The Manipur (Courts) Act, 1955

(1) This Act may be called the Manipur (Courts) Act,1955. (2) It extends to the whole of the 1[Union territory of Manipur]. (3) It shall come into force on such date2as the Chief Commissioner may, by notification in theOfficial Gazette, appoint.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, (i) "Chief Commissioner" means the Chief Commissioner of Manipur; (ii) "civil suit" includes every suit of a civil nature not expressly or impliedly classed otherwise byany law for the time being in force; (iii) "district court" means the court of the district judge and includes the court of the additionaldistrict judge; (iv) "hill areas" mean such areas in the hill tracts of the 1[Union territory of Manipur] as the ChiefCommissioner may, by notification in the Official Gazette, declare to be hill areas; (v) "small cause suit" means a suit of the nature cognizable by a court of small causes under theProvincial Small Cause Courts Act, 1887(9 of 1887); (vi) "value" in relation to a suit means the amount or value of the subject-matter of the suit.

There shall be established for the1[Union territory of Manipur] a court to be known as the Court of the Judicial Commissioner for Manipurwhich shall consist of the Judicial Commissioner and the Additional Judicial Commissioner, if any.

(1) TheJudicial Commissioner and the Additional Judicial Commissioner, if any, shall be appointed by, and shallhold office during the pleasure of, the President. (2) A person shall not be appointed as Judicial Commissioner or Additional Judicial Commissionerunless he is qualified to be appointed as a Judge of a High Court under clause (2) of article 217 of theConstitution or unless he was, immediately before the commencement of this Act, the JudicialCommissioner of Manipur.

On the occurrence of a vacancy inthe office of the Judicial Commissioner, the Additional Judicial Commissioner, if any, or if there is noAdditional Judicial Commissioner, the senior-most district judge shall, pending the appointment of theJudicial Commissioner, act as the Judicial Commissioner.