Practice
Courts and Forums
The forums in which matters may be instituted. Whether a particular matter lies in a given forum is determined by its nature and by the applicable laws, and a single matter is not pursued in every forum.
District Courts
District Courts exercise original civil and criminal jurisdiction within their territorial limits and in respect of the value of the claim. Civil suits for recovery, declarations, injunction, possession, and partition are ordinarily instituted before a civil court at the place where the parties reside or where the cause of action arises, subject to the provisions of the law governing jurisdiction.
The criminal jurisdiction of the District Court is ordinarily exercised by the Magistrates' Courts established in each district, which take cognizance of complaints and conduct inquiries, summoning proceedings, and criminal trials within the limits prescribed by law.
High Court
The High Court exercises appellate and supervisory jurisdiction over the subordinate courts within its territorial limits. An order of a subordinate court may be carried in appeal to the High Court, and in appropriate proceedings a High Court may also be approached by way of revision or under its writ jurisdiction.
Matters may also reach the High Court at the outset, in circumstances in which the law permits a proceeding to be instituted before it directly.
Revenue Courts
Revenue Courts deal with disputes and applications relating to land. These include the entry of a particular person in the revenue record, the correction of an entry, and questions of possession arising from the revenue records maintained under the revenue law applicable in Uttar Pradesh.
Boundary and survey matters, and objections raised in the course of revenue proceedings, are also dealt with under the revenue statutes. An order of a Revenue Court may be carried in appeal to the authorities prescribed under those statutes.
Family Courts
Family Courts deal with matrimonial disputes and with other family matters referred to them, including maintenance, custody of children, and questions concerning the family that do not involve an offence.
Proceedings are conducted with the object of reaching a settlement where that is possible, in accordance with the procedure prescribed by the family laws applicable.
Consumer Forums
Consumer Forums hear complaints relating to deficiency in service and unfair contract, including complaints concerning goods or services and matters of deficiency in service. A complaint may be made where the opposite party resides or carries on business, or where the cause of action arises, subject to the conditions prescribed by the law.
The forums are graded by pecuniary limit, and a complaint is filed before the forum competent to deal with it by value.
Tribunals
Tribunals are constituted for particular statutes and deal with the matters assigned to them by the legislation under which they are established. Depending on the statute concerned, these may include matters relating to labour and employment, rent, motor accident claims, and commercial taxes.
Each tribunal has its own procedure, its own limits as to the value and nature of the matters before it, and its own appellate authority.
Other competent forums
Some matters fall within the jurisdiction of authorities constituted under special statutes, or of bodies exercising original, appellate, or administrative jurisdiction under particular enactments. Whether any such forum is available in a given case depends on the statute under which the question arises.
The forum for a matter is therefore identified only after the nature of the dispute, the relief sought, and the law applicable to it have been examined.