) In sections 57, 58 and 59 for the words "Deputy Commissioner" and "Assistant Commissioner" the words, "Village authorities” shall be substituted. (xv) In the Principal Regulation, for the word "Administrator" wherever appears the words "State Government" shall be substituted. (xvi) In the Principal Regulation, for the words "Union Territory" wherever appear the word "State" shall be substituted.

If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of this Act, the Government may, by order, not inconsistent with the provisions of the Act remove such difficulty.