IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA

CIRCUIT BENCH AT PORT BLAIR

CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

APPELLATE SIDE

BEFORE :-

THE HON’BLE JUSTICE SABYASACHI BHATTACHARYYA

THE HON’BLE JUSTICE RAJARSHI BHARADWAJ

THE HON’BLE JUSTICE SHAMPA SARKAR

FAT No. 4 of 2025

CAN No. 1 of 2025

Andaman Plantations and

Development Corporation

Pvt. Ltd.

vs.

Union of India & Ors.

With

FAT 3 of 2022

Robin Bagchi

vs.

Dr. M Joy and Ors.

For the Appellant : Mr. Aniruddha Chatterjee, Sr. Adv.,

In FAT 4 of 2025 Mr. Asif Hussain, Adv.

Ms. Jyoti Singh, Adv.

For the Respondents : Mr. Sumit Kumar Karmakar, Adv.

In FAT 4 of 2025

For the Appellant in : Mr. V.D. Sivabalan, Adv.

FAT 3 of 2022

For the Respondents in : Mr. Satish Chandra Mishra, Adv.

Both FAT 4 of 2025 and

FAT 3 of 2022

Amicus Curiae : Mr. Shatadru Chakraborty, Sr. Adv.

Judgment Reserved on : 17.12.2025

Judgment Delivered on : 09.03.2026

Judgment Uploaded on : 09.03.2026

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Shampa Sarkar, J.

1. This bench was constituted by the Hon’ble Chief Justice by an

administrative order dated June 9, 2025, to answer the following reference :-

“Whether the learned District Judge at Port Blair, Andaman and

Nicobar Islands has unlimited pecuniary and territorial jurisdiction to

hear appeals from all judgments, decrees and final orders of all

subordinate courts within the Andaman Islands by virtue of Notification

No. 78/54 dated August 8, 1954 issu ed by the Chief Commissioner,

A&N Islands, since the operation of the Bengal, Agra and Assam Civil

Courts Act, 1887 does not extend to the Union Territory of the

Andaman and Nicobar Islands.”

2. The reference was made by a Division Bench of this court, at the

Circuit Bench at Port Blair, in FAT 4 of 2025(Andaman Plantations and

Development Corporation Pvt. Ltd. vs. Union of India and Ors.) . The

Division Bench disagreed with a decision of a coordinate bench in FAT No. 3

of 2022 (Robin Bagchi vs. Dr. M. Joy and Ors.). Despite the reference, the

Division Bench, considering the extreme urgency pleaded by the appellant in

FAT 4 of 2025, directed that the case records be sent to the District Judges’

Court at Port Blair. It is also pertinent to note that the decision in FAT 3 of

2022, is under challenge before the Hon’ble Apex Court, and the Hon’ble

Apex Court upon noting that the issue was referred to a larger bench, at the

High Court at Calcutta on account of conflicting views, stayed the order

impugned but, requested the High Court to decide the reference. All the

learned advocates for the respective parties in FAT 3 of 2022 and FAT 4 of

2025 were heard and the learned amicus curiae also submitted a compilation

and a short note.

3. In FAT 3 of 2022, the Division Bench held that by virtue of Calcutta

High Court (Extension of Jurisdiction) Act, 1953 (hereinafter referred to as the

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‘1953 Act’) Andaman and Nicobar Islands came within the extended

jurisdiction of the Calcutta High Court. Chapter XVIII of the Appellate Side

Rules of the High Court at Calcutta provided rules for cases arising in the

Andaman and Nicobar Islands framed by the court in exercise of power

conferred on it under Section 4 of the 1953 Act, amended by Notification No.

7087/G, Dated October 14, 1991. According to the Division Bench, Rule 2 of

Chapter XVIII of the said Rules provided that one or more judges of the High

Court shall visit the islands by way of circuit, whenever the Hon’ble the Chief

Justice, High Court at Calcutta, from time to time, may appoint, in order to

exercise the jurisdiction and powers vested in the High Court by the

Constitution. It was further held that, the 1953 Act also provided that such

visits shall be made at least once a month, unless the Hon’ble the Chief

Justice otherwise directed. Rule 3 of the said Chapter provided that all cases,

including applications under Article 226 and 227 of Constitution of India,

which were initiated in the islands, should be heard by the circuit bench. The

term ‘case’ as per Rule 1 (a) of the said Chapter, included suits, appeals,

applications, petitions and reference. It was observed that Section 2 (7 – A) of

the Civil Procedure Code, 1908 defined High Court in relation to Andaman

and Nicobar Islands, as the High Court at Calcutta. Therefore, according to

the Division Bench, rules applicable to the High Court at Calcutta also

applied to the circuit bench of the High Court in Andaman and Nicobar

Islands. A conjoint reading of Rules 1(a) and 3 would manifest that judges

sitting in the circuit could hear all cases, which included suits, appeals,

applications, petitions and references, including applications under Article

226 and 227 of the Constitution of India. It was held that, the High Court in

Circuit should entertain and hear first appeals from the judgments and

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decrees, passed by the learned Joint Civil Judge (Senior Division), South

Andaman District at Port Blair in other Suit No. 51 of 2015, as the valuation

of the appeal was above Rs. 1,50,000/-.

4. It was observed that the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Civil Courts

Regulation, 1940 (herein after referred to as the ‘1940 Regulations’), issued by

the Governor General for the Administration of Civil Justice in the Andaman

and Nicobar Islands or the subsequent notifications of November 8, 1954 and

Notification dated September 10, 2012, did not provide that first appeals

arising from the order of a trial court could not be heard by the High Court.

On the other hand, Section 21(1) of the Bengal, Agra and Assam Civil Courts

Act, 1887 (hereinafter referred to as the ‘1887 Act’) provided that an appeal

from a decree or an order of a subordinate judge would lie to the District

Judge, if the value of the original suit or the proceeding in which the decree or

order was made, did not exceed Rs.1,50,000/-. In any other case, the appeal

would be before the High Court.

5. In the case before their Lordships, undisputedly, the original suit was

valued at Rs. 5,00,000/-. Therefore, it was held that the learned District

Judge, Andaman and Nicobar Islands did not have the pecuniary jurisdiction

to entertain the appeal.

6. In the light of the above observations, the Division Bench held that FAT

3 of 2022 was maintainable before the Circuit Bench of the High Court at

Port Blair. The objection with regard to the maintainability of the appeal

which was raised by the respondents, was negated.

7. FAT 4 of 2025 was preferred against the judgment and decree dated

April 24, 2025, passed by the learned Joint Civil Judge (Senior Division) at

Port Blair, South Andaman in Title Suit No. 157 of 2016, which was valued at

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Rs. 10,10,000/-. A preliminary objection was raised by the respondents Nos.

2 to 5 in the said appeal, on the maintainability of the appeal. It was urged

that the 1887 Act fixed the upper pecuniary limit of the appellate jurisdiction

of the District Judge at Rs. 1,50,000/-, but the 1887 Act was not applicable

in respect of the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. According

to the respondents in the appeal, the operation of the 1887 Act was not

extended to Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It extended to the territories

under the governance of the Lieutenant Governor of Lower and Northwestern

Provinces of the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal. Referring to the

preamble of the Scheduled Districts Act, 1874 (hereinafter referred to as the

‘1874 Act’) it was urged that, as doubts had arisen in some cases as to the

Acts or Regulations that were in force in various parts of British India and the

boundaries of such parts, the 1874 Act had been promulgated. The preamble

referred to the First Schedule appended to the Act for ascertainment of the

enactments which were in force in such territories and the boundaries

thereof. Part VIII of the First Schedule was referred to in support of the

contention that the Andaman and Nicobar Islands was under the Chief

Commissioner. Thus, it was contended that the statute clearly distinguished

between territorial jurisdiction of Bengal and the Andaman and Nicobar

Islands. By the time the 1887 Act was enacted, the distinction between the

jurisdictions of Bengal and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands was already in

place in terms of the Schedule of the 1874 Act. The 1887 Act was applicable

only to the territories administered by the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal and

not to those administered by the Chief Commissionership of the Andaman

and Nicobar Islands. Reliance was placed on Section 94(3) of the Government

of India Act, 1935, which further cemented the position that, a Chief

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Commissioner's province would be administered by the Governor General to

such extent as he thought fit, through a Chief Commissioner to be appointed

by him in his discretion. Although the seat of the Governor General was in

Bengal, the distinction between the territorial jurisdiction of Andaman and

Nicobar Islands and Bengal had been well defined. Accordingly, the

jurisdiction of the District Courts and Subordinate Courts under the District

Judgeship in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands was governed by the

notifications issued from time to time by the Chief Commissioner, Andaman

and Nicobar Islands, whose powers were later vested in the Lieutenant

Governor of the said islands.

8. Section 2 of 1940 Regulations provided that the Chief Commissioner

could establish civil courts within the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and

could define their jurisdictions both original and appellate. By Notification No.

78/54 dated November 8, 1954, in exercise of powers conferred by Section 2

of the 1940 Regulations issued by the Chief Commissioner, the court of the

District Judge was established for the islands as the principal civil court of

original jurisdiction within the said islands. The said court had the

jurisdiction to hear appeals from judgments, decrees and final orders of the

subordinate civil courts within the islands. By another notification dated

December 23, 2009, the Lieutenant Governor (Administrator), Andaman and

Nicobar Islands, established a court of the Additional District Judge for

exercising civil jurisdiction under the 1940 Regulations. Thus, it was argued

that the 1954 notification conferred unlimited appellate jurisdiction on the

learned District Judge, Port Blair, to take up all appeals from courts

subordinate to it. As such, it was contended that the appeal ought to have

been preferred before the learned District Judge.

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9. The Division Bench, before which the maintainability of FAT 4 of 2025

was raised, noted that a Special Leave Petition from the order passed on the

maintainability of FAT 3 of 2022, before the High Court, was already

pending before the Hon’ble Apex Court and the decision of the Hon’ble Apex

Court in this regard would be final.

10. However, the point of maintainability of the appeal was taken up by

their Lordships, considering the urgency involved. The appellant prayed for

interim orders. Their Lordships were of the view that unless the interlocutory

application filed in the appeal was taken up, interim reliefs sought in the

appeal, may be rendered infructuous. As the grant of interim orders was

entirely dependent on the question of jurisdiction, their Lordships took up the

matter for adjudication. Their Lordships were of the view that the territorial

limits of operation of the 1887 Act was governed by the expression ‘territories

administered by the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal’ used in Section 1(2) of

the 1887 Act itself, which was in turn circumscribed by the delineation and

demarcation of territories under the 1874 Act. Section 94 (3) of the

Government of India Act, 1995, strengthened the said position by stipulating

that the province of the Chief Commissioner shall be administered by the

Governor General acting through the Chief Commissioner. T hus, in case of

Andaman and Nicobar Islands, it was the Lieutenant Governor of the said

islands through the Chief Commissioner , who had supreme authority to

constitute courts as well as to delineate the hierarchy of the jurisdiction of the

District Court and subordinate courts. The 1940 Regulations empowered the

Chief Commissioner to establish civil courts within the Andaman and Nicobar

Islands and to define their jurisdictions, both appellate and original. The said

Regulation also empowered the Chief Comm issioner to prescribe the local

8

limits of the courts and subordination of one to the other for the appellate or

administrative purposes. The Notification dated November 8, 1954 bearing

No. 78/54, thereby established the Court of the District Judge for the Islands

not only as the principal civil court of original jurisdiction within the Islands,

but also as the court of appeal from judgments and decrees and final orders

of all subordinate civil courts within the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It was

held that the 1887 Act, did not extend beyond the territorial limits of West

Bengal. The notification of 1954 issued by the Chief Commissioner which

derived its authority from the 1940 Regulations, read with the Act of 1874

and the Government of India Act, 1935, still held the field and the territorial

and the appellate jurisdiction in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands was

conferred to the District Judge. It was held that the 1953 Act did not either

create or alter the hierarchy of appellate jurisdiction in respect of the district

courts and the courts subordinate thereto, within the Andaman and Nicobar

Islands. The 1953 Act was merely an enabling statute extending the powers of

the Calcutta High Court to the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar

Islands. The hierarchy of the courts was not governed by the 1953 Act.

11. On the above reasoning, the Division Bench differed with the findings

made in the matter of Robin Bagchi (Supra). It was held that, the decision in

Robin Bagchi (supra) was based primarily on Chapter XVIII of the Appellate

Side Rules. The said rules would not govern either the hierarchy or the

appellate jurisdiction of the District Judge.

12. It was further held that Section 2 (7-A) of the Code of Civil Procedure

which defined High Court in relation to Andaman and Nicobar Islands to

mean the High Court at Calcutta, was also confined to the powers which the

High Court at Calcutta already had in the first place. The provision did not

9

have any bearing on the hierarchy of the appellate jurisdiction of the District

Court in the Union Territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The

Division Bench was of the opinion that the Notification bearing No. 78/54

dated November 8, 1954 issued by the Chief Commissioner of Andaman and

Nicobar Islands would prevail. The Division Bench was also of the opinion

that the appeal was not maintainable before the High Court in view of the

1954 notification, which vested unlimited pecuniary jurisdiction on the

District Judge at Port Blair to hear such appeals. However, as both the

Benches were of equal strength, the question under reference was formulated

and referred to a larger bench to be constituted by the Hon’ble Chief Justice.

Thus, this Bench was constituted. The parties were heard.

13. The extent of the applicability of the 1887 Act has been provided under

Section 1(2) of the said Act, which is quoted below:-

“1. Title, extent and commencement. -

(2) It extends to the territories [which were on the 11

th March, 1887,]

respectively administered by the Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal, the

Lieutenant-Governor of the North-Western Provinces and the Chief

Commissioner of Assam, except such portions of those territories as for

the time being are not subject to the ordinary civil jurisdiction of the

High Courts.”

14. The Bengal Civil Court Act, 1871 (hereinafter referred to as the ‘1871

Act’) stood repealed and substituted by Section 2(2) of the 1887 Act. Section

2(2) provided as follows:-

“2. Repeal of Acts 6 of 1871 and 9 of 1187.-

(2) All courts constituted, appointments, nominations, rules and orders

made, jurisdiction and powers conferred and lists published under the

Bengal Civil Courts Act, 1871 (6 of 1871), or any enactment thereby

repealed, or purporting expressly or impliedly to have been so

constituted, made conferred and published, shall be deemed to have

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been respectively constituted, made, conferred and published under this

Act;”

15. The 1871 Act extended to territories which were under the governorship

of the Lieutenant Governor, except such portions which were not subject to

the ordinary jurisdiction of the High Courts and except the Jhansi Division.

The Scheduled Districts Act, 1874 defined the territorial extent of Bengal,

north-western provinces and other parts of the country, in terms of districts.

16. The preamble to the 1874 Act indicates that the Act was promulgated to

ascertain the enactments in force in various parts of British India and for

other purposes. The preamble is quoted below:-

“PREAMBLE

An Act to ascertain the enactments in force in various parts of British India,

and for other purposes.

Whereas various parts of British India have never been brought within, or

have from time to time been removed from, the operation of the general

Acts and Regulations and the jurisdiction of the ordinary Courts of

Judicature;

And whereas doubts have arisen in some cases as to which Acts or

Regulations are in force in such parts, and in other cases as to what are the

boundaries of such parts;

And whereas among such parts are the terr itories specified in the first

Schedule hereto annexed, and it is expedient to provide readier means than

now exist for ascertaining the enactments in force in such territories and the

boundaries thereof, and for administering the law therein;

And whereas it is expedient to declare that certain Acts are in force in a tract

of land lying between the Railway Station at Satnand the eastern boundary of

the Jabalpur Division;”

17. Section 1 deals with the short title, which is quoted below:-

“SECTION 1- SHORT TITLE

This Act may be called “The Scheduled Districts Act, 1874” Local extent.-

This Act extends in the first instance to the whole of British India other

than the territories mentioned in the first Schedule (here to) annexed,

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and it shall come into force in each of the Scheduled District on the issue

of a notification under Section 3 relating to such District.

Interpretation clause.-

In this Act the term “Scheduled Districts” means the territories

mentioned in the First Schedule hereto annexed; and, from the date fixed

in the resolution next hereinafter mentioned, it shall also include any

other territory to which the Secretary of State for India, by resolution in

Council, may declare the provisions of the thirty -third of Victoria,

Chapter III, Section 1, to be applicable.”

18. The scheduled districts of Bengal, north-western provinces and the

Chief Commissionership of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands were delineated

separately, which is as follows:-

“Schedule – Schedule I

The First Schedule

****

Part III

Scheduled Districts, Bengal

I.- The Jalpaigori and Darjeeling Districts.] (subs. By Act 12 of 1891)

II.- The Hill Tract of Chittagong

III.- The Santhal Parganas

IV.- The Chutia Nagpur Division.

V.- The Mahal of Angul.] (subs. By Act 12 of 1891)

Part IV

Scheduled Districts, North-Western Provinces

****

Part VIII

The Chief Commissionership of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. ”

19. Therefore, it is evident that in 1874, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands

was neither a part of Bengal nor a part of the north-western provinces and

thus not under the Lieutenant Governorship of the Bengal Presidency.

20. The fact that the provinces under the Chief Commissioner were

separately governed can be also ascertained from the Government of India

Act, 1935 which preceded the Constitution. In this connection, reference is

12

made to Section 94(3) of the Government of India Act, 1935 which reads as

follows:-

“94.***

(3) A Chief Commissioner's Province shall be administered by the

Governor-General acting, to such extent as he thinks fit, through a Chief

Commissioner to be appointed by him in his discretion.”

21. Thus, there is no doubt that the territories of Bengal and the Andaman

and Nicobar Islands had been clearly demarcated and they were distinct and

separate. Section 94(3) of the Government of India Act, 1935 also provides

that the Chief Commissioner's province shall be administered by the Governor

General acting to such extent he thought fit, through a Chief Commissioner

to be appointed by him as per his discretion. Thus, the supremacy of the

Chief Commissioner with regard to the respective provinces administered by

the Governor General acting through the Chief Commissioner, was specifically

conferred under Section 94(3). As the Chief Commissioner of Andaman and

Nicobar Islands was already granted the authority under Part VIII of the First

Schedule of the 1874 Act to administer laws in the islands, there cannot be

any manner of doubt that, it was the Chief Commissioner, who had the power

in respect of administration of law within the Union Territory of Andaman and

Nicobar Islands.

22. Section 1(2) of the 1887 Act made the Act extendable only to territories

administered by the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal, the Lieutenant Governor

of the North-Western Provinces and the Chief Commissioner of Assam except

such portions of those territories which were not subjected to the ordinary

civil jurisdiction of the High Court. Under Section 2(2) of the said Act, all

courts constituted, appointments, nominations, rules and orders, jurisdiction

and powers conferred and lists published under the 1871 Act or any

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enactment thereby, stood repealed. Thus, Sections 1, 2 and 2(2) of the 1887

Act read in conjunction with 1874 Act clearly indicate that the Lieutenant

Governor of Bengal had the power in respect of areas under Part III of the

First Schedule of the 1874 Act, which was restricted to the territorial limits of

Bengal (now West Bengal), insofar as, the powers conferred under Sections 1,

2 of the 1887 Act were concerned. The expression ‘administered’ in Sections 1

and 2 of the 1887 Act, clearly indicate that the jurisdiction of the Lieutenant

Governor of Bengal was restricted to Bengal itself. Under Part III of the First

Schedule of the 1874 Act, the administration of law by the Lieutenant

Governor of Bengal was restricted to the Scheduled districts of Bengal and

was never extended to the Andaman and Nicobar islands. The administration

of law in the Andaman and Nicobar islands was exercise d by the Chief

Commissionership of the said island under Part VIII. Thus, the territorial

limits of operation of the 1887 Act was not extended beyond Bengal. There

cannot be any manner of doubt that, insofar as, the Andaman and Nicobar

islands were concerned, it was the Lieutenant Governor of the island (through

the Chief Commissioner), who had supreme authority to constitute courts, as

well as, to delineate the hierarchy of the jurisdiction of the District Court and

subordinate courts.

23. Section 2 of the 1940 Regulations empowered the Chief Commissioner

to establish civil courts within the Andaman and Nicobar islands and to

define their jurisdictions both original and appellate. The provision also

empowered the Chief Commissioner to fix the local limits of those courts and

the subordination of one to the other for the appellate or administrative

purposes. The said provision is quoted below:-

“ESTABLISHMENT OF CIVIL COURTS. - The Chief Commissioner may

establish civil courts within the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and may

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define their jurisdiction in both original and appellate, and the local

limits thereof, and their subordination one to the other for appellate or

administrative purposes.”

24. By virtue of Notification No. 78/54 issued on November 8, 1954, the

Chief Commissioner invoked powers under Section 2 of the 1940 Regulations

while establishing the civil court of the District Judge as the principal civil

court of original jurisdiction with the power to hear appeals from judgments,

decrees and final orders of all subordinate courts within the said islands

without any jurisdictional limitation. Relevant portion of the notification is

quoted below :-

“in exercise of the power conferred by section 2 of the Andaman and

Nicobar Island Civil court regulations, 1940 (regulation XI of 1940), the

Chief Commissioner of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands hereby

establishes court of the District Judge for the Andaman and Nicobar

Islands as the principal Civil Court of original jurisdiction within the

Andaman Islands with jurisdiction to hear appeals from judgments,

decrees and final orders of all the subordinate Civil Courts within the

Andaman Islands.”

25. In the Constitution of India, Andaman and Nicobar Islands was

designated as a Union Territory in the First Schedule to the Constitution, as

the second entry there under. The extent was defined as the territory, which

immediately before the commencement of the Constitution was comprised in

the Chief Commissioner’s province of Andaman and Nicobar Islands . The

Union Territory was administered by the President through an Administrator,

with such designation as would be specified in terms of Article 239 of the

Constitution. On and from November 12, 1982, the Administrator came to be

known as the Lieutenant Governor.

26. Neither the Parliament by legislation nor the President by any

regulation under Article 240 extended the provisions of the Bengal, Agra and

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Assam Civil Courts Act to the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar

Islands. The first statute of significance i.e. the Bengal Civil Courts Act, 1871

merely provided that the Act was to consider and amend the law relating to

district and subordinate civil courts in the territories governed and

administered by the Lieutenant Governors of the Lower and Northwestern

Provinces of the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal. The territories

administered by the Lieutenant Governors were delineated for the first time in

the Scheduled Districts Act, 1874. Territories of Bengal and the Andaman and

Nicobar Islands had been demarcated and delineated under the Part III and

Part VIII of the First Schedule of the said Act, respectively. Part VIII stipulated

that the Andaman and Nicobar Islands was being administered by the Chief

Commissionership of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

27. On December 23, 2009, the Lieutenant Governor invoked the powers

under Section 2 of the 1940 Regulation to establish the court of the learned

Additional District Judge for exercising civil jurisdiction under the said

Regulation throughout the Andaman and Nicobar islands. Relevant portion of

the notification is quoted below:-

“In exercise of powers conferred by Section 2 of the A&N Islands Civil

Courts (Regulation) 1940 (XI of 1940), the Lt. Governor (Administrator),

Andaman & Nicobar Islands has been pleased to establish a court of

Additional District Judge, Port Blair for exercising civil jurisdiction

under the said Regulation throughout the Andaman and Nicobar

Islands with immediate effect.”

28. By another notification dated November 23, 2011, issued in exercise of

power under Section 2 of the 1940 Regulations, the Civil Judge (Senior

Division) Port Blair and Mayabunder was given unlimited pecuniary

jurisdiction to hear all suits in respective of areas comprising the entire

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district of South Andaman, North and Middle Andaman, respectively.

Relevant portions of it are quoted below :-

“In exercise of the powers conferred in Section 2 of the Andaman &

Nicobar Civil Courts Regulation, 1940 (No. XI of 1940) and in

supersession of all previous Notifications including No. 186/2007, F No.

7-4/84-Legal, dated 24.8,2007 on the subject, the Lieutenant Governor

(Administrator), Andaman & Nicobar Islands, hereby constitute the Civil

Courts for the territory of Andaman & Nicobar Islands specified in

Column 2 of the Schedule below with pecuniary and local jurisdiction

as indicated against each in Column 3 and 4 thereof respectively :-

SCHEDULE

Sl No.

(1)

Court Established

(2)

Pecuniary

Jurisdiction

(3)

Local Jurisdiction

(4)

1. Civil Judge (Senior

Division) Port Blair

Unlimited The areas comprised

in the entire District

of South Andaman.

2. Civil Judge (Junior

Division)-I Port

Blair

Suits of every

description upto

the limit of Rs.

60,000/-

The areas comprised in

Port Blair Tehsil of the

South Andaman

District.

3. Civil Judge (Junior

Division)-II Port

Blair

-do- The areas comprised in

the Little Andaman

and Ferrargunj Tehsil

of South Andaman

District.

4. Civil Judge (Senior

Division)

Mayabunder

Unlimited The areas Comprised

in the Entire District of

North and Middle

Andaman.

5. Civil Judge (Junior

Division)

Mayabunder

Suits of every

description upto

the limit of Rs.

60,000/-

The areas comprised in

the entire District of

North and Middle

Andaman.

6. Civil Judge (Senior

Division) Car

Nicobar

Unlimited Whole of Nicobar

Group of Islands

7. Civil Judge (Junior

Division)Campbell

Bay

Suits of every

description upto

the limit of Rs.

60,000/-

Whole of Nicobar group

of Islands.

29. It is evident that the formation of the Civil Court, in Andaman and

Nicobar Islands emanates from the 1940 Regulations issued by the Chief

Commissioner.

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30. Under such circumstances, the decision of the Division Bench in FAT 4

of 2025 is held to be correct. The learned District Judge, Port Blair,

Andaman and Nicobar Islands has unlimited jurisdiction both pecuniary and

territorial to hear all appeals irrespective of valuation, from judgments,

decrees and final orders passed by every civil court under the District Court

within the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The 1887 Act does not extend

beyond the territorial limits of Bengal. The notification of 1954 issued by the

Chief Commissioner derived its authority from the 1940 Regulations. The said

Regulation read with the 1874 Act and the 1995 Act, holds the field, insofar

as, the territorial and pecuniary appellate jurisdiction of the islands is

concerned. The decision of the Division Bench in FAT 3 of 2022 is based on

the 1953 Act and the Appellate Side Rules. The 1953 Act is limited in its

operation and does not either create or alter the hierarchy of appellate

jurisdiction of the District Court and the subordinate courts within the

Andaman and Nicobar islands. By the 1953 Act, the powers of the Calc utta

High Court was extended to the union territory of Andaman and Nicobar

islands without any change as to the appellate hierarchy of the civil courts in

the said islands. The appellate hierarchy of the civil courts in the said islands

will be governed exclusively by the 1940 Regulations and the notification of

1954 and thereafter. The Appellate Side Rules, are rules of procedure which

were extended to the appellate jurisdiction of the Calcutta High Court in the

Circuit Bench of Andaman and Nicobar islands. The said Rules did not deal

with the territorial and pecuniary jurisdiction of the appellate court of the

District Judge. The 1940 Regulations and the other regulations following the

same still hold the field as no law has yet been promulgated which has made

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the hierarchy of courts as stipulated in the 1987 Act applicable to the

hierarchy of courts in the Andaman and Nicobar islands.

31. We answer the reference as above.

Urgent photostat certified copies of this judgment, if applied for, be

supplied to the respective parties upon fulfilment of requisite formalities.

Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya, J.

I agree.

(Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya, J.)

Rajarshi Bharadwaj, J.

I agree.

(Rajarshi Bharadwaj, J.)

(Shampa Sarkar, J.)