311 



subject him to all the vexation and expense incidental to being 

 called away from his village and his work, when there is a 

 village court at a convenient distance. The constitution 

 of a bench, of which one of the judges is chosen by the defend- 

 ant and another by the plaintiff is a reasonable guarantee for 

 securing the impartiality of the tribunal, and in special cases 

 the district munsif has the power of withdrawing, for reasons 

 shown, a suit from a village court for trial before himself. 

 As regards suits involving claims exceeding Ks. 20 and not 

 exceeding Rs. 50, the plaintiff may be given the option of 

 instituting them either in the village or the district munsif's 

 court, but in such cases, if a suit is instituted unnecessarily in 

 a district munsif's court, the munsif should have the power 

 of refusing costs to the plaintiff or of allowing only such 

 costs as he would have incurred if he had instituted the suit 

 in the village court. This appears to be the rule in England 

 as regards suits which are instituted in the High Court of 

 Justice in Westminster when they might have been instituted 

 in one of the county courts. Similar provisions have been 

 enacted in this country in the Presidency Small Cause Act 

 and in the City Civil Court's Act to check the institution of 

 suits in the High Court that might be instituted in courts of 

 lower grade possessing concurrent jurisdiction as regards the 

 entertainment of such suits. Eventually, I think the pecuniary 

 limits as regards suits to be instituted compulsorily in the 

 village courts might be considerably enhanced. In this con- 

 nection it should be remembered that the recent enhancement 

 of the pecuniary jurisdiction of village munsifs from E-s. 10 

 to Rs. 20 is no real enhancement, as the purchasing power 

 of money has fallen by more than 50 per cent, since 1816 

 when the lower limit was fixed. To ensure the successful 

 working of the whole scheme, it will, of course, be neces- 

 sary to inspect the records of the village courts from time 

 to time, giving the presiding judges the needful advice in 

 regard to working the provisions of the Act and clearing up 

 difficulties. This work can be done by Revenue Officers not 

 below the rank of Tahsildars. 



107. The extensive utilization of the agency of village 

 ,, courts' benches for the settlement of 



Higher litigation. ,, ■,■ , . , . • ., , t-, 



petty litigation is the means by which 

 the superior courts, from the district munsifs upwards, can 

 be relieved of work, which can, with advantage, be done by 

 inexpensive popular bodies in view to the former being set 

 free to devote their attention exclusively to the higher 

 litigation. The mere quantity of litigation in the superior 



