District & Sessions Court
The principal court of each district, on both the civil and the criminal side.
The forum
The District & Sessions Court is the principal court of a district. The District Judge hears civil appeals and original civil matters above the value the civil courts take; the Sessions Judge tries the graver criminal cases and hears criminal appeals and bail matters.
Where it sits
This court sits in every district, and in most tehsils. The cities below are the ones with the rest of the court structure around them, but a matter here can be anywhere in the country — which is why CaseMate carries every city and tehsil rather than a short list.
What a firm has to track
This is where the bulk of a litigation practice lives, and where a diary is won or lost. A district court day is several matters in several courtrooms in one building, which is a scheduling problem: who is where, at what time, and who is covering the two that clash.
The date the court gives is a fact. Whoever is standing there records it in CaseMate before they leave the building, and the office acknowledges it — it does not wait to be approved.
The firm decides who goes to the next hearing, against the hearing itself. A matter at a distant bench is a travel arrangement, not a line in a list.
Every previous date, its outcome and the note taken at the time — so a partner can be answered without opening the file.
A hearing in the past with nothing recorded against it is the one thing a diary must never hide. CaseMate lists them separately.
Other courts in the same work
Start with today's list.
Set your firm up in a couple of minutes, enter the cases you are running this week, and let your associates report from court.