Def

ini
ti
ons(
Sec.2)
Decr
ee
Thet erm decreei sdef inedinSection2(2)ofCodeofCi vi
lProcedur e,1908.Adecr ee
al
way sfoll
owsj udgmentandi sbaseduponaj udgment .I
tisdividedi ntofi
v etypesunli
ke
j
udgmentwhi chisf inal i
nit
self.Adecreemaybef i
nal orpr eli
minar y.Iti
saf ormal
declarationoradj udicat i
onandi sconclusiveinnatur e.Adecr eeisoft hr
eeki ndsnamel y,
prel
imi narydecree, finaldecreeandpar tl
ypr el
iminary&par tl
yfinal.Adecr eemaybe
deli
veredwi thanor der .Thedecreecont ai
nst heout comeoft hesui tandconcl usivel
y
determi nesther i
ght soft heparti
eswi t
hr egardtot hei ssuesindi sputeinthesui t.Aft
er
passingt hedecr ee,t hesuitstandsdisposedofsi ncet herightsoft hepartiesaref i
nall
y
determi nedbyt hecour t.

DeemedDecr
ee
Adecreeshal
lbedeemedtoincludet
her ej
ect
ionofaplai
ntandanyquest
ionwi
thi
n
Sect
ion144ofCodeofCiv
ilProcedur
e,1908butshal
lnoti
nclude:

Anysuchsentence(adjudi
cat
ion)fr
om whichi
tappearsthatanappeal
li
esasanappeal
fr
om anorder
, oranysuchorderofdischar
ge(
dismi
ssal)ofdef
ault
.

Ki
ndsofDecr
ees
Accor
dingt
oSect
ion2(
2)oft
heCodeofCi
vi
lPr
ocedur
e,1908decr
eesar
edi
vi
dedi
ntot
hree
cat
egori
es:

Pr
eli
minar
yDecr
ee
Ingener alsense, t
hewor dpr eli
minarymeanspr epar ati
onf orthemai nmat t
er,i
niti
al ,
i
nt r
oduct ory,
pr eparatory.Inal egalsense,aprel
iminar ydecreeisadecr eewheref urther
proceedi ngshav etot akepl acebeforethesuitcanbecompl etel
ydi sposedof.Itdecides
ther i
ght soft hepar ti
esi nrespecttoal loranyofthemat tersofdiscussionbutitdoesnot
compl et elydisposeoft hesui t
.Insuchadecr eether ightsandl i
abili
ti
esofthepar tiesare
statedl eav i
ngt heactual resultordecisiontobewor kedouti nfutureproceedi
ngs.A
preli
mi nar ydecr eeispassedi nthosecaseswher et hepr oceedingsar etobecar r
iedouti n
twodi fferentst ages.Thef i
rststageiswhent heright softhepar t
iesar eadj
udicatedand
thesecondst agei swhent hoser i
ghtsar ei
mplement edorexecut ed.

Fi
nal
Decr
ee
I
ngener al
sense,theword‘f
inal
’meanslast
,ulti
mat e,concl
usi
v eordeci sive.I
nlegalsense,
afinaldecreeisadecreewhichcomplet
elydisposesoft hesuitandset tlesallt
he
questionsindiscussi
onbetweenthepart
iesandnot hingisl
eftfurtherfordeciding
thereaft
er.Iti
sonlysaidt
obef i
nalwhensuchadj udicati
oncompl etel
ydi sposesofthesuit.

Par
tl
ypr
eli
minar
yandpar
tl
yfi
nal
Decr
ee
Adecreei ssaidtobepar t
lypreli
minaryandpar t
lyfinalwhent hecourtdecidest wo
questi
onsbyt hesamedecr ee.Forinst
ance,i
fthecour tpassesadecr eeinfav orofone
part
yalongwi thadirecti
onofi nqui
ryfortheotherpar ty,
thefor merpar tofthedecr eeis
fi
nalwhilethelatt
erpartisapr el
iminar
ydecreef orwhi chfurtherproceedingshav etotake
pl
ace.Forexampl e,i
nasui tofpossessionofapr opertywithcompany‘ C’,i
fthecour t
passesadecr eeofpossessi onofthepropert
yi nfav orofthepl aint
if
fanddi rectsanenquiry
i
ntothecompany‘ C’
,thenthef ormerpartofthedecr eeisfinal decr
eewhi lethel at
terpart
i
sthepr eli
minarydecree.

Judgement
Theterm Judgementi sdef i
nedinSect i
on2( 9)oft heCodeofCi vi
lProcedure,1908.A
j
udgementcont ainsfactsoft hecase,theissuesi nvolved,t
heev idencebroughtbyt he
part
ies,fi
ndingoni ssues( basedonev idenceandar gument s).Everyj
udgementshal l
i
ncludeasummar yofthepl eadings,i
ssues,findingoneachi ssue,rati
odecidendi andthe
rel
i
efgr antedbyt hecourt.Onadai lybasis,numer ousj udgement sarepronouncedand
var
iouscasesar edisposedof .Judgement splayav eryimportantroleinthewor kingofour
j
udicialsystem becauset heyactaspr ecedentsf orcasest ocomei nthenearf uture.A
j
udgei nthej udgementpr onounced,alway sstatest hereasonsf orsuchadeci sion.

Pr
onouncementofaj
udgement
Thewor dpronouncementmeanst omakeanof f
ici
alpubli
cannouncement.Pronouncement
ofajudgementmeanst hataft
ertheheari
ngiscompletedi.
e.af
tertheCourthasheardthe
pl
eadingsoftheparti
es,t
hejudgementshallbeannouncedbytheJudgesinanopenCour t
,
ei
theratonceoratsomef utur
eday ,
aft
erprovi
dingduenoticet
otheparti
esort hei
rlear
ned
counsel
s.

Ifaj udgementi snotpr onouncedi mmedi atel

yt henitmustbepronouncedwi thin30day s
from t hedat eoft heconclusi onofhear i
ng.Howev er,somet
imesi tsohappenst hatdueto
except ional andsomeext raor di
naryreasonsl ikeabankholiday,
st r
ikeorsomeot her
situat i
onitmaybedel iver
edwi t
hin60day sfrom theconcl
usionoft hehear i
ng.Itisnot
mandat or
yf oraj udget oreadoutt hewhol ej
udgementandi twoul dbeenoughi fonlythe
finalor derispr onounced.Thej udgeshall putthedateonwhi chthej udgementwas
pr onouncedal ongwi thhissignat ur
e.Rule2Or derXXofCodeofCi vilProcedure,1908
pr ovidesaj udgewi t
ht herighttopr onouncet hejudgementwhichi salreadywr i
ttenbutis
notpr
onouncedbyhi
spr
edecessor
.

AftertheAmendmentActof1976, t
hetimelimitwasprovi
dedbet weent
hehear i
ngoft
he
argument sandthepronouncementofthejudgement.Pri
ortothisamendmentnot i
meli
mit
waspr ovidedassuch.Suchatimelimitwasprovidedbecausetherewasindef
ini
tel
y
continuousimposi
ti
onf r
om allov
erIndia.

Copyoft
hej
udgement
Oncet hejudgementispronouncedthecopiesofthatpar
ti
cul
arjudgementshoul
dbe
i
mmedi atel
ymadeav ai
labl
etothepar t
iesonpaymentofcost
sasspeci f
ied,
bythepar
ty
applyi
ngf orsuchcopy,ofsuchchargesasmaybespeci fi
edi
nther ul
esandorder
smade
bytheHi ghCourt(H.C.
)Suchar ul
eisspecifi
edinOrderXXRule6-BoftheCodeofCiv
il
Procedure,1908.

Cont
ent
soft
hej
udgement
Accor
dingt
oRul
e4Or
derXXofCodeofCi
vi
lPr
ocedur
e,1908:

JudgementsofaCour
tofSmall
Causesar
esat
isf
act
oryi
ftheycont
aint
hepoi
ntsf
or
deter
minat
ionandt
hedeci
siont
her
eon.

Judgment
sofot
herCour
tsshal
lcont
ain:

 Summar
yoft
hepl
eadi
ngswhi
chi
saconci
sest
atementoft
hecase;

 I
ssueswhi
char
ethepoi
ntsf
ordet
ermi
nat
ion;

 Fi
ndi
ngsoneachi
ssueandt
hedeci
siont
her
eon;

 Rat
iodeci
dendi
(reasonsf
orsuchadeci
sion)
;and

 Ther
emedy
,whi
chi
sther
eli
efgr
ant
ed.

For
eignCour
t,For
eignJudgement(
Sec.13)

TheIndi
anCodeofCi
vi
lProcedure,1908(CPC)l
aysdownthepr
oceduref
orenfor
cementof
for
eignj
udgment
sanddecreesinIndia.CPC,
1908haddef
inedt
hefoll
owingas-

Sect
ion2(5)“
forei
gnCourt”meansaCourtsi
tuatedoutsi
deI
ndi
aandnotest
abl
i
shedor
cont
inuedbytheauthor
it
yoftheCent
ralGovernment.
Sect
ion2(
6)“
for
eignj
udgment
”meanst
hej
udgmentofaf
orei
gnCour
t.

Nat
ureandScopeofFor
eignJudgment
s

Secti
on13embodiesthepri
ncipl
eofresj
udicat
ainfor
eignjudgments.I
tembodi
esthe
pri
nci
pleofPri
vat
eInter
nat
ionall
awthatajudgmentdel
iver
edbyaf orei
gncour
tof
competentj
uri
sdi
cti
oncanbeexecutedandenforcedi
nIndi
a.

Obj
ectofRecogni
zi
ngFor
eignJudgment
s

Thej udgmentofaf oreigncour tisenf or

cedont hepr inciplethatwhereaf or eigncour tof
compet entj uri
sdi ct
ionhasadj udicat eduponacl aim, alegal obl
igati
onar i
sest osat i
sfythat
claimi nt hecount rywher ethej udgmentneededt obeenf orced.Therul esofpr ivate
i
nt ernat i
onal l
awofeachst atedi f
feri nmanyr espect s,butbyt hecomi tyofnat i
onscer t
ain
rulesar er ecogni zedascommont oci vi
l
izedJur i
sdictions.Thr oughpar toft hej udi ci
al
syst em ofeachst atet hesecommonr ul
eshav ebeenadopt edtoadjudicat eupondi sputes
i
nv olv i
ngaf oreignel ementandt oenf or
cej udgment soff orei
gncour t
s, orasar esultof
Internat ional conv entions.Suchar ecognitionisaccor dednotasanactofcour tesybuton
consi der at i
onofbasi cpr inciplesofj ustice, equit
yandgoodconsci ence.Anawar enessof
foreignl awi nt hepar alleljuri
sdi cti
onwoul dbeausef ul guideli
neindet ermi ningournot ions
ofj usticeandpubl i
cpol icy.Wear eaSov ereignNat ionwi thinourterri
tor ybut“i tisnot
der ogat ionofsov ereigntyt otakeaccount soff oreignl aw” .

“Wear enotprovi
ncialast
osaythatev erysol
uti
onoftheproblem i
swrongbecausewe
deal wi
thitot
herwiseathome”.
Therefore,weshall
notbrushasidefor
eignjudi
cial
processesunlessdoingso,“
wouldviol
atesomef undamentalpri
nci
pleofjusti
ce&deep-
rootedtr
aditi
onsofcommonweal ”.

Jur
isdi
cti
onofFor
eignCour
ts

InPriv
ateInternati
onalLaw, unl
essaf or
eigncourthasjuri
sdict
ionintheint
ernati
onalsense,
ajudgmentdel iver
edbyt hatcourtwouldnotberecognizedinIndia.Buti
tconsidersonl
y
theterr
itor
ialcompetenceoft hecourtoverthesubject
-matteranddefendant.I
ts
compet enceorjuri
sdict
ioninanyot hersenseisnotregardedasmat eri
albythecourtin
thi
scount ry.

Pr
esumpt
ionast
ofor
eignj
udgment
s

Secti
on14statesthepresumpt i
onthatanIndi
ancour tt
akeswhenadocumentsupposi ng
tobeacerti
fi
edcopyofaf oreignjudgmentispresent
edbef oreit
.TheIndianCourt
s
presumethataforei
gnCour tofcompet entjur
isdi
cti
onpronouncedt hejudgmentunlesst
he
contrar
yappearsontherecor d,butbyprovi
ngwantofj ur
isdict
ionmayov err
ulesuch
presumpti
on.
Section14.Presumpti
onast ofor
eignjudgments–TheCourtshal
l presume, uponthe
productionofanydocumentpurporti
ngtobeacerti
fi
edcopyofaf oreignjudgment,that
suchj udgmentwaspronouncedbyaCour ttocompetentj
uri
sdi
cti
on, unlessthecontrar
y
appear sontherecor
d;butsuchpresumptionmaybedispl
acedbypr ovingwantof
j
urisdicti
on[
6].

Concl
usi
venessofFor
eignJudgment
s

Secti
on13l ay
sdownt hefundamentalr
uleswhi
chshouldnotbevi
olat
edbyanyfor
eign
courtinpassi
ngadecreeorjudgment.Thedecr
eeorjudgmentoff
orei
gncourtwi
ll
be
conclusi
veexceptwherei
tcomesunderanyoft hecl
auses(a)t
o(f
)ofSect
ion13.

Whenf orei
gnjudgmentisnotconclusi
ve-
Aforei
gnjudgmentshallbeconcl
usi
veastoany
matterther
ebydirect
lyadj
udicat
eduponbetweenthesamepar t
iesorbetweenpar
ti
es
underwhom theyoranyoft hem cl
aimli
ti
gat
ingunderthesamet i
tl
eexcept
,—

(
a)Wher
eithasnotbeenpr
onouncedbyaCour
tofcompet
entj
uri
sdi
cti
on;

(
b)Wher
eithasnotbeengi
venont
hemer
it
soft
hecase;

(c)Whereitappear
sonthef
aceoftheproceedi
ngst
obefoundedonani
ncorr
ectvi
ewof
i
nternat
ionall
aworaref
usalt
orecogni
zethelawofI
ndi
aincasesinwhi
chsuchlawis
appl
icable

(
d)Wheret
hepr
oceedi
ngsi
nwhi
cht
hej
udgmentwasobt
ainedar
eopposedt
onat
ural
j
ust
ice;

(
e)Wher
eithasbeenobt
ainedbyf
raud;

(
f)Wer
eitsust
ainsacl
aimf
oundedonabr
eachofanyl
awi
nfor
cei
nIndi
a.

For
eignJudgment
swhencannotbeEnf
orcedi
nIndi
a

Beforeenforcingaf oreignjudgmentordecr ee,

thepartyenf
orcingitmustensur et
hatthe
for
eignjudgmentordecr eemustnotf al
lunderthese6cases.Ifthef or
eignjudgmentor
decreefall
sunderanyoft hesetests,
itwil
lnotberegardedasconcl usi
veandhencenot
enforceabl
ei nIndia.UnderSection13, t
herearesixcaseswhenaf or ei
gnjudgmentshall
notbeconcl usive.Sixtestsarediscussedbelow.

For
eignJudgmentnotbyacompet
entcour
t

I
tisabasi
cfundament
alpr
inci
pleofl
awt
hatt
hej
udgmentoror
derpassedbyt
hecour
t
whichhasnojuri
sdict
ioni
sv oi
d.Thus,ajudgmentofafor
eigncourttobeconclusi
ve
betweenthepart
iesmustbeaj udgmentpronouncedbyacourtofcompetentjuri
sdi
cti
on.
Suchjudgmentmustbebyacour tcompetentbot
hbylawofthestatewhichhas
consti
tut
editandinanint
ernat
ionalsenseanditmusthavedir
ectl
yadjudi
cateduponthe
matterwhichi
spleadedasResj udi
cata.

InthecaseofR. M. V.VellachiAchiv .R.M.A.Ramanat hanChettiar,itwasal l

egedbyt he
respondentt hatsincehewasnotasubj ectofthef orei
gncount ry
, andt hathehadnot
submi ttedt ot hejuri
sdictionoft heFor ei
gnCour t(SingaporeCour t),t
hedecr eecoul dnotbe
execut edi nIndia.TheAppel lant,i
ndef enseofthisar gument,statedt hattheRespondent
wasapar tnerofaf i
rm whi chwasdoi ngbusinessinSi ngaporeandhadi nst
it
utedv arious
suitsint heSi ngaporeCour ts.Therefore,theRespondenthadaccept edt heSingapore
Cour t
sj urisdicti
on.TheCour theldthatitwasthef irm whichhadaccept edthej ur
isdicti
on
ofthef or eignCour tandt heRespondent ,inanindividualcapacit
y, hadnotaccept edt he
j
ur i
sdiction.Thus, t
heHi ghCour theldthatthedecr eeagainsttheRespondentwasnot
execut able.

PROPOSI
TION

UnderSect
ion13(
a)ofCPC,
thef
oll
owi
ngpr
oposi
ti
onmaybel
aid

 I
ncaseofact
ions-
in-
per
sonam,
afor
eigncour
tmaypassanor
derorj
udgment
agai
nstanIndi
andefendant,whoi
sservedwit
hthesummonsbutheremainsex
part
e.Buti
tmaybeenf orceabl
eagai
nstsuchI
ndiandef
endant
s,byf
ulf
il
li
nganyof
thefol
l
owingcondi
ti
ons.

 I
ftheper
soni
sasubj
ectoft
hef
orei
gncount
ryi
nwhi
cht
hej
udgmentordecr
eehas
beenobt
ainedagai
nsthi
m onpr
ioroccasi
ons.

 I
ftheper
soni
sar
esi
denti
nfor
eigncount
rywhent
heact
ioni
scommenced.

 I
faper
sonsel
ect
sthef
orei
gnCour
tfort
aki
ngact
ioni
nthecapaci
tyofapl
aint
if
f,i
n
whi
chhei
ssuedl
ater

 I
fthepar
tyonbei
ngsummonedv
olunt
ari
l
yappear
sbef
oret
hef
orei
gncour
t

 I
fbyanagr
eementaper
sonhascont
ract
edt
osubmi
thi
msel
ftot
heCour
tinwhi
ch
t
hej
udgmenti
sobt
ained.

For
eignJudgment
snotonMer
it
s

I
norderforafor
eignj
udgmentt
ooper
ateasResJudi
cat
a,i
tmusthavebeengivenon
mer
itsofthecase.Aj
udgmenti
ssai
dtohavebeengi
venonmeri
tswhenaftert
aking
ev
idenceandaf
terappl
yi
nghi
smi
ndr
egar
dingt
het
rut
horf
alsi
tyoft
hecase.

TheAct ualt
estfordeci
dingwhet
hert
hejudgmenthasbeengiv
enonmer i
tsornotistosee
whetheritwasmer el
ypassedasamatterofcour
se,orbywayofpenal
tyofanyconductof
thedefendant,
orisbaseduponaconsider
ati
onofthetrut
horfal
sit
yoft
heplai
nti
ff”
sclai
m.

InthecaseofGurdasMannv.MohinderSinghBrar
,hePunj
ab&Har yanaHighCour
theld
thatanexpart
ejudgmentanddecr
eewhi chdidnotshowthattheplai
nti
ffhadl
edevi
dence
toprovehi
sclai
m befor
etheCourt
,wasnotexecutableunderSect
ion13(b)oft
heCPC
sincei
twasnotpassedonthemeritsoftheclai
m.

PROPOSI
TION

UnderSect
ion13(
b)ofCPCt
hef
oll
owi
ngpr
oposi
ti
onmaybel
aid

Ajudgmentordecr
eepassedbyaFor ei
gnCour tagai
nstanIndiandefendant
,whohas
remai
nedex-par
te,
maynotbeenforceableagainsthi
m,unlessitcanbeshownt hatt
he
sai
djudgmentwaspassedaft
eri
nvest i
gat
ionintothepl
ainti
ff
’sclai
m.

For
eignJudgment
sagai
nstI
nter
nat
ional
orI
ndi
anLaw

AJudgmentwhi chiscont r
ar ytothebasi cfundamentalr
ulesofI nt
ernational l
awora
ref
usaltorecognizet helawofI ndiawher esuchlawisapplicableisnotconcl usive.Wherea
suiti
nsti
tut
edinEngl andont hebasi sofcont r
actmadeinIndia,theEnglishcour t
err
oneouslyappliedEngl i
shl aw,t
hus, thejudgmentofthecour ti
scov eredbyt hi
sclauseas
thegeneralpri
ncipleofPr i
vat eI
nternationalLawist
hatther i
ghtsandl i
abi l
it
iesofpartiest
o
acontractaregov ernedbyt heplacewher ethecont
racti
smade( l
exloci contr
actus).
[12]

I
nt hecaseofI&GI nvestmentTrustv.Raj
aofKhal i
kot
e,asuitwasfil
edundert heEngli
sh
Jurisdi
cti
ontoav oi
dtheconsequencesoft heOrissaMoneyLendersAct .TheCourtheld
thatthejudgmentwaspassedonani ncorrectv
iewoftheint
ernati
onallaw.TheCour t
furt
herobservedthat,
althoughthejudgmentwasbasedont heav er
menti ntheplai
ntthat
theIndianlawdidnotapply,however,t
herewasno“ ref
usal
”torecognisethelocall
awsby
theCour t
.

PROPOSI
TION

UnderSect
ion13(
c)ofCPC,
thef
oll
owi
ngpr
oposi
ti
onmaybel
aid

Ajudgmentpassedbyaf or
eignCourtuponaclaimf orimmov abl
eproper
ty,
situatedi
nthe
I
ndianter
ri
torymaynotbeenf or
ceabl
esinceitvi
olatesInter
nati
onal
Law.Aj udgment
passedbythefor
eignCourt,
wherebeforeacontraryIndianl
awhadbeenshown, butt
he
Courthadref
usedtorecogni
zesuchlaw,thenthatJudgmentordecr eemaynotbe
enf
orceabl
e,exceptwher
ethepr
operl
awofcont
racti
sthef
orei
gnl
aw.

For
eignJudgment
sopposedt
othepr
inci
pleofNat
ural
Just
ice

Iti
stheessenceofaj udgmentofcour tthatitmustbeobt ainedafterdueobser vanceofthe
j
udicialprocedurei.
e.,t
hecour trenderi
ngt hejudgmentmustobser vet hemi ni
mum
requir
ement sofnaturaljust
ice.Itmustbecomposedofi mpar t
ialpersons, whomustacti n
afairandj ust
if
iedmanner ,withoutbias,andingoodf ait
h,itmustgi ver easonablenoti
cet o
thepartiestothedisputeandeachpar tyshouldbegi v
enequal oppor tunitytopresenttheir
case.Aj udgmentwhi chsuffersfrom suchi nfi
rmit
iesonthepar tofaj udgewi llberegarded
asanul li
tyandt hetr
ial“
coram nonj udice”

InthecaseofLalj
iRaj
a&Sonsv .Firm HansrajNathur
am, t
heSupremeCourthel
dthatj
ust
becausethesuitwasdecr
eedex-parte,al
thoughthedefendant
swereser
v edwit
hthe
summons, doesnotmeanthatt
hej udgmentwasopposedt onatur
alj
ust
ice.

PROPOSI
TION

UnderSect ion13(d)ofCPC, thef oll

owingpropositionmaybel aidThef or ei
gncourtmust
fol
lowt hepr i
nci
pleofnaturaljusticewhi l
edeli
veri
ngt hejudgment.Judgementmustbe
i
mpar ti
al,givenfai
rl
y,moreov er,t
hepar t
iest
ot hedi sputeshouldbegi venappr opri
at e
noticeofthei ni
ti
ati
onoflegal proceedings.Equaloppor t
unityofpresentingtheircase, i
n
ordertoav oidanyall
egat
ionofnotf ulf
il
li
ngtheprinciplesofnaturaljusticeincaset he
j
udgmentordecr eecomest otheI ndiancourtforenf orcement.Unlesst hisisdonet he
j
udgmentordecr eepassedbyaf oreignCourtmayv iolat
ethePr i
nciplesofNat uralJustice.

For
eignj
udgmentobt
ainedbyf
raud

I
tisawellset
tl
edpri
nci
pleofPri
vateI
nter
nationalLawt
hati
ffor
eignj
udgment
sar
e
obt
ainedbyfr
aud,
itwil
lnotoper
ateasresjudicat
a.

I
thasbeensai
d“FraudandJusti
ceneverDwelltoget
her
”(f
rausetj
usnunquam cohabi
tant
);
or“Fr
audanddeceitoughtt
obenef
itnone”(
frausetdol
usneminipat
roci
nar
idebent)
.

I
nt hecaseofSat yav.TejaSingH,theSupr
emeCourthel
dthatsi
ncetheplai
ntif
fhad
misledtheforei
gncour tastoitshavi
ngjur
isdi
cti
onov
erthematt
er,alt
houghitcoul
dnot
havehadt hejur
isdict
ion,t
hejudgmentanddecreewasobtai
nedbyfraudandhence
i
nconclusive.

nS.
I P.Chengal
var
ayaNaiduv.Jagannat
h,SupremeCourthel
dthatiti
sawell
sett
led
proposi
ti
onoflawthataj
udgmentordecr eeobtai
nedbyplay
ingfr
audonthecour
tisa
null
it
yandnonestintheeyesoflaw.
PROPOSI
TION

UnderSect
ion13(e)ofCPC, t
hef oll
owingpropositi
onmaybelaid-Wherethepl
ainti
ff
misl
eadstheForeigncour
tandt hej udgmentordecreeisobt
ainedonthatbasi
s,thesai
d
Judgmentmaynotbeenf orceable,however,i
fthereissomeerrori
nthejudgmentthent
he
I
ndiancourt
swil
l notsi
tasaCour tofappealt
or ecti
fythemi
stakeorerr
or.

For
eignJudgment
sfoundedonbr
eachofI
ndi
anLaw

Whenalawinforcei
nIndiaiswrongl
yconstruedsoastoformthereasoningbehi
nda
j
udgmentdel
iv
eredbyaf orei
gncourt
,insuchcasestheenfor
ceabi
l
ityoftheforei
gn
j
udgmenti
nIndiancour
tswi l
lbeunderquest
ion.

ChinaShi ppi
ngDev elopmentCo.Li mit
edv .Lany ardFoodsLi mited, whereint heHighCour t
heldt hatapet i
tionf orwindingupofanI ndiancompanywoul dbemai ntainabl eont hebasis
ofjudgmentoff or
ei gnCour t.I
nt hi
scase, thef orei
gncompanydel iveredcar got otheI ndi
an
companyi ncompl i
ancewi t
hr equestsmadebyt heIndi ancompanyandi nt hepr ocesst he
foreigncompanyhadi ncurredcer t
ainli
abil
iti
est owar dsthir
dparti
esandi thadt opay
certainamounti nlegal proceedingsandt her efore,
int ermsofthel ett
erofi ndemni tyissued
byt her espondentIndi ancompany ,theforeigncompanycl aimedt heamountf rom the
respondentI ndiancompany ,whichdeniedi tsl i
abil
i
tyandt heref
oret heforeignpet it
ioner
companyi ni
ti
atedlegal proceedingsagai nstt heIndiancompanyi nt heEngl ishCour tsas
prov i
dedi ntheLet terofIndemni ty.

TherespondentI ndiancompanydi dnotf i

ledefenceandt heref
oret heEnglishCour
tpassed
anex-par t
eor derawardingacertainamountinf avorofthepetit
ionerforeigncompanyon
considerati
onofev idenceandont hemer i
tsoft heclai
mf il
edbyt heforeigncompany.Bya
noti
cei ssuedundersect ions433and434oft heCompani esAct, 1956,t
hepet i
ti
oner
for
eigncompanycal l
edupont herespondentIndiancompanyt opayt heamountdueunder
theorderoft heEnglishCour t
.

Aft
ertherespondentI
ndiancompanyf ai
ledt ohonourtheamount ,
thepeti
tionerForeign
Companyf i
ledapeti
ti
onf orwi
ndingupoft heIndiancompany .I
ntheabov ecircumstances
si
ncetherecordsofthecasemani f
estl
yr ev
ealedthattherespondentI
ndiancompanywas
unabl
etopayi t
sdebts,t
hepetit
ionforwindingupwasadmi tt
edv i
deorderdated4.4.2007
undersect
ions433and434oft heCompani esAct,1956.

PROPOSI
TION

UnderSecti
on13(
f)ofCPC, t
hefol
lowi
ngproposit
ionmaybelai
d-Ajudgmentpassedbya
for
eigncourt
,whi
chbreachesanyl
awinforceinIndi
amaynotbeenforceabl
e,except
whereiti
sbasedonacont r
acthav
ingadif
ferent“pr
operl
awofthecontr
act”
.

Enf
orcementofFor
eignJudgment
s
Aforei
gnJudgmentwhi
chisconclusi
veanddoesnotf
all
wit
hinsect
ion13(
a)t
o(f
),may
beenfor
cedinI
ndiai
nei
therofthefol
lowi
ngways.

Byi
nst
it
uti
ngexecut
ionpr
oceedi
ngs

Afor
eignJudgmentmaybeenfor
cedbypr
oceedi
ngsi
nexecut
ioni
ncer
tai
nspeci
fi
edcases
ment
ionedinSect
ion44-
AoftheCPC.

Secti
on44A–Execut ionofdecr
eespassedbyCourtsinreci
procat
ingt
erri
tory[
20].
-(1)
Whereacer t
if
iedcopyofadecreeofanyofthesuperi
orcourt
sofanyreciprocat
ing
ter
ri
toryhasbeenfil
edinaDistr
ictCour
t,t
hedecr
eemaybeexecut edinIndiaasifithad
beenpassedbyt heDist
ri
ctCourt.

(2)Toget
herwit
ht hecer
ti
fi
edcopyoft hedecreeshall
befil
edacerti
fi
cat
efrom such
superi
orcour
tstat
ingtheextent,
ifany,
towhichthedecreehasbeensati
sfi
edoradjusted
andsuchcert
ifi
cateshal
l,
forthepurposesofproceedi
ngsunderthi
ssect
ion,beconclusi
ve
proofoft
heextentofsuchsatisf
acti
onoradjust
ment .

(3)Thepr ovisionsofsecti
on47shal lasfr
om thefi
li
ngofthecerti
fi
edcopyoft hedecree
applytot heproceedingsofaDi st
rictCour
texecut
ingadecreeunderthissecti
on,andthe
Dist
rictCour tshallr
efuseexecuti
onofanysuchdecr ee,
ifi
tisshownt othesati
sfact
ionof
theCour tthatt hedecreef
all
swi t
hinanyoftheexcepti
onsspecif
iedinclauses(a)t
o( f
)of
secti
on13.

Expl
anationI:“
Reciprocat
ingter
ri
tory”meansanycountr
yorterr
itoryout si
deI ndi
awhich
theCentralGovernmentmay ,
bynot i
fi
cati
onint
heOf f
ici
alGazet
te, declaretobea
reci
procati
ngterr
itor
yforthepurposesofthi
ssecti
on,and“SuperiorCour ts”
,withref
erence
toanysucht er
rit
ory,meanssuchcour t
sasmaybespeci fi
edinthesai dnot i
fi
cati
on.

Explanat
ionI I
:“Decree”wit
hr ef
erencetoasuperi
orCourtmeansanydecr eeorjudgmentof
suchcour tunderwhi chasum ofmoneyi spayabl
e,notbeingasum payableinrespectof
taxesorot herchargesofal i
kenatureori
nrespectofafineorot
herpenalti
es,butshalli
n
nocaseincl udeanar bit
rat
ionaward,eveni
fsuchanawar disenf
orceableasadecr eeor
j
udgment .

MolojiNarSinghRaov sShankarSar
an,Supr
emeCourthel
dt hataforei
gnjudgmentwhi
ch
doesnotar i
sefrom t
heorderofasuperi
orcour
tofareci
procati
ngterri
tor
ycannotbe
executedinIndi
a.Itr
uledthatafr
eshsuitwi
l
lhavet
obef i
l
edi nIndi
aont hebasi
softhe
for
eignjudgment .
”

Ther
efor
eUnderSect i
on44Aoft heCPC,adecr eeorjudgmentofanyoft heSuperi
or
Cour
tsofanyrecipr
ocatingt
err
it
oryareexecutableasadecreeorjudgmentpassedbyt he
domesti
cCourt.Thejudgment,
oncedeclared,wil
lbeexecutedi
naccor dancewithsecti
on
51oftheCode.Thereaft
er,t
hecourtmayor dermeasuressuchasattachmentandsal eof
pr
opert
yoratt
achmentwi
thoutsal
e,andinsomecasesarr
est(
ifneeded)i
nenf
orcementof
adecr
ee.Thi
sisdonebyt
hemet hodsdiscussedbel
ow.

Byi
nst
it
uti
ngasui
tonsuchf
orei
gnj
udgment

Wher eajudgmentordecr eeisnotofasuper i

orcourtofar eci
pr ocatingterrit
ory ,
asuithas
tobef i
l
edi nacour tofcompet entjur
isdi
cti
oninIndiaonsuchf oreignjudgment .The
generalprincipl
eoflawi sthatanydecisi
onofaf oreigncour t,
tribunal oranyot herquasi-
j
udicialauthorit
yisnotenf or
ceableinacountryunlesssuchdeci sioni sembodi edina
decreeofacour tofthatcountry
.Insuchasuit,thecour tcannotgoi ntothemer i
tsofthe
ori
ginalclaim anditshallbeconclusi
veastoanymat t
ertherebydi rectlyadjudicated
betweent hesamepar ti
es.Suchasui tmustbefiledwi t
hinaper i
odof3y earsfrom thedate
ofjudgment [23].

nMar
I i
neGeotechni
csLLCv /
sCoastalMari
neConstr
ucti
on&Engi neeringLt d,
theBombay
HighCourtobservedthati
ncaseofadecreefr
om anon-reci
procat
ingf orei
gnterr
it
ory,t
he
decree-
hol
dershouldfil
e,i
nadomest i
cIndi
ancour
tofcompet entjur
isdicti
on,asuitonthat
forei
gndecreeorontheorigi
nal
,underl
yi
ngcauseofact
ion,orboth.

Howev er,
inboththecases,t
hedecr eehast opassthetestofSect
ion13CPCwhi ch
speci
fiescer
tai
nexceptionsunderwhi chtheforei
gnjudgmentbecomesinconcl
usiv
eandi
s
ther
eforenotexecutabl
eorenforceableinIndi
a.

For
eignAwar
d

Anawar dpassedbyf oreignarbitr

atori
senforceablei
nacountrywhereitwasmadeand
canalsobeenforcedinI ndia.CourtsmayrefertoCPCoranyot herst
atutewhil
e
consi
deringt
hepr oceduretobef ol
lowedforenforcementoff
oreignawardsunderFor
eign
Awards(Recognit
ionandEnf orcement)Act(45of1961)

Ef
fectofFor
eignJudgment

Aforei
gnj
udgmentisconclusi
veforanymatt
eradjudi
cat
edbet
weenthepar
ti
es.Such
j
udgmentisconcl
usi
veandwoul dcreat
eResjudi
catabet
weenthesamepar
ti
esorbetween
par
ti
esunderwhom theyoranyoftheclai
ms.

Li
mit
ati
onper
iodf
orEnf
orcementofFor
eignJudgment
s

Aspertheprovi
sionsoftheCode,forei
gnjudgmentsf r
om reci
procatingter
rit
ori
esare
enf
orceabl
einIndiai
nt hesamemannerast hedecreespassedbyI ndiancourt
s.The
Li
mitat
ionAct,
1963pr escri
bestheti
mel i
mitforexecuti
onofaf oreigndecreeandforfi
l
ing
ofasuiti
nthecaseofj udgmentpassedbyforeigncourt.
  Thr
eey
ear
s,commenci
ngf
rom t
hedat
eoft
hedecr
eeorwher
eadat
eisf
ixedf
or
per
for
mance;
incaseofadecr
eegr
ant
ingamandat
oryi
njunct
ion;
and

 Twel
vey
ear
sforexecut
ionofanyot
herdecr
eecommenci
ngf
rom t
hedat
ewhent
he
decreebecomesenfor
ceableorwher
ethedecreedir
ectsanypaymentofmoneyor
thedeli
ver
yofanypropert
ytobemadeatacer tai
ndate,whendefaulti
nmaki
ngt
he
paymentordeli
ver
yinrespectofwhi
chexecut
ionissought,t
akesplace.

Ajudgmentobtai
nedfr
om anon-
recipr
ocati
ngter
ri
tor
ycanbeenf or
cedbyf i
li
nganewsuit
i
nanI ndi
ancourtf
orwhichal
imi
tati
onper i
odof3yearshasbeenspecif
iedundert
he
Li
mitati
onAct,
1963commencingfrom thedat
eofthesaidjudgmentpassedbyfor
eign
court
.

Ot
herdef
ini
ti
ons:
Aff
idav
it,
Sui
t,Pl
aint
,Wr
it
tenSt
atement

Af
fi
dav
its–Or
der19

Aff
idavi
tsaredealtunderOrder19oft heCode.Itisaswor nstat
ementmadebyt heper son
whoisawar eofthefactsandcircumstanceswhichhav etakenplace.Thepersonwho
makesandsi gnsisknownas‘ Deponent’.Thedeponentmakessur ethatthecontentsare
cor
rectandtrueasperhi sknowledgeandhet herebyconcealednomat eri
alt
herefrom.
Aft
ersigni
ngt hedocument,theaffi
davitmustbedulyattestedbytheOathCommi ssioner
orNotaryappoint
edbyt hecourtoflaw.

Thepersonwhogivesat
test
ati
ont otheaf fi
dav
itshal
lmakesur
ethatthesignofthe
deponenti
snotfor
ged.Theaff
idavitshallbedraf
tedaspert
heprovi
sionsofthecode.I
t
mustbeparagr
aphedandnumber edpr operl
y.

Eventhoughthe“affi
dav
it”hasnotbeendef
inedint
hecode,
itbasi
cal
lymeans“asworn
st
atementinwr i
ti
ngmadespeci f
ical
l
yunderoathoraf
fi
rmat
ionbefor
eanauthor
ized
of
ficerorMagist
rate.
”

Essent
ial
s

Therearesomebasi
cessent
ial
swhi
char
erequi
redt
obef
ulf
il
ledwhi
l
esubmi
tt
ingt
he
aff
idav
itint
hecour
t:

 I
tmustbeadecl
arat
ionbyaper
son.

 I
tshal
lnothav
eanyi
nfer
ences,
itshal
lcont
ainf
act
sonl
y.

 I
tmustbei
nthef
ir
stper
son.
  I
tmustbei
nwr
it
ing.

 I
tmustbest
atement
swhi
char
etakenunderoat
horaf
fi
rmedbef
oreanyot
her
aut
hor
izedof
fi
ceroraMagi
str
ate.

Cont
ent
sofaf
fi
dav
it

AsperRul
e3, anaffi
davitshal
lcontai
nonlyt
hosefact
stowhichthedeponenti
sawar
eof
astr
uetohi
sper sonalknowledge.However,
int
erl
ocut
oryappl
icat
ionscanbefi
l
edwherei
n
hecanadmithisbeli
ef.

Ev
idenceonaf
fi
dav
it

Aspersect i
on3oft heEv idenceAct ,
affi
davit
sarenotconsideredasev i
dence.Whenther
e
i
saneedt oprovethef acts,oralevidenceisnormall
ytakenintoconsiderat
ionbythecour
t.
Howev er,
Rule1Or der19i sinv okedbyt heCourtwhenitfi
ndst hati
tisnecessarytomake
anor derforanypar t
icularfactwhi chmaybepr ov
edbyaf f
idavi
t.Ifapersonprovi
des
evidenceundert heaf f
idavitthentheopposi ngcounselhasther i
ghtt
ocr oss-
examineor
reply-
in-af
fidav
it.

Furt
her,thepersonwhoismakinganaff
idavi
tshallputonthosefactsonlytowhichhehas
tr
ueper sonal
knowledge.I
fhegivesast
atement,nottohispersonalknowledget
henin
suchcaseheshal lmenti
onthetr
uesour
ce.Thecounsel shal
ladvisethedeponenttomake
surethatheputsfact
swhi chheknowsr
atherthanwhathebel i
eves.

Thecourtcanrej
ectt
heaf f
idav
iti
fitisnotproper
lyver
if
iedandnoti
nconf
ormi
tywi
ththe
rul
esofthecode.Atthesamet i
met hecourtcanalsogi
veanopport
uni
tyt
othepar
tyt
ofil
e
theaf
fi
davitpr
operl
y.

Inthei
nter
locut
oryappli
cat
ionsli
kei
nteri
mi nj
uncti
ons,t
heappoint
mentofrecei
ver,
att
achmentofpropert
ywher ei
nther
ightsofthepart
iesarenotdet
ermi
nedconclusi
vel
y,
canbedecidedonthebasisoftheaf
fidavi
t.

Fal
seaf
fi
dav
it

UnderSecti
on191, 193,195,199ofI PC,1860,f
il
ingaf al
seaffi
davitisanoff
ence.Givi
nga
l
enientvi
ewwi l
l underminethev alueoft hedocumentandi twillharmt hepr
oceedingsand
wil
lprovi
denoj usti
cet othepar t
ies.Cr i
minalcontemptofcour tpr oceedi
ngscanbe
i
nit
iatedbythecour tagainsttheper sonwhof il
esf alseaffi
davit
sint hecour
toflaw.Stri
ct
act
ionsaretakenagai nstpublicoffi
ci al
swhof i
lesf alseaff
idavi
ts.

Aspersect
ion193oft
heI
PC:
  aper
sonwhoi
ntent
ional
l
ygi
vesf
alseev
idenceorf
abr
icat
esf
alseev
idencedur
inga
j
udi
cial
proceedi
ng,
heshal
lbepuni
shedwi
thsev
eny
ear
sofi
mpr
isonmentandf
ine;

 andwhoev
eri
ntent
ional
l
ygi
vesorf
abr
icat
esf
alseev
idencei
nanyot
hercase,
shal
l
bepuni
shedwithi
mprisonmentofei
therdescr
ipt
ionf
orat
erm whi
chmayext
endt
o
thr
eeyear
s,andshal
lalsobel
iabl
etofine.

Meani
ngofsui
t

Thewordsui
thasnotbeendef i
nedanywher eintheCode,buti
tisaproceedi
ngwhi chis
commencedbypr esent
ati
onofaplaint
.InHansrajGuptaandOr s.v
s.Off
ici
alLi
quidator
sof
theDehr
aDun-Mussoori
eElect
ricTr
amwayCo. Lt
d.,t
hePrivyCounci
lhasdefi
nedthe
expr
essi
on“suit
”asacivil
proceedi
nginsti
tutedbypresent
ati
onofasuit.

nPandur
I angRamchandrav
s.Shanti
baiRamchandr
a,theSupremeCourthasstat
edsuiti
s
tobeunderst
oodtoappl
yonanyproceedi
nginacourtofj
usti
cebywhichanindiv
idual
pursuest
hatremedywhi
chthel
awaf f
ords.

Pl
aint

APl aintisalegal documentthatcont ai

nsthecontentofanycivilsui
twhi chshowst he
Plai
nt i
ff’
sclai
m af terfi
l
ingsuit.Theplai
nti
ffi
sthef i
rststepofthePlaint i
ffi
ntheform ofa
l
egal documentf orthecommencementofsui tanditshowswhataPl ainti
ffwantsfr
om
thatsuit.Theconceptofapl ainti
ffi
smentionedintheCi vi
lPr
ocedur eCode.Thr oughthe
helpoft heplainti
ff,t
heplaint
iffnarr
atesordescri
best hecauseofact ionandr el
ated
i
nfor mationwhi chisconsideredasessentialf
rom thev i
ewpointofthesui t.

Inthecaseoft hepl ai
nti
ff
,thecauseofact ionconsistsoftwodivi
sions, f
ir
sti sthelegal
theory(t
hef actualsit
uati
onbasedonwhi chtheplaintif
fcl
aimstohav esuf fered)and
secondi sthelegalremedyt hatt
hepl ainti
ffseeksfrom thecourt
.Apl aintisconsideredan
i
mpor tantconceptbecausei tistheforemostandi nit
ialst
agetoini
tiateanyl awsuitand
helpstof i
ndaci vi
lcourtofappropri
at ejuri
sdict
ion.

OrderVIIoftheCodeofCi v
ilPr
ocedur edeal s,
parti
cular
lywithplai
nt.InOr derVIIofCPC,
ther
ear emanydi f
ferentrul
eswhi chdeal withdiff
erentconsti
tuent
sofpl aint
.Rules1t o8
dealwiththeparti
cularsoftheplaint.Rule9ofCPCdeal swithhowt hepl aintwil
l be
admitt
edandaf terthatRule10to10- Btalksaboutt her
eturnofthepl aintandthe
appearanceofparti
es.Andt hemai nRul esi.e11to13deal withther ejecti
onoft heplai
nt
andinwhi chci
rcumst ancestheplaintcanber ej
ected.

Secti
on26oft heCodeofCivi
lProcedurestat
es“Ev
erysui
tshal
lbeinstit
utedbythe
present
ati
onofapl ai
ntori
nsuchot hermannerasmaybeprescr
ibed.”Thissect
ioncl
earl
y
showsthatplainti
sverymuchnecessaryfort
heestabl
i
shmentofasui tbefor
etheciv
ilor
commer ci
alcourt.
Necessar
yCont
ent
sofAPl
aint

Aplai
ntisal egaldocumentthatcont
ainsalotofnecessar
ycontent
sintheabsenceof
whi
ch,itcannotbeconsideredasapl ai
nt.Thecont
entsnecessar
yforaplai
ntare
menti
onedi nRules1t o8ofOr derVI
IofCPC.Thesearement i
onedbel
ow:

 Pl
aintshoul
dcont
aint
henameoft
hecommer
cial
orci
vi
lcour
twher
easui
twi
l
lbe
i
nit
iat
ed.

 Pl
aintshoul
dcont
aindet
ail
soft
hepl
aint
if
fsuchast
hename,
addr
ess,
and
descr
ipt
ion.

 Pl
aintshoul
dcont
aint
hename,
resi
dence,
anddescr
ipt
ionoft
hedef
endant
.

 Whenapl
aint
if
fhassomedef
ect
sorpr
obl
emsi
nheal
thoranyt
ypeofdi
sabi
l
ity
,the
Pl
aintshoul
dcont
ainast
atementoft
heseef
fect
s.

 Pl
aintshoul
dcont
aint
hef
act
sduet
owhi
chcauseofact
ionar
isesandwher
ethe
causeofact
ionar
isesi
tshoul
dal
sobement
ioned.

 Pl
aintshoul
dnotonl
yment
ionf
act
sduet
owhi
chcauseofact
ionar
isesbutal
so
t
hosef
act
swhi
chhel
pinr
ecogni
zi
ngt
hej
uri
sdi
cti
on.

 Pl
aintshoul
dal
socont
ainaboutt
hatr
eli
efwhi
cht
hepl
aint
if
fseeksf
rom t
hecour
t.

 Whent
hepl
aint
if
fisr
eadyt
osetof
fapor
ti
onofhi
scl
aim,
thePl
aintshoul
dcont
ain
t
hatamountwhi
chhasbeensoal
l
owed.

 Pl
aintshoul
dcont
ainast
atementoft
hev
alueoft
hesubj
ect
-mat
terofsui
tnotonl
y
fort
hepur
poseofjur
isdi
cti
onbutal
soforthepurposeofcour
t-
fees.Atl
ast
,the
cont
entt
hatshoul
dbeonpl ai
nti
sthepl
ainti
ffv
erif
icat
iononoath.

Thisshowst hattheplai
ntisanecessar
ycomponentf orthesuccessfulinit
iati
onofsuitsin
commer cialorcivi
lcour
tsandplaysaveryimportantr
olethroughoutthesui t
.Some
addit
ionalparti
cular
swhichwerenotment i
onedabov eincl
udet hefol
lowing:Plai
nti
ffshall
stat
et heexactamountofmoneyt obeobtai
nedf r
om thedefendantasgi venunderRule2
oforderVIIwhereasRule3ofor derVI
IofCPCst atesthatwhent hepl
aintcont ai
nssubject
matterofimmov abl
epropert
y,t
henthepropert
ymustbedul ydescr i
bed.

I
mpor
tantConcept
s

ResSub-
Judi
ceandResJudi
cat
a(Sec.10,
11)
Nat
ure,
ScopeandObj
ect
ive

Theprinci
pleofressub-judi
ceprevent
sthecourtfrom proceedi
ngwi t
hthet r
ialofanysui
t
i
nwhi chthemat t
erinissueisdi
rectl
yorsubstanti
all
ythesamewi t
hthepreviously
i
nsti
tutedsuitbetweenthesamepar ti
esandthecour twheretheissueispreviousl
y
i
nsti
tutedispendinghast hepowertograntt
her el
iefsought.

Thisrul
eisappli
cabl
etothet
ri
alofthesuitandnott
heinst
it
uti
on.I
tdoesnotr
estr
ictthe
courtfr
om passi
ngint
eri
m or
dersl
ikeinj
uncti
onorstay
.However,i
tappl
i
estorev
isions
andappeals.

Thepur posebehindthi
sruleistopreventmultipl
icit
yofcasesincour t
s.Itisal
sosoughtt o
preventtheplai
nti
fff
rom gett
ingtwosepar atedecisionsfr
om diff
erentcourtsi
nhisfav our
ortwocont r
adict
oryjudgements.Ital
soensur estopr ot
ecttheli
ti
gantfrom unnecessary
harassment.Thepoli
cyofl awistorestri
cttheplainti
fft
oonel egi
slat
ion,thusobvi
atingthe
possibi
lit
yoftwoconf l
ict
ingver
dictsbyoneandt hesamecour tinrespectofthesame
rel
ief.

Condi
ti
ons

Secti
on10oftheCi
vilProcedur
alCode,1908deal
swit
hthecondit
ionsrequi
redtoappl
ythe
pri
nci
pleofr
essubjudice.Thecondi
ti
onsinthepr
ocessofappl
i
cationofressub-j
udi
ceare:

Wher
ethemat
teri
nissuei
ssame

Sect i
on10cl earl
ystatesthatthemat terini ssueinbot hthesuitsmustbedi rectlyor
subst antiall
ybethesame. Inot herwordst heremustbet wosui tsonethatispr eviously
i
nst i
tutedandanot herthatissubsequent l
ysubst it
uted.Thei ssuesofbotht hesui tsshould
bet hesamet ogetthebenef i
toft hi
spr i
nciple,i
tisnotsuf f
icienti
fonlyoneort woi ssues
arecommon.I nt
hecircumst anceswher et heentireissuesarenott hesame, thecour tmay
exercisei tspowerunderSect i
on151andst aythetri
al i
nasubsequentsui tort het ri
al of
thesui tmaybeconsol idated.Thepowerofcour t
st ostaythet ri
alunderSection151i s
discretionaryinnatureandcanbeexer ci
sedonl ywhent hereisanabuseofpr ocessof
cour tandi fitdef
eatst heendsofj usti
ce.

Accor
dingt
oIndi
anEv
idenceAct
,1872“
mat
teri
nissue”ar
eoft
woki
nds:

Matt
erdir
ect
lyandsubst
ant
ial
lyi
nissue–Her
e“di
rectl
y”meansimmediatel
yi.
e.wi
thout
anyi
nter
vent
ion.Thewor
d“subst
anti
all
y”i
mpl
iesessenti
all
yormat
eri
all
y.

Mattercoll
ater
allyandinci
dent
all
yini
ssue–I
tisj
ustcont
rar
ytot
hemat
terdi
rect
lyor
substant
ial
lyinissue.
  Wher
ethepar
ti
esi
nsui
tsar
esame

Thet
wosui
tsshoul
dhav
ethesamepar
ti
esort
hei
rrepr
esent
ati
ves.

 Wher
ethet
it
leoft
hesui
tissame

Thet
it
leofbot
hthesui
tsf
orwhi
cht
hepar
ti
esar
eli
ti
gat
ingshoul
dal
sobesame.

 Wher
ethesui
tmustbependi
ng

Thefor
mersui
tmustbependinginthecour
twhi
lethel
att
ersui
ti si
nst
it
uted.Theword
pendi
ngisf
ort
heprevi
ousl
yinsti
tut
edsuit
,wher
ethefi
naldeci
sionhasnotbeenarr
ivedat
.

 I
nacompet
entcour
t

Secti
on10alsospeci
fiesthatt
hef or
mersui
tmustbependingbefor
eacourtwhichis
competenttocar
ryoutthetri
al.I
fthefor
mersui
tispendi
ngbefor
eanincompetentcour
t,
nolegalef
fect
scanflowfrom it.

I
ll
ust
rat
ions:

‘
X’ and‘ Y’deci
det oenterint
oacont r
actf orthesaleofmachi nes.‘
X’ i
sthesell
erand‘Y’i
s
thepur chaser.Ydef ault
edinpayi
ngt heamountoft hesal
et oX.Xf ir
stfil
edasuitfor
recov er
yoft heentir
eamounti nBangal ore.Subsequentt othis,Xfi
ledanothersuitat
BombayHi ghCourtdemandi ngRs.20,000asout standi
ngbal ance.InX’ssui
tYt ookthe
defencet hatX’ssuitshouldbestayedsi ncebot hthesuitsareonsi milari
ssue.Howev er
,
theBombaycour theldthatsi
nceX’sf i
rstsuitandt hesecondsui thavesimil
arissues
similartot hefi
rstsuit,
thesubsequentsui ti
sliabl
et obestay ed.

‘
P’wasanagenti nPatnawhoagreedt osellgoodsinOdishat o‘
M’.‘
P’ t
heagentt henfi
leda
sui
tforbalanceofaccountsinPatna.‘M’suestheagent‘P’ f
oraccountsandhi snegli
gence
i
nOdi sha;whilethecasewaspendinginPatna.Inthiscase,Patnacourtisprecl
udedf r
om
conducti
ngtrialandcanpeti
ti
onOdi shaCourttodir
ectast ayofproceedingsinPatnaCourt.

Themomentt heabov econdit

ionsar
esatisf
ied,acourtcannotpr
oceedwi
tht
he
subsequentl
yinsti
tut
edsui tsi
ncetheprovi
sionscontai
nedinSecti
on10ar
emandatoryand
thecourtcannotexercisei
tsdiscr
eti
on.Theor derofst
aycanbemadeatanystageofthe
proceedi
ngs.

Howev er,
Secti
on10t akesawaythepowerofthecourtt
oexami nethemeri
tsoft
hecase
thoroughl
y.Ift
hecourtissat
isf
iedwit
hthefactt
hatthesubsequentsui
tcanbedeci
ded
purelyonlegalpoi
nt,
iti
sopenf ort
hecourtt
odecideinsuchasuit.
Test

Thetestofappli
cabil
ityforSect
ion10iswhetherthedecisi
oninafor
mergi v
ensuitwould
oper
ateasresjudicata(deci
dedcase)i
nt hesubsequentsui
t.I
tthi
shappens,thenthel
att
er
sui
tmustbest ayed.Thiscanalsobeinferr
edfrom S.
P.AAnnamalayChettyvs.B.A
Thor
nbill
.

Sui
tpendi
ngi
nfor
eigncour
t

Theexplanati
onclauseofSecti
on10clear
lyprovi
desthatther
eisnolimit
ati
onont he
powerofanI ndi
ancourttotr
yasubsequentinsti
tut
edsuiti
fthepr
eviousl
yinst
it
utedsuiti
s
pendi
ngi naforei
gnsuit
.Thisal
someanst hatthecasescanbecarri
edonsi mul
taneousl
y
i
nt wocourts.

I
nher
entpowert
ost
ay

Thewor dinherenthasverywidemeani ngwhi chincludesaninseparablepar

tofsomething
oranat t
ri
buteorqualit
ywhichisper manentandessent i
al.I
tissomet hi
ngwhichi
sintr
insi
c
andattachedtoaper sonorobject.Theref
ore, i
nherentpower sarethepowersofthecourt
s
whichareinali
enablei.
e.,
somethingwhi chcanbesepar atedortakenawayfrom t
hecour t
s
andtheyexerciseiti
nordertoprov i
decompl etejusticet
ot heparti
es.

Evenwher etheprovisi
onsofSecti
on10donotst r
ict
lyapply,aciv
il courthasinherent
powerunderSect i
on151t ostayasuitt
oachiev
ejustice.Addi
ti
onal lycourt
scanal so
consoli
datediff
erentsuit
sbetweenthesameparti
esinwhi chthemat terofi
ssuei s
substant
ial
lythesame.I nBokaroandRamgarhLtd.vs.StateofBiharand
Another(
1962)themat terini
ssuewasregar
dingtheowner shi
pofapr operty.Thecourti
n
thi
scaseusedi tspowerandconsol i
dat
eddi
ffer
entissueshav i
ngt hesamemat t
er.

Consol
i
dat
ionofsui
ts

Theobj ecti
vebehindSect i
on10i stoavoidtwocont r
adictorydecisi
onsinthesamemat t
er
bydifferentcourt
s.Toov ercomet hi
sthecour tscanpassanor derofconsolidati
onofboth
thesuits.InthecaseofAnur agandCo.andAnr .vs.Additi
onalDistr
ictJudgeandOt her
s,it
wasexpl ainedthatconsoli
dationofsuit
sisor deredunderSect ion151f ormeet i
ngtheends
ofjusticeasitsavesthepar t
yf r
om amul t
ipl
icityofcases, del
aysandexpenses.The
parti
esar ealsorel
ievedfrom produci
ngthesameev idenceattwodi ff
erentplaces.

Ef
fectofcont
rav
ent
ion

Anydecreepassedincontr
avent
ionofSecti
on10isnotnullandther
efor
ecannotbe
di
sregardedcomplet
ely
.Iti
stobeclearl
yunderst
oodher
et hati
tisonlyt
hetri
alandnott
he
i
nsti
tuti
onofthesubsequentsui
twhichisbarr
edundert
hissecti
on.Butthi
sri
ghtwhichi
s
gi
veninf avourofpart
iescanbewaivedbythem.Hence, i
ftheparti
esi
nasuitdeci
dest
o
waiv
et heirri
ghtsandaskthecourtt
oproceedwiththesubsequentsui
t,t
heycannot
af
terwardschallengetheval
idi
tyoft
hesubsequentproceedings.

I
nter
im or
der
s

I
nter
im ordersarethetempor aryor
derswhichar
epassedforali
mit
eddurat
ionj
ustbefore
t
hefinalorder.AnorderofstayunderSecti
on10doesnottakeawaythepowerofthecourt
t
opassi nter
im order
s.Therefore,t
hecourt
scanpasssuchint
eri
m order
sasitt
hinksfi
t
l
i
keat t
achmentofpr opert
y,injunct
ionet
c.

ResJudi
cat
ameani
ng

Resmeans“
subjectmatter
”andj
udi
cat
ameans“
adj
udged”ordeci
dedandt
oget
heri
t
means“amat
teradjudged”
.

Insimplerwords,
thethi
nghasbeenj udgedbythecourt,
thei
ssuebef or
eacour thas
alreadybeendeci
dedbyanothercourtandbetweenthesameparties.Hence,thecourtwil
l
dismissthecaseasithasbeendecidedbyanothercourt
.Resj
udicataappliestobothciv
il
andcr i
minall
egalsy
stems.Nosuitwhichhasbeendi r
ectl
yori
ndirectl
ytri
edinaf or
mer
suitcanbetri
edagain.

ResJudi
cat
aexampl
e

‘
A’sued‘B’ashedidn’tpayrent
.‘B’
pleadedfort
helesseni
ngofrentont hegroundast he
ar
eaoft helandwaslessthanthement i
onedonthelease.TheCourtfoundthatthearea
wasgreaterthanshowninthelease.Theareawasexcessandthepr i
ncipl
esofr esj
udicata
wi
llnotbeappl i
ed.

I
nacase, ‘
A’newlawsuitwasfi
l
edi nwhichthedefendantsrequest
edthatt
heCourt
di
smi ssthelawsui
twithapleaofresjudi
cata.Shewasbar r
edf r
om br
ingi
ngaclai
m ofr
es
j
udicatabecauseherprevi
ousclai
m wasdi smissedforf
raud.TheCourtsai
dthatt
he
def
enceofr esjudi
catamustbeprov edbyevidence.

Pr
inci
pleofResJudi
cat
a

Theprincipl
eofr esjudi
cat
aseekst opr omotethefai
radmi ni
st r
ationofjust
iceandhonesty
andtopr eventthelawfrom abuse.Thepr i
nci
pleofresjudicat aapplieswhenal i
ti
gant
att
empt stof i
l
easubsequentl awsuitonthesamemat ter,afterhav i
ngrecei
v edajudgment
i
napr ev i
ouscasei nvol
vi
ngthesamepar ti
es.I
nmanyj urisdictions,thi
sappliesnotonl
yto
thespecifi
cclaimsmadei nthef i
rstcasebutalsotoclaimst hatcoul dhavebeenmade
duri
ngt hesamecase.
Pr
erequi
sit
esf
orResJudi
cat
a

 Aj
udi
cial
deci
sionbypr
ofi
cientcour
tort
ri
bunal
,

 Fi
nal
andbi
ndi
ngand

 Anydeci
sionmadeont
hemer
it
s

 Af
airhear
ing

 Ear
li
erdeci
sionsr
ightorwr
ongar
enotr
elev
ant
.

Nat
ureandScopeofResJudi
cat
a

Resj udicataincludestwoconceptsofclaim preclusi

onandi ssuepreclusion.Issue
preclusionisal soknownascol l
ater
alestoppel .Par
ti
escannotsueeachot heragai naft
er
thefinal j
udgmentont hebasi
sofmer it
shasr eachedinci
v i
lli
ti
gat
ion.Forexampl e,i
fa
plai
nt i
ffwinsorl osesacaseagainstthedef endantinthecasesayA, hecannotpr obably
suet hedef endantagainincaseBbasedont hesamef act
sandev ents.Notev eni na
diff
erentcour twi t
hthesamef actsandev ents.Whereasinissuepreclusioni tprohibi
tsthe
reli
ti
gationofi ssuesoflawthathavealreadybeendet erminedbythej udgeaspar tofan
earli
ercase.

Thescopehasbeendeci dedinthecaseofGul am Abbasv .St

ateofUtt
arPr adesh.Inthis
casethecourti
ncorporatedt
herulesasev i
denceasapl eaofanissuealreadytriedinan
earl
i
ercase.Judgmentoft hi
scasewasdi ff
icultasthej
udgesshouldappl yresjudicat
a.It
wasdecidedthatresjudi
cataisnotexhausti
veandev enifthematt
erisnotdi r
ect l
ycovered
undertheprovi
sionsofthesecti
onitwil
lbeconsi der
edasacaseofr esjudicataongener al
pri
ncipl
es.

Rat
ional
e

Thepri
ncipl
eofr
esjudicatai
sfoundeduponthepri
ncipl
esofjusti
ce,equit
y,andgood
consci
enceandi
tappli
est ovar
iousci
vi
lsui
tsandcriminal
proceedings.Thepurposeof
thi
spri
ncipl
ewastoinculcat
efi
nali
tyi
ntol
it
igat
ion.

Fai
l
uret
oAppl
y

Whena cour tf
ail
st oappl
yResJudi cat
aandr endersadiv ergentverdi
ctonthesamecl aim
orissueandift
het hir
dcourtf
acest hesameissue, i
twill
appl ya“lasti
nt i
me”rul
e.Itgives
eff
ecttothelat
erjudgmentandi tdoesnotmat t
eraboutt her esul
tthatcamediff
erentl
yt he
secondtime.Thissit
uati
onistypical
lyt
heresponsibil
it
yoft hepartiestothesui
ttobring
t
heearl
iercasetothej
udge’sat
tent
ion,
andt
hej
udgemustdeci
dehowt
oappl
yit
,whet
her
t
orecognizei
tinthefi
rstpl
ace.

Doct
ri
neofResJudi
cat
a

Thedoublejeopardyprovi
sionoftheFi
fthAmendmentt
ot heU.
S.Consti
tut
ionprot
ects
peopl
ef r
om beingputonasecondt ri
alaft
ert
hecasehasbeenjudged.Sothedoctr
ineof
resj
udicataaddressesthi
sissueanditbar
sanypart
ytoretr
yajudgmentonceithasbeen
deci
ded.

Section11oft heCivi
lProcedur eCourtincorporatest hedoct r
ineofr esj
udicataalsoknown
as“r ul
eofconcl usi
venessofj udgment ”
.Thedoct r
ineofr esjudicatahasbeenexpl ai
nedi
n
thecaseofSat y
adhyanGhosalv .Deorj
inDebi .Thejudgmentoft hecourtwasdel i
veredby
DasGupt a,
J.Anappeal wasmadebyl andlordswhoat tainedadecr eeforejectment
againstthetenantswhower eDeor aj
inDebi andhermi norson.Howev er
, t
heyhav enot
beeny etabletogetpossessioni nexecutionsoonaf terthedecr eewasmade.An
appli
cationwasmadebyt het enantunderSect i
on28oft heCal cuttaThi
kaTenancyActand
all
egedt hattheyweretheThikat enants.Thisappl i
cat i
onwasr esist
edbyt helandlords
sayi
ngt heywer enotThikaTenant swi t
hinthemeani ngoft heAct .

Thetenantsmov edtotheHi ghCourtofCalcuttaundertheCivi

lPr
ocedur
eCode.Thecourt
appl
iedthepr i
ncipleofresjudicat
atoachievet hef
inal
ityi
nli
ti
gati
on.Theresul
tcamethat
theori
ginalcourt,aswellast hehi
ghercourt,canproceedforanyfut
urel
it
igati
onont
he
basi
sthatthepr eviousdeci
si onwascorrect.

Thedoct
ri
neofr
esj
udi
cat
asay
s–

 Thatnoper
sonshoul
dbedi
sput
edt
wicef
ort
hesamer
eason.

 I
tist
heSt
atet
hatdeci
dest
her
eshoul
dbeanendt
oal
i
tigat
ion

 Aj
udi
cial
deci
sionmustbeaccept
edast
hecor
rectdeci
sion.

Const
ruct
iveResJudi
cat
a

Ther ul
eofconst ructiver esj udicatai
nSection11oft heCi vi
lProcedur eCodei sanarti
fi
cial
for
m ofr esjudicata.Itpr ovidest hati
fapleahasbeent akenbyapar t
yi napr oceedi
ng
betweenhi m andt hedef endanthewi l
lnotbepermittedtot akepleasagai nstthesame
partyinthefoll
owi ngpr oceedi ngwithref
erencetothesamemat ter.Itisopposedt opubl
ic
pol
iciesonwhi cht hepr incipleofr esjudi
cataisbased.Itwoul dmeanhar assmentand
hardshiptothedef endant .Ther uleofconstruct
iver
esj udicatahelpsinr aisi
ngthebar.
Hencet hisrul
ei sknownast her ul
eofconstructi
veresjudicatawhi chinr eal
it
yisanaspect
ofaugment ati
onoft hegener alpri
nci
plesofresjudi
cata.
InthecaseofSt ateofUt tarPradeshv .NawabHussai n, M wasasub- i
nspect orandwas
dismissedfrom theser viceofD. I
.G.hechal lengedt heor derofdismi ssal byfil
ingawr i
t
peti
ti
oni ntheHighCour t.Hesai dthathedi dnotgetar easonableoppor t
unityofbei ng
heardbeforethepassi ngoft heorder.Howev er,
thear gumentwasnegat i
v eandt hepet i
ti
on
wasdi smissed.Heagai nf i
ledapetit
ionont hegr oundt hathewasappoi ntedbyt heI .
G.P.
andhadnopowert odi smi sshim.Thedef endantar guedt hatthesuitwasbar r
edby
construct
iveresjudicata.Howev er,
thet r
ialcourt, t
hef i
rstappel l
atecour taswel last he
HighCour thel
dt hatthesui twasnotbar r
edbyt hedoct ri
neofr esjudicata.TheSupr eme
Courtheldthatthesui twasbar r
edbyconst ructi
v eresj udi
cataast hepl eawaswi t
hinthe
knowledgeoft heplaintiff,M andhecoul dhav etakent hisargumenti nhi sear l
i
ersui t.

ResJudi
cat
aandEst
oppel

Estoppelmeanstheprinci
plewhi
chpreventsaper sonfr
om assert
ingsomethingthati
s
contrar
ytowhatisimpliedbyaprev
iousact i
on.I
tdealsinSecti
on115t oSecti
on117ofthe
Indi
anEv i
denceact.Therul
eofconstr
ucti
v eresjudi
cat
aistheruleofestoppel.I
nsome
areasthedoctr
ineofresjudi
cat
adiff
ersfrom thedoctr
ineofestoppel–

 Est
oppel
flowsf
rom t
heactofpar
ti
eswher
easr
esj
udi
cat
aist
her
esul
toft
he
deci
sionoft
hecour
t.

 Est
oppel
proceedsupont
hedoct
ri
neofequi
ty,
aper
sonwhohasi
nducedanot
hert
o
al
terhisposi
tiontohisdisadvantagecannotturnar
oundandtakeadvant
ageof
suchalter
ati
on.Inotherwords,resjudicat
abarsmult
ipl
i
cit
yofsui
tsandestoppel
precl
udesmul ti
pli
cit
yofrepresentat
ionofcases.

 Est
oppel
isar
uleofev
idenceandi
senoughf
ort
hepar
tywher
easr
esj
udi
cat
a
expel
sthej
uri
sdi
cti
onofacour
ttot
ryacaseandpr
event
sanenqui
ryatt
he
thr
eshol
d(i
nli
mine).

 Resj
udi
cat
afor
bidsaper
sonav
err
ingt
hesamet
hingt
wicei
nthel
i
tigat
ionsand
est
oppel
prev
ent
stheper
sonf
rom say
ingt
woopposi
tet
hingsatat
ime.

 Accor
dingt
othepr
inci
pleofr
esj
udi
cat
a,i
tpr
esumest
het
rut
hofdeci
sioni
nthe
for
mersuitwhil
etherul
eofest
oppel
precl
udest
hepar
tyt
ondenywhatheorshe
hasoncecall
edtrut
h.

Resj
udi
cat
aandResSubj
udi
ce

Thedoct
ri
neofr
esj
udi
cat
aandr
essubj
udi
cev
ari
esi
nsomef
act
ors–

 Ressubj
udi
ceappl
i
est
oamat
tert
hati
spendi
ngt
ri
alwher
easr
esj
udi
cat
aappl
i
es
t
oamat
teradj
udi
cat
edorar
bit
rat
ed.
  Ressubj
udi
cepr
ohi
bit
sthet
ri
alofasui
tthati
spendi
ngdeci
sioni
napr
evi
oussui
t
whereasr
esj
udi
cat
apr
ohi
bit
sthet
ri
alofasui
tthathasbeendeci
dedi
naf
ormer
sui
t.

Resj
udi
cat
aandI
ssueEst
oppel

Aper sonwhohasoncebeent riedbyacourtofprofici

entjuri
sdicti
onforanof fenceand
convictedoft hatoffencecannotbet ri
edagainforthesameof fenceasl ongasacqui t
tal
operates.ThisisgivenunderSect i
on300(1)oftheCi v
ilProcedureCour t
.Apar tycannot
proceedt oreopent hecaseift hematteri
sf i
nal
lydecidedbyacompet entorprofi
cient
court.Thisprincipl
eappliestocr i
minalpr
oceedingsandi tisnotallowedi nthestageofthe
samepr oceedingstot r
yaper sonforanof f
enceforwhi chhehasbeenacqui t
ted.

ResJudi
cat
aandSt
areDeci
sis

Resjudicatameansacaset hathasal r
eadybeendecidedoramat tersett
ledbyadeci si
on
orjudgment .Resjudicataandst ar
edeci si
sbot har
erelatedtomat tersofadjudicat
ion
(arbi
trat
ion).Star
edeci si
srestsonl egalpri
ncipl
eswher easresjudicataisbasedont he
conclusi
v enessofjudgment .Resjudicatabindsthepartieswhil
est aredecisi
soperates
betweenst rangersandbi nsthecour t
stotakeacont r
aryv iewont helawal r
eadydecided.
Staredecisisismostlyaboutl egalpri
ncipl
ewhi l
eresjudicatar
elatest ocontrov
ersy.

Whati
sResJudi
cat
aandCol
l
ater
alEst
oppel
?

Thedoct
rineofcol
lat
eral
estoppelsayst
hatani
ssueorcasethathasbeenl
iti
gat
edcannot
beli
ti
gat
edagain.Forcol
lat
eralest
oppelt
oappl
y,t
hefol
lowingrequi
rement
sarerequi
red.

Theissuei
nt hefi
rstandsecondcaseisthesame; Thepar t
yagainstwhom thedoct
ri
neis
i
nvokedhadt heful
lopport
unit
ytoli
ti
gatetheissue;Thatpartyactual
lyl
i
tigat
edthei
ssue;
Theissuel
i
tigatedmusthavebeennecessarytot hefi
naljudgment .

Thedoct
ri
neofresjudi
cat
abarsthere-
li
ti
gat
ionofaclaimthathasal
readybeenl
i
tigat
ed.
Ther
earefourf
actorst
hatmustbesati
sfi
edforr
esjudicat
atoapply:

 Apr
evi
ouscasei
nwhi
cht
hesamecl
aim wasr
aisedorcoul
dhav
ebeenr
aised;

 Thej
udgmenti
nthepr
iorcasei
nvol
vedt
hesamepar
ti
esort
hei
rpr
ivi
es;

 Thepr
evi
ouscasewasr
esol
vedbyaf
inal
judgmentont
hemer
it
s;

 Thepar
ti
esshoul
dhav
eaf
airoppor
tuni
tyt
obehear
d.
Forexampl e,AbelasuedJohnwhoi sasuper vi
sorf orsexuallyhar assi
ngherandduet o
that,shehadt oquitherjob.Abelapr ov i
dedt heev idencebypr oducingemai l
swr itt
enby
him.ButJohnar guedthattheemai l
swer enotr ealbutthej udgesai dthattheemai lswere
realandcoul dbesubmi tt
edasev idence.Af teraf ewmont hsaf t
ert hetri
al,
Abel afileda
l
awsui tagainstheremploy erashedi dnott akeanyact i
onaboutt hecompl aint.I
ft he
emai l
sthatwer esubmi t
tedbyAbel a,werenotgenui netheissuewoul dfal
lundercol l
ater
al
estoppel.Theissueofaut hentici
tyoft heemai l
swasal r
eadydeci dedinthepr eviouscase
andhencet hecour tcannotr edeci
det hei ssue.

ResJudi
cat
alandmar
kcases

Br
obst
onv.Dar
byBor
ough

I
nt hecaseofBrobstonv.DarbyBorough,Brobstonwast
heplai
nti
ffwhowasi nj
uredwhil
e
dri
vingavehicl
eonapubl i
chighwayi ntheBor
oughofDarby
.Duetoat r
ansitcompanythat
wasoccupy i
ngthestreet
,thesteer
ingwheelofthemachi
newaspulledbythedri
ver’
shand.
Thi
sr esul
tedini
njur
yt ot
hecompl ainant.

Asui twasf i
ledagainstthest reetrai
lwayintheCourtofPhi l
adel phi
ator ecoverdamages.
Itwaspr ovedthatnegli
gencewast hereonthepartofbotht hepar ti
esalsoknownas
contri
butorynegli
gence.Thej udgmentwaspassedi nfavouroft hedefendant .Lat
eracti
on
wasagai nbroughtagainstt hesamedef endantbasedont hesamecauseofact i
onand
againstthesamet ransitcompany .Thejudgmentinthef i
rstproceedingwasbr oughtt
othe
att
entionofthecour t
.Thepl aint
if
fadmi t
tedthatBrobstonwast hesameper sonwhowas
theplainti
ffi
ntheact i
onbr oughtear l
ieri
nPhiladel
phia.

Theacti
onwasbr oughtforinj
uriesoccurri
ngatt hesamepl aceandt hever
dictofthecour
t
wasinfavourofthedefendant.Thef act
sandcauseofact i
onwer ethesamebutt heonly
di
ffer
encewast henameoft hedef endant.Thelegalquestioninvolv
edwaswhatar ethe
ri
ghtsofthepl
aintif
fint
hiscase.Thecour tref
usedt hefactswhi chwer eprovenbythe
counsel
.Henceanonsui twasent eredbecauseoft heearl
ierjudgment .Theplai
nti
ffshoul
d
havebeenpermittedtocal
lthewi tnessbutnomer itwasseen.

Theseconditi
onswer eenteredintherecordt oenablet heCourttopassthelegalquesti
on
i
nv ol
ved.Theplai
nti
ffhadt heri
ghttorecov erundert hecir
cumstances.Thecounsel made
anof f
ertoprovethefact
swhi chthecour thadr ef
usedt odo.Acomplaintwasmadet hat
theplai
nti
ffmusthavebeenper mit
tedtocal lt
hewi tnesstoestabli
shthemat t
ers.The
factswereessent
ialfort
hel egaldeter
minat i
onofliabili
tybefor
ethecourtandconsentof
boththepart
ieswereneeded.

Hender
sonv.Hender
son

HendersonvHender
sonwasacasei
nwhichtheEngl
i
shCourtconf
ir
medthatapar
tycan
notr
aiseaclai
minli
ti
gat
ionwhi
chwasr
aisedint
heprev
ioussui
t.I
n1808,
twobrot
hers
BethelandJordanHender sonbecamebusi nesspar tner
sandt heyoper at
edinbothBristol
andNewf oundland.In1817, t
hei rfatherdiedonadat ethatwasnotr ecorded.Thewifeof
JordanHender sonwasappoi ntedast headmi nist
ratorandshebr oughtlegalpr
oceedings
i
nt heCourt.Sheal sobroughtsepar atepr oceedingsandcl aimedthathehadf ai
ledto
provi
deanaccountasexecut oroft hewi l
l.TheCour tofAppeal heldthatther
ewasno
estoppelbyconv enti
onandt hatt hepr oceedingswer eanabuseundert herul
ein
HendersonvHender son.TheCour tofAppeal heldthatjustoneofMrJohnson’ sclai
ms
shouldbest r
uckoutf orar ef
lectiveloss.

Johnsonv.Gor
eWoodandCompany

JohnsonvGor eWoodandCompanyi sal eadingUKcaseinwhicht heHouseofLor ds

deci
dedt hecaser el
ati
ngt
olit
igat
ingissuesthathadal
readybeendet erminedinthe
previ
ousl i
ti
gati
on.MrJohnsonwasadi rect
orandmajorit
yshareholderinalotof
compani es,i
ncludi
ngWestwayHomesLi mit
edandGoreWood&Cower eaf i
rm ofl
awyers
whoact edforthecompaniesandalsooccasionall
yworkedforMrJohnsoni nhi
spersonal
capacit
y.

In1998,GoreWoodwasact i
ngf orthecompanyandser vednoticetoacquirelandfrom a
thi
rdpartyuponthel
awyersforthatthi
rdparty.Thethir
d-part
yallegedthatthi
swasnot
servi
ce,andref
usedtoconveytheland.Legal pr
oceedingsfoll
owedandul t
imatelythe
companysucceeded.Howev er
,becausethet hir
dpartywaspenur iousandwasf undedby
l
egal ai
d,thewoodcompanywasunabl etor egainthefullamountofitslossesandl egal
costs.

Accordi
ngly,
thewoodcompanyi ssuedpr
oceedingsagainstGor
eWoodf ornegl
igenceand
all
egedthattheirl
osseswoul
dhavebeenenti
relyprev
entedifGoreWoodhadpr oper
ly
servedt
heor i
ginalnoti
ceont
hethir
dpart
yinsteadofthethir
dparty
’sl
awyers.

GoreWoodul t
imatelyset t
ledthoseclaims,andthesettl
ementagr eementi ncl
udedtwo
provi
sionsthatwerel aterprovedthattheywer eimport
ant.Fir
stl
y,itincl
udedaclause
stati
ngthatanyamountwhi chMrJohnsonwi shedtosubsequent l
ycl ai
m agai
nstGore
Woodi nhispersonal capacitywouldbel i
mitedtoanamount ,
excludinginter
estandcost
s.
Theconf i
denti
ali
tyclausecont ainedanexcept i
onwhichper mit
tedt hesettl
ement
agreementtober eferredwhi chMrJohnsonbr oughtagai
nstGor eWood.

MrJohnsont henissuedproceedingsagai
nstGoreWoodinhi
spersonal
name,andGor
e
Woodmadeappl i
cationst
odi smisssomeoralloft
hecl
aimsonthebasist
hati
twasan
abuseofprocesstoseektol i
tigat
eagainthei
ssueswhi
chhadalr
eadybeencompromi
sed
i
ntheagreement .

ResJudi
cat
alandmar
kcasesi
nIndi
a

Dar
yaov.St
ateofUt
tarPr
adesh
Inthehist
ori
ccaseofDar yaov.St at
eofUt tarPr adesh, thedoct r
ineofresjudicataisof
uni
v er
salappl
icat
ion.TheSupr emeCour tofI ndiapl acedt hedoctri
neofresj udi
cataona
sti
l
l br
oaderfoundati
on.Int hi
scase, pet
iti
oner sf i
ledawr itpeti
ti
onintheHi ghCour tof
All
ahabadunderAr t
icle226oft heConstitution.Butt hesui twasdismissed.Thent heyfi
led
i
ndependentpetit
ionsint heSupr emeCour tundert hewr itjuri
sdi
cti
onofAr ti
cle32oft he
Constit
uti
on.Thedef endantsraisedanobj ect i
onr egardingt hepeti
ti
onbyasser t
ingthatthe
pri
ordecisi
onoftheHi ghCour twoul dbeoper atedasr esjudicat
atoapet it
ionunderAr ti
cle
32.TheSupremeCour tdismissedanddi sagr eedwi t hthepet i
ti
ons.

Thecourtheldthatther ul
eofresjudi
cat
aappli
est oapetit
ionunderArti
cle32oft he
Consti
tut
ion.Ifapetit
ionisfil
edbythepeti
ti
onerintheHighCourtunderAr t
icl
e226 oft he
Consti
tut
ionandi ti
sdi smissedonthebasi
sofmer it
s,i
twouldbeoper at
edasr esjudi
cata
tobarasimilarpeti
ti
oni ntheSupremeCourtunderArti
cle32oftheConstituti
on.

Devi
lalModivs.Sal
esTaxOf
fi
cer

IntheleadingcaseofDev i
lalModivs.STO, Bchal
lengedt hevalidi
tyofanor derof
assessmentunderAr t
icl
e226.Thepet iti
onwasdi smissedont hebasisofmer its.The
SupremeCour tal
sodi smi ssedtheappeal t
hatwasmadeagai nsttheorderont hebasisof
mer i
ts.Bagainf i
ledanot herwritpet
iti
oninthesameHi ghCour tagainstthesameor derof
assessment .Thist i
met hepet i
ti
onwasdi smissedbyt heHi ghCour t
.TheSupr emeCour t
heldthatthepet i
tionwasbar r
edbyt hepri
ncipl
eofr esjudicata.

Avt
arSi
nghv.Jagj
itSi
ngh

Apeculiarproblem aroseinthecaseofAv t
arSinghv .Jagji
tSingh.Afi
ledacivi
lsuit,
a
content
ionr egardi
ngt hearbitr
ati
onoftheCour twast akenbyB.Theobj ect
ionwas
sustai
nedandt heplai
ntwasr et
urnedtotheplaint
iffforthepresent
ati
on.TheRev enue
Courtdidnothav eanyj ur
isdicti
onwhenAappr oachedt heRevenueCourtsoher etur
ned
thepeti
tion.Onceagai nAf i
ledasui ti
ntheCivilCourt.Bcontendedthatthesui
twasbar r
ed
bythedoct ri
neofresj udi
cata.

Mat
hur
aPr
asadv.DossabaiN.
B.Jeej
eebhoy

InthecaseofMat huraPrasadv .DossibaiN. B.Jeejeebhoy,i

twashel dt hatresjudicata
constitut
esbetweent hepar t
iestot hepreviouscaseandcannotmov eagai nincol l
ateral
proceedings.General
ly,adecisionbyacompet entcourtoperatesasr esjudicataevenon
pointoflaw.Howev er,aquest i
onofl awwhi chi snotr el
atedtof act
sthatgi vesrisetot he
ri
ght,wi l
lnotoper
ateasr esjudicata.Whent hecauseofact i
oni sdi
fferentort helawi s
dif
ferent,thedeci
sionhasbeenal readyalteredbyanaut hori
ty.Thedeci sionmadewi ll
be
declaredasv al
idandr esjudi
catawi llnotoper ateinthesubsequentpr oceeding.

Except
ionst
oresj
udi
cat
a
Caseswher
eResJudi
cat
adoesnotappl
y-

Thepri
ncipleofr esj udicatadoesnotappl yintheWr itofHabeasCor pusasf arasHi gh
Court
sar econcer ned.Ar t
icl
e32gi v
espowert otheSupr emeCourttoissuewr i
tsandsome
powerisgivent oHi ghCour t
sunderAr ti
cle226.TheCour t
sneedtogi veproperr easoning
whil
eapply i
ngthedoct rineofresjudicat
a.Ther earesomeexcept ionstoresj udicatawhich
al
lowthepar tytochal lenget hevali
dit
yoft heorigi
nal j
udgmentevenout sidetheappeal s.
Theseexcept i
onsar eusual l
yknownascol l
ateralat
tacksandarebasedonj urisdict
ional
i
ssues.Itisnotbasedont hewisdom oftheear li
erdecisi
onofthecour tbuttheaut hori
tyto
i
ssueit.Resjudicatamaynotbeappl i
cablewhencasesappeart hattheyneedr el
iti
gati
on.

I
nst
almentSuppl
ypr
ivat
eli
mit
edvs.Uni
onofI
ndi
a

I
ncasesofincomet axorsalestax,t
hedoctri
neofresjudi
catadoesnotapply.I
twas
di
scussedi
nthecaseofI nstalmentSuppl
yprivat
eli
mitedvs.Uni
onofIndiawherethe
Supr
emeCour thel
dt hatassessmentofeachyearisfi
nalf
orthatyearanditwil
lnotgov
ern
i
nthesubsequentyears.Asitdeter
minesthetaxonlyf
orthatpart
icul
arperi
od.

Bandhopadhy
aandot
her
sv.Uni
onofI
ndi
aandot
her
s

I
nt hecaseofP.Bandhopadhyaandother
sv.UnionofIndiaandothers,
Theappeal was
madei ntheBombayHighCourtandtheappell
antsassert
edthattheywil
lbeentit
ledto
recei
veanamountasdamages.TheSupr emeCour tbenchheldthatt
heappell
antswer e
notentit
ledt
orecei
vedamageswhichwer epensi
onarybenefi
tsunderthePensi
onRul es
1972.Theywereenti
tl
edtorecei
vebenefi
tsasthecasewasbar redbythepri
ncipleofres
j
udicata.

I
nt hecaseofPubl
icInterestLi
ti
gati
on, t
hedoct
ri
neofresjudi
catadoesnotapply
.Asthe
pri
maryobjectofr
esjudicataistobringanendtoli
ti
gat
ionsotherei
snor easontoext
end
thepri
ncipl
eofpubl
icinterestl
it
igat
ion.

Dismissalofspeci
all
eav
epet i
ti
oni
nli
minedoesnotoperat
easresjudi
catabet
weent
he
part
ies.Afreshpeti
ti
onwil
lnotbef
il
edeit
herunderAr
ti
cle32orunderArt
icl
e226oft
he
Constit
uti
on.

Bel
ir
am andBr
other
sv.Chaudhar
iMohammedAf
zal

InthecaseofBel i
ram andBr other
sv .ChaudhariMohammedAf zal
,i
twasheldt
hata
minorssuitcannotbebr oughtbyt heguardi
anoft heminor
s.However,
itwasbr
oughti
n
col
laborat
ionwi t
ht hedefendantsandt hedecreeobtai
nedwasbyfraudwit
hint
heIndi
an
Evi
denceAct ,1872andi twil
l notoperater
esjudicat
a.

Jal
lurVenkat
aSeshay
yav.Thadvi
condaKot
eswar
aRao
I
nt hecaseofJal l
urVenkat aSeshay
y avs.ThadvicondaKot eswaraRao, asuitwasfil
edin
theCour tsot hatcert
aintemplesarecall
edpubl i
ct emples.Asi mil
arsuitwasdismissedby
theCour ttwoy earsagoandt heplai
ntif
fcontendedt hatitwasnegl i
genceont hepartofthe
plainti
ffs(oftheprevi
oussui t
)andthereforet
hedoct ri
neofr esjudicat
acannotbeappl ied.
Howev er,t
hepr i
vycouncilsai
dthatthedocument swer esuppr essedwhi chmeansthatthe
plainti
ffintheearli
ersuithadbonafideintent
ion(somet hingthatisgenuineandthereisno
i
nt enti
ont odeceive).

CanResJudi
cat
abewai
ved?

I
nt hecaseofP.C.RayandCompanyPr ivat
eLimitedv.UnionofIndi
ai twashel dthatt
he
pleaofresjudi
catamaybewaivedbyapar tytoaproceeding.I
fadef endantdoesnotr ai
se
thedefenceofresjudi
cat
athenitwil
lbewai v
ed.Theprinci
pleofresjudicatabelongstothe
procedureandeit
herpart
ycanwaivethepleaofresjudi
cata.Thecour tcandeclinethe
questi
onofr esj
udicat
aonthegroundthatithasnotbeenr ai
sedinthepr oceedi
ngs.

Howt
odef
eatResJudi
cat
a?

Thedoctri
neofr esjudicatawouldnotapplyt
ot hecaseunt i
ltheconditionsaremet .The
essent
ialcondi
ti
onf ortheapplicabi
li
tyi
sthatthesucceedingsuitorpr oceedingisfounded
onthesamecauseofact i
ononwhi chthefor
mersui twasf ounded.Thepr i
nci
pleofres
j
udicat
acanbedef eatedwhent hepartyhasfi
l
edt hesuitonar easonabl egroundfor
exampleincaseapubl i
cinter
estli
ti
gati
onhasbeenf il
edthereisnor easonnott oextend
thedoctr
ineofresjudicata.ThePILhasbeenf i
ledwithabonaf ideintentionandthe
l
iti
gati
oncannotend.

Cr
it
ici
sm t
oResJudi
cat
a

Resj udi catacanal sobeappl i

edtojudgmentt hatmaybecont r
arytolaw.Thedoct rineof
resjudi cat ahasbeenusedf oralongtimeandi tencl osest hegeneraleff
ectofone
j
udgementuponanot hertr
ialorproceedi ng.Itincludesmat ter
snotonl ythoseofbarbut
alsot hosemat t
erswhichshouldbel it
igat ed.Forexampl e,i
facasehasbeendi smi ssedon
aspeci fi
cgr oundbyacour toflaworequi tyandi tisnotdeemedasaf i
naljudgmentand
techni call
yr esjudicat
awillapplybutitisnotj ust i
fied.Ifthechancel l
orhasdeniedequi tabl
e
reli
efonapr inci
plebutitwashel dbyt hecour tthatthepl ai
nti
ffisbarr
edf r
om proceeding
asal egal remedy .Mostoft heequit
ycasesi nv olveresj udicat
aanddonotgetbey ond
coll
at eral estoppel.Asitr
aisesthedifficultyofov er l
appingmor ethanthefail
uretol i
ti
gate
i
ssues.

Thet i
tl
etorealestat
eandt her i
ghttocoll
ectrentdependedupononeandt hesame
construct
ionofawi l
l.Inani nter
pleaderovertherent
s,Agott hedecree.Bappeal
ed,
withoutsuper
sedeas, andsecur edar ever
sal,but
,beforehi
sappeal wasdecided,
Ahad
suedhi minejectment,invokingthedecree,andrecoveredajudgmentf ort
herealest
ate.B
didnotappeal f
rom thisjudgment ,but,
aft
erthereversaloft
hedecree, hesuedAin
ej
ect
mentf
ort
hel
and,
rel
yi
ngupont
her
ever
sal
.

Rest
it
uti
on(
Sec.144)

Doct
ri
neofr
est
it
uti
on

Thedoct ri
neofresti
tut
ionimpliestobri
ngst heaggri
evedpart
ytotheor
igi
nal posi
ti
on
wher et
hebenef i
toftheerroneousjudgmentoft hecourti
srecei
vedbytheotherpartywho
wasnotent itl
edtosuchbenef i
t.Resti
tut
ioni snotanewconceptandSecti
on144mer el
y
givesstatutor
yrecogni
tiontothispri
nci
ple.Secti
on144ofCPCdeal swi
ththeapplicati
on
forrest
ituti
on.

Sect
ion144st
atest
hat
:

Whenadecr
eeoror
deroft
heCour
thasbeen:

v
ari
ed/
rev
ersedi
nanyappeal
,rev
isi
onorot
herpr
oceedi
ngs;

i
ssetasi
de/modi
fi
edi
nanysui
tinst
it
utedf
ort
hatpur
pose.

TheCourtt
hatpassedthedecree/
orderwi
l
lgr
antr
est
it
uti
ononr
ecei
vi
nganappl
i
cat
ionof
thepar
tyent
it
ledtothebenef
it

Thecourti
nthecaseofMahj
i
bhaiMohanbhaiBar
otv sPat
elManibhaiGokal
bhaihel
dthat
anappl
icat
ionforr
est
it
uti
oni
sanappli
cat
ionforexecut
ionofadecree.

TheSupremeCourtinthecaseofLalBhagwantSinghvsRaiSahi
bLal
aSriKi
shenDashel
d
thatt
hepartywhorecei
vedthebenefi
toftheerr
oneousjudgmenti
sbylawunderan
obli
gati
ontomakeresti
tut
iontotheotherpar
tyforhi
sloss.

Thesamev i
ewwasr ei
ter
atedbyt hecour tinthecaseofBi nayakSwai nvsRamesh
ChandraPani grahi
,thedoctri
neofr estit
utionmeanst hat,onrev ersalofadecreeoror der,
anobl i
gationi simposedbyl awont hepartywhohasr ecei
vedt hebenef itoft
heer r
oneous
decreet omaker esti
tuti
ontot heot herpar tyf
orhisloss.Thisobl igati
onautomat i
cal
ly
ari
seswhent hedecr eeororderisr eversedormodi fi
edbyt heCour t.I
tnecessari
lycarri
es
wit
hi tther i
ghtofr esti
tut
ionf orallthethingsthathavebeendoneundert heerr
oneous
decree.TheCour twhi l
emaki ngrest it
uti
oni sunderadut ytorest oretheparti
es,asfaras
possible,atthet i
mewhent heer roneousact i
onoftheCour tdisplacedt hem.

TheApexCour
tinthecaseofUnionCar
bideCorpor
ati
onv.UnionofIndi
aheldthat
rest
it
uti
oni
sapri
ncipl
eofequit
yandissubjectt
otheCourt
’sdiscr
eti
on.Sect
ion144of
CPCdoesn’
tgr
antanynewsubstanti
veri
ghttothepar
tynotal
readyobtai
nedunderthe
gener
allaw.TheCour
tisobl
i
gedtoensur
ethatnoonegoesbackwi
thaf
eel
i
ngt
hathewas
i
mpairedbyanactwhichhedidont
hefai
thoftheCour
t’
sorder
.

Act
uscur
iaenemi
nem gr
avabi
t

TheLati
nmaxim act uscuriaenemi nem gr
avabitmeanstheactofcour tshoul
dnotaffect
anyoneandisfoundedupont heprinci
pleofequit
y.TheCourti
sobl i
gedt oensuret
hatno
oneisendur
edbyi tsorderandi tshouldnotpassanyordert
ot heprejudiceofanyper
son.
Theapexcourtrei
teratedthemaxi m ofactuscuri
aeneminem gravabitinthecaseof
shaFor
Odi estDevelopmentCor porati
onv.M/sAnupam Traders.

Condi
ti
ons

I
nappl
yi
ngf
orr
est
it
uti
on,
thef
oll
owi
ngcondi
ti
onsmustbef
ulf
il
led:

Thedecr ee/ordermusthavebeenv ari

edorr eversedi nanyappeal,r
evi
sionorissetasi
de
ormodi fi
ed.Thepartyinrespectofthereversedormodi fi
eddecree/or
dermustbeent i
tl
ed
tobenefitbywayofr esti
tuti
onorotherwise.Ther el
iefclai
medbyt hepar t
ymustbe
properl
yconsequentialofthevari
ati
on,reversal,
settingasideormodi f
icat
ionofthe
decree/order.

TheOr
issaHi
ghCourti
nBanchhani
dhiDasv sBhanuSahuanil
aiddowncer
tai
npr
inci
ples
tobef
oll
owedfort
heappl
i
cati
onofresti
tut
ion:

Thereshouldbeanerroneousj
udgmentpassedbyt hecour
t.Thepart
ytotherecor
dmust
havereceivedt
hebenefi
toftheerroneousjudgment.Thepart
yapplyi
ngforr
esti
tut
ionmust
showt hatasaconsequenceoftheerroneousjudgmentordecree,
apart
yreceiv
edthe
benefi
t.

Theer
roneousj
udgmentordecr
eemusthav
ebeenr
ever
sedi
nappeal
.

Whomayappl
y?

Aper
sonmayappl
yforr
est
it
uti
onwho:

Wasapartytotheorderordecr
eebeingv ar
ied,r
ever
sed,setasi
de,ormodi
fied.I
senti
tl
ed
t
oanybenefitbywayofresti
tut
ionorotherwisei
nrespectoftheor
derordecreebei
ng
var
ied,
rev
ersed,setasi
de,ormodif
ied.

Agai
nstwhom r
est
it
uti
onmaybegr
ant
ed?

Thecour
tmaygr
antr
est
it
uti
onagai
nstt
hepar
tywhohaswr
ongl
yrecei
vedt
hebenef
it
undert
heerroneousdecreeoror
derofthecour
t.Thepar
tyrecei
vi
ngt
hebenef
iti
sunderan
obl
igat
iont
omaker est
it
uti
ontothepar
tyforwhathehaslost
.

Whomaygr
antr
est
it
uti
on?

Thecourtwhichhaspassedtheori
ginaldecr
eeorordermaygrantr
est
itut
iononan
appli
cat
ionbeingmadetoitbythepartywhoisent
it
ledtobenefi
tfr
om suchrev
ersedor
var
ieddecreeororder
.

Whatr
emedi
escant
hecour
tcangr
ant
?

ThecourtunderSecti
on144canmakeanyor der
sasaconsequenceofadecreeoror
der
bei
ngvaried,
rever
sed,modif
ied,setasi
def
ortheref
undofcost
sandforpaymentof
i
nter
est,
damages, compensati
on,andmesneprofi
t.

Nat
ureofpr
oceedi
ng

Thenatureofpr
oceedi
ngunderSecti
on144isexecut
ionpr
oceedi
ngs.Thepr
ocesst
oget
anorderordecr
eeint
oeff
ectiscal
ledexecut
ionpr
oceedi
ngs.

Ext
entofr
est
it
uti
on

Sect
ion144isnotexhaust
ivebuti
ncl
usi
ve.Evenifamat t
erdoesnotf
all
wit
hint
hescope
ofSect
ion144,t
hecourthasthepowert
ogr antr
esti
tut
iononitsdi
scr
eti
on.

I
nher
entpowert
ogr
antr
est
it
uti
on

UnderSecti
on151, acour thasaninher entpowert omakesuchor derasmaybenecessar y
formeeti
ngtheendsofj usti
ceortopr eventt heabuseoft heprocessofCour totherthan
thepowertograntrestit
utionunderSect i
on144.Thepoweroft hecour tt
ogr antresti
tuti
on
i
snotconfinedonlytoSect ion144,thecour thasani nherentpowert ogranttheremedyof
rest
it
uti
onwhereSect ion144doesnotappl y .Therearediffer
entcircumstancesinwhi ch
thecour
tcanor dertorestorethestatusquoant e(previ
ouslyexist
ingstateofaffairs)to
meettheendsofj ust
ice.

I
twashel nK.
di N.Kri
shnappav sT.
R.Gopal
kri
shnaSet
tyt
hatunderSect
ion151C.P.
C,t
he
i
nher
entpower
softheCour tcanbeinv
okedforr
est
ori
ngthepar
ti
estotheposit
ioni
n
whi
chtheywer
e,pr
iortotheexecut
ion.

BarofSui
t

Sect
ion144(
2)bar
sasepar
atesui
tinst
it
utedf
orobt
aini
nganyr
emedyi
frest
it
uti
onorot
her
r
eli
efcoul
dbeobt
ainedbymaki
nganappl
i
cat
ionunderSect
ion144(
1).

Cav
eat(
Sec.148A)

Meani
ngofCav
eat

Thecav eati nLatinmeans“ letaper sonbeawar e”andi nl aw, itmaybeunder stoodasa

not i
cegi venaski ngnott oactinacer t
ainmannerwi thouti nformi ngtheper sonwhogav e
suchanot ice.Undert heCi v
ilProcedur eCour t,thepr ovisionofcav eati sdealtwi thin
Sect i
on148A.Ev enThoughCPCdoesnotdef inecav eatint hecaseofNi rmalChandv .
GirindraNar ayan,thecour tdefinedcav eatasawar ninggi venbyani ndividual tothecourt
thatnoor derorj udgmentshal lbepassedwi thoutgi v i
ngnot i
ceorwi thouthear i
ngt he
cav eator.Theper sonwhof i
lesacav eatiscalledt heCav eatorandt heper sonwhohas
i
nst it
utedasui tori sl i
kelytodosoi scalledcav eatee.Themai nobj ectofcav eatist o
ensur ethatt hecour tdoesnotpassexpar teor dersandt hatt hei nt
er estsoft hecav eator
arepr otect ed.Cav eatal soreducest hebur denofcour tandbr ingsanendt otheliti
gati
onas
i
tr educest hemul tiplici
tyofpr oceedings.Ast hepur poseoft hecav eatwast osav ethecost
andconv enienceoft hecour t,nKat
i ti
lVay al
ilPar kkum Koi l
othv .Manni lPaadi kayi
lKadeesa
Umma, thecour thel dt hatnocav eatcanbel odgedbyat otal strangert othesui t
.

Whent
olodgeaCav
eat
?

Accor
dingtoSect
ion148A,whenpeopl
eapprehendt
hatsomecaseagainstthem i
sf i
ledor
i
sabouttobefil
edinanycourtofl
awinanymanner,t
heyhav
ear i
ghtt
ol odgeacav eat.
TheCaveatmaybelodgedinthefor
m ofapeti
ti
onundert
hefol
l
owingcircumstances:

Duri
nganongoi
ngsui
torl
i
tigat
ionandi
nthattheappli
cat
ioni
salr
eadybeenmadeori
s
expect
edt
obemade;Thesuiti
saboutt
obei nst
it
utedandint
hatsui
t,anappl
i
cat
ioni
s
expect
edt
obemade.

Thus,f
ir
stl
yitisalwaysaboutanappli
cati
oninasuitofthepr oceedi
ngandsecondl
ythat
sui
torproceedingcanbei nt
hepresentwhichi
salreadyinsti
tutedori
tcanbeinthefut
ure
whereasuitisnotinst
it
utedyetbutt
hesamei sexpected.Inallsuchsi
tuat
ionst
heri
ghtto
l
odgeacav eatari
ses.

Whomayl
odgeacav
eat
?

Section148Af ur
therprovidesthatacav eatmaybef il
edbyanyper son,whet herapar t
yto
thesuitornot,aslongast hepersonf il
i
ngt hecav eathasther i
ghttoappearbef orethe
courtinregar
dt othesuitinquestion.Thuscav eatcanbef i
ledbyat hir
dpar tyaswel l,
if
theyinanymannerar econnectedt othesuitinquest i
on.Howev er,asitisalready
discussedthatacav eatcannotbel odgedbyaper sonwhoi sat otalstr
angert ot hecase
andt hesamepr i
nciplewasl ai
ddowni nKat t
ilVayali
lParkkum Koilothv.Manni lPaadikayi
l
KadeesaUmma.Toconcl ude,thi
scl auseissubst anti
veinnatureandcav eatmaybef i
led
byanyper
soncl
aimi
ngar
ightt
oappearbef
oret
heCour
t.

Wher
ecanacav
eatbel
odged?

Asandwhent hecaveatorantici
pat
essomel egalpr
oceedi ngstobef il
edagainsthimint he
nearf uture,hecanf i
l
eapet iti
onforacav eatinanyCivilCourtofor iginalj
uri
sdicti
on,
Appel l
ateCour t,Hi
ghCour taswel l
asSupr emeCour t.CivilCourtsincludeCour tsofSmal l
Causes, Tri
bunals,
Forums, andCommi ssi
ons.Howev er,inDeepakKhosl av .UnionofIndia
&Or s, t
hecour theldthatSection148Aoft hecodeappl i
est ocivilproceedingsonlyand
caveatcannotbemadeagai nstpet
iti
onsmadeundert heCr iminalPr ocedureCodeor
peti
tionmadeunderAr ti
cle226oft heConstitut
ionofIndia.

Howt
ofi
l
eacav
eat
?

Acav eatunderSect ion148Ashal lbesignedbyt hecav eatororhi sadv ocat e.Wher ethe
caveat orisrepresentedbyanadv ocate,i
tshoul dbeaccompani edbyhi sVakal atnama.The
caveatpr esentedshal lberegist
eredi nacaveatr egist
ermai nt
ainedbyt hecour t
si nthe
form ofapet i
ti
onoranyot herformt hatmaybepr escribed.Ther egist
erofcav eatcont ai
ns
thedat eofcav eat,name, andaddr essofcav eator,nameoft hepl ainti
ff,thenameoft he
defendantanddat eandanumberofpr oceedingsfiledasant i
cipatedbyt hecav eator.A
caveati salwaysf il
edwi t
hacopy ,thepost alproofandanappl i
cat i
onexpl aini
ngt othe
courtt hatacopyoft hecaveathasbeensentt oallthepartiesandt hust hecour tneednot
dot hesame.Ev ent houghthecour tfeesoffili
ngacav eatv ari
esf ordifferentcour ts,i
tis
gener all
yanomi nalamountofl esst hanINR100.Ther ulesandf ormatoft hecaveatar e
similarformostoft hecour t
s.

Whi
l
efi
l
ingapet
it
ionofcav
eati
nDel
hiHi
ghCour
t,f
oll
owt
hebel
ow-
ment
ionedst
eps:

Supportt
hecav eatpet
it
ionwit
hanaf fi
dav
it.Bothpet
it
ionandtheaf
fi
davi
tshouldbe
si
gnedbyt hecaveator
;Apartf
rom thi
s,avakalat
nama,impugnedor
der(
ifany)
,andproof
ofserv
iceofnoticeofcaveati
salsotobesubmi tt
edtotheCourt
.

Whatdoesacav
eatcont
ain?

Acaveatoranot
icegiv
entothecour
tthatcert
ainacti
onsmaynotbet
akenwi
thout
i
nfor
mingthecaveat
orshoul
dcontai
nthefoll
owinginf
ormat
ion:

 Nameoft
hecav
eat
or;

 Addr
essoft
hecav
eat
orwher
ethenot
icewoul
dbesent
;

 Thenameoft
hecour
twher
esuchcav
eati
sfi
l
ed;
  Thenumberoft
hesui
tandt
henumberoft
heappeal
ifappl
i
cabl
e;

 Br
iefdet
ail
saboutsui
torappeal
li
kel
ytobef
il
ed;

 Nameoft
hepr
obabl
epl
aint
if
fsorappel
l
ant
sandt
her
espondent
s.

Ifsubsequenttothefil
ingofacav eat
,anyappli
cati
onismadei nanysui torl
egal
proceeding,thecour
tisrequiredt
ogivenoticeaboutsuchanappl i
cati
ont ot
hecaveator.
Whenanot i
cehasbeenser v edontheappli
cant,t
heappli
cantattheexpenseoft he
caveatorisrequir
edtoprovidethecaveat
orwi t
hacopyoft heapplicat
ionmadebyhi m
alongwithanydocumentt hatmayhav ebeensubmi tt
edwi t
htheappl i
cati
on.I
fthecourtor
appli
cantignoresthecaveatanddoesnoti nfor
mt hecaveator
,thedecreeorjudgment
passedbecomesnul l
andv oid.

TheReser v
eBankofI ndiaEmpl oyeesassoci at
ion&anr .V.TheReser veBankofI ndia&Ors,
acav eatpet i
tionwasf il
edbytheappel lant sappr ehendingani njunctionor derbythe
respondent .Forthecav eatfi
l
ed, t
hepl aintif
fswer eservedwi thanot iceandal lother
rel
evantpaper sordocument s.Theywer eal soinformedt hatt heappl i
cati
onwi l
lbemov ed
on28- 10-1980.Howev er,t
heapplicati
onwasnothear dont hesaiddat e,ratherheardlater
on30- 10-1980.Thepet i
ti
onersarguedt hatast hecour tfail
edt oprov i
dethepl ainti
ffwit
h
thenot i
ceoft heorder, t
hejudgmentwoul dbev oidandnul l
, i
naccor dancewi thclause(3)
ofSect i
on148A.Thecour tdi
sagreedwi ththeappel l
antsandhel dt hatcav eatgivesthe
ri
ghtt obei nformedabouthear ingofthecaseandnott akesawayt herightofacour tt
o
deli
veraj udgmentoror deronthemer i
tsoft hecase.Mer elodgingofcav eatdoesnot
depri
v ethecour tofit
spowert odeliv
eror dersorj udgment s.

Howev er,t
heprecedentsetintheabov ecasewasov er
rul nC.
edi G.CSl ddal
ingappav.G.C
Veeranna,wherei
ntheapplicantonf i
li
ngacav eatwasservedwit
hanot i
ce.Howev er
,the
casewasdeci dedonal at
erdat ewithoutgivi
ngnot i
cetotheappell
antaboutt hesame.The
courtheldthatt
heprovisi
onr egar
dingnot i
ceunderSection148A(3)ismandat oryandnon-
complianceofthesamedef eatsthev eryobjectof148A,thust
heor derpassedisv oi
dand
null
.

Ri
ghtanddut
ies

Whenacaveati
sfil
ed,i
tgi
vescert
ainri
ght
sandduti
estothecav
eat
or,
appl
i
cantaswel
las
t
hecour
t.Let
’sconsi
deral
ltheser
ight
sanddut
iessepar
atel
y:

Ri
ght
sanddut
iesoft
hecav
eat
or

Clause(2)oft
hesecti
onprovidesthatwhenacav eathasbeenlodgedundersub-sect
ion
(1),t
hecaveat
orshal
lserveanot i
ceofthecaveattothepersonbywhom t heappl
icat
ion
hasbeenmadeori sexpectedtobemadeundersub- secti
on( 1)
.Thecaveatoratt
hetime
oflodgi
ngthesui
tsaysthateithert
hereisasuiti
nthepresentandinwhichIexpectan
appli
cationisgoingtobemadeort hereisanappl icationexistinginthesui tandIwantt o
berepresented,orhesay sthatasui tisgoingt obef il
edint hef ut
ureandi nt hatsuitan
appli
cationwi l
lbemadeandi nthatappl i
cationIwantt ober epresented.Sowhenev ersuch
anappl i
cati
oncomes, thecav eatorhast herightt obei nf
ormed.Howev er,beforehe
becomesent i
tl
edtonotice,hehast ogi veanot icesay i
ngt hatIhav elodgedacav eatt othe
personfrom whom hei sexpect i
ngsuchanappl icat i
ont obemade.I not herwor ds,the
caveatorhast oserv
enot i
cebyr egisteredpost ,ont heapplicantwhoi sgoi ngt ofil
et hi
s
appli
cationorwhohasal r
eadyf i
ledanappl icati
on, sayingthatwhenev eryouf il
ean
appli
cation,
y ouareboundt ogivenot i
ce.

Ri
ght
sanddut
iesofcour
t

Thedut yoft hecour tari

ses,oncethecav eatislodgedandnot iceisser vedupont he
applicant.Clause(3)oft heSecti
onpr ovi
dest hatafteracaveathasbeenl odgedand
thereafteranyapplicati
onisf i
l
edinanysui torpr oceedi
ng,thecour thast oser v
eanoticeto
thecav eator.Thismeanst hatoncet hecav eatorhasfil
edthecav eatsay ingIwanttobe
representedandaf terthat,anactualappl
icationhasbeenf il
edwi thinthenext90day s,in
thatcase, thecourtwi l
lserveanoticetothecav eator,i
nfor
minghi mt hatt heappli
cati
on
thatwasexpect edbyhi m hasbeenf i
ledandt hecav eat
ortherebyhast her i
ghttobeheard
beforet hecourt.

Ri
ght
sanddut
iesoft
heappl
i
cant

Inadditi
ont othecourtgivi
ngnoti
ce, theapplicanti
salsorequir
edt oserveanot i
cet othe
caveator,inf
ormingthatanappli
cationi nregardtothecaveatfi
ledhasbeenmade.Cl ause
(4)ofthesect i
on,di
rectstheappl
icantt oprov i
deacopyoft heapplicat
ionmadebyhi m
alongwi t
hanyot herdocumentorpapert hatmayhav ebeenf l
edbyhi mi nsupportofhis
appli
cationtothecav eat
or.TheCour twillnotmov efor
wardwi t
ht heapplicat
ionunlessan
affi
davitissubmitt
edbyt heappli
cantt hatanot i
cehasbeenser vedt ot
hecav eator
.

Li
mit
ati
onoft
ime

Asprovidedbyt hesecti
oni nclause5, t
hecav eatstaysinforceforaperi
odof90day s.I
f
wit
hinthese90day sanappl icati
onisf i
l
ed,thent hecourt,aswellastheappli
cant,hasto
gi
venoticet othecaveator.Howev er
, ifnocaveati sfi
ledwi t
hinthese90days,thennoone
hasthedut ytoinf
ormt hecav eator
,i.e.ift
heappl icat
ionisfil
edaf t
ert
heexpir
at i
onofsuch
peri
odthecav eatstandsnullandv oid.Ifthecav eatorst
il
lwant stobeinf
ormedt hena
fr
eshcav eatneedstobel odgedf orthenext90day s.

Commonmi
stakesmadewhi
l
efi
l
ingacav
eat

Someoft
hecommonmi
stakesmadewhi
l
efi
l
ingcav
eatar
easf
oll
ows:

Thecav
eati
sof
tenf
il
edi
nsuppor
tofanappl
i
cat
ion,
iti
simpor
tantt
oremembert
hat
caveatcanbemadeonl yagainstanappl
icat
ion;
Caveatorforgetstoserveanot i
cetothe
appli
cant,whichi
smandatoryunderSecti
on148AofCPC.Cav eatorsoftenclai
mt hatt
he
orderorjudgmentwasincor
rectbecausethenoti
cewasgi ven,evenaftertheexpi
rati
on
peri
od.Itisimpor
tantt
oremembert hataft
er90days,afreshcav eatneedstobef i
led.

I
nher
entpowerofCour
ts(
sec–148-
153B)

Meaningof‘ inherent’
isexisti
nginsomet hi
ngasaper manent,absolut
e,inseparabl
e,
essenti
al orcharacteri
sticatt
ri
bute.I
nher entpower sofcourt
sar ethosepower swhi chmay
beappl i
edbyt hecour ttoperfor
mf ul
l andcompl et
ejusti
cebetweent hepar t
iesbeforeit
.It
i
st hedutyoft heCour tstoservejust
icei nev erycase,whethergiveninthiscodeornot ,
bri
ngswi thittheimpor tantpowertodoj usticei ntheabsenceofadef i
nit
eorsepar ate
provi
sion.Thispoweri ssai dtobethei nherentpowert hatismai ntai
nedbyt hecourt,
thoughnotconf erred.Section151oft heCi vi
l ProcedureCodedeal swiththeinherent
powersoft hecour t.

Pr
ovi
sionsofSect
ion148t
o153BofCPC

Thelawrelat
ingtoi
nherentpowersofCour
tismentionedinSect
ion148toSecti
on153Aof
theCiv
ilPr
ocedureCode,whichdeal
swiththeexer
ciseofpowersindi
ff
erentsi
tuat
ions.
Foll
owingarethepr
ovi
sionsofInher
entpowersofCourts:

 Sect
ion148andSect
ion149deal
swi
thgr
antorenl
argementoft
ime;

 Sect
ion150deal
swi
tht
het
ransf
erofbusi
ness;

 Sect
ion151pr
otect
sthei
nher
entpower
soft
hecour
ts;
and

 Sect
ion152,
153andSect
ion153Adeal
swi
thamendment
sinj
udgment
s,decr
eesor
or
der
sori
nsepar
atepr
oceedi
ngs.

Enl
argementoft
ime

Sect
ion148oftheCPCst atest
hatwhereanyt er
mi sfi
xedorawardedbytheCourtfort
he
doi
ngofanyactpr ov
idedbyCPC,iti
sthediscret
ionar
ypoweroftheCourtthattheCour
t
mayenlar
gesuchper i
odfrom t
imetoti
me, eventhoughtheter
m ori
ginal
l
yfixedorawarded
mayhavedeparted.

Insi
mplewords,
whenat er
misfixedbyprovisi
onforthedoingofanyact,theCour thast
he
powertoext
endsuchperi
odupto30day s.Thispowerisexerci
sabl
einthedef i
ciencyof
anyspeci
fi
cprov
isi
ontothecont
rarywhi
chr educesorrej
ectsorwit
hholdst heperi
od.The
powerisl
imit
edtotheext
ensi
onoftheti
mef i
xedbyitandisofadiscr
etionarynature.
Pay
mentofcour
tfees

Accordi
ngtoSect i
on149ofCPC, “Wheretheent i
reorapor t
ionofanyfeecommandedfor
anycert
ifi
catebythelawf orthet i
mebei nginforcerel
ati
ngt ocourt
-f
eeshasnotbeenmet ,
theCourtmay ,i
nit
sdiscretion,atanystep,permitthepersonbywhom suchf eei
spayable,
topaythewhol eorpartast hecasemaybe, ofsuchcour t
-f
ee;anduponsuchpayment,the
document,inregar
dofwhi chsuchf eeispayable,shal
lhavethesamef or
ceandresul
tasi f
suchfeehadbeenpai dint heinit
ialsi
tuati
on.
”

I
tpermi tsthecourttoal lowapar t
ytomakeupf orthelackofcourtfeesdueonacompl ai
nt
ornoticeofappeal etc.,evenaft
ertheexpir
yofthelimit
ati
onper i
odforfi
li
ngoft helawsui
t
orappeal ,
etc.Paymentoft heexpectedcour
tfeeiscompulsoryforanydocument
i
mput ablewi t
hcour t
-feet obepresentedi
nthecourt.I
fthenecessarycourtfeeispaid
withi
nt hetimesetbyt hecourt
,itcannotbenegot
iatedasti
me- barr
ed.Suchpay mentmade
withi
nt hetimefixedbyt hecourtretr
ospecti
vel
yvali
datesafaultydocument.Thepowerof
thecour ti
sdiscreti
onar yandmustbeexer ci
sedonlyintheimportanceofjusti
ce.

Tr
ansf
erofbusi
ness

AccordingtoSecti
on150ofCPC,“Saveasotherwi
segranted,wher ethebusi
nessofany
Courtisassignedt
oanyotherCourt
,theCour
ttowhichthebusi nessissoassignedshall
havethesameaut hor
it
yandshallmakethesamedutiesast hosesequential
l
ypr esented
andforcedbyorunderthi
sCodeupont heCourtfr
om whichthebusi nesswassoassi gned.
”

Forexample-Whenthebusi
nessofacour
tAistr
ansf
err
edtoanyothercour
tB,
thecour
tB
wil
lexer
cisethesamepowerorperf
ormthesamedut
iesgi
venorcommandedbyCPC
uponthetransf
ercour
t.

Sect
ion151ofCPC

Section151dealswith“Savingofinher
entpower sofCour t
.”ThisSectionstatesthat
‘
Nothi ngi
nCPCshal lbeconsideredtorestri
ctorot her
wiseaf f
ecttheinherentpoweroft he
Courtt omakesuchor dersasmaybei mpor tantfortheendsofj usti
ceort oli
mi tabuseof
themet hodoftheCour t
.’I
tisnotobli
gatoryforthecourttowai tforthelawmadeby
parl
iamentororderfrom thehigherj
udici
ary.Cour thasdiscret
ionaryorinherentpowerto
makesuchanor derwhichisnotgivenintermsofl awsforthesecurityofjusti
ceort o
checkmi suseofthemet hodoftheCour t
.

Thescopeofexer
cisi
ngofSect
ion151ofCPCcanber
epr
esent
edbysomecasesas
fol
l
ows:

 Thecour
tmayr
echecki
tsor
der
sandr
esol
veer
ror
s;
  I
ssuanceofpr
ovi
sional
sanct
ionswhent
hecasei
snoti
ncl
udedbyor
der39ort
o
pl
aceal
ongsi
dean‘
expar
te’
order
;

 I
ll
egal
order
soror
der
spassedwi
thoutj
uri
sdi
cti
oncanbeset
-asi
de;

 Subsequentev
ent
sint
hecasecanbet
akeni
ntoconsi
der
ati
onbyt
hecour
t;

 PowerofCour
ttocont
inuet
ri
al‘
i
ncamer
a’orpr
eventdi
scl
osur
eofi
tspr
oceedi
ngs;

 Thecour
tcaner
aser
emar
ksmadeagai
nstaJudge;
and

 Thecour
tcani
mpr
ovet
hesui
tandr
e-hearonmer
itorr
e-exami
nei
tsor
der
.

Endsofj
ust
ice

InthecaseofDebendr anathvSatyaBal aDass, t

hemeani ngof“endsofjust
ice”was
explained.I twasheldthat“endsofjust i
ce”aresolemnwor ds,al
sother
e’swor dsthatare
notmer elyapolit
eexpr essi
onasperj urist
icmethodology.Thesewordsalsoindicatethat
Justicei sthepursuitandendofal ll
aw.Howev er,t
hisexpressi
onisnotvagueand
i
ndet ermi natenoti
onofj ust
iceaccordingtolawsoft helandandstatut
es.

TheCour tisal
lowedt oexerci
setheseinherentpowersincasesli
ke-t
orecheckit
sown
orderandcor r
ectitserr
or,t
opassi nj
uncti
oni ncasenotincl
udedbyOrder39,andanex
parteorderagainstthepart
y,etc.

Abuseofpr
ocessoft
hecour
t

Secti
on151oft heCPCpr ovidesfortheexer ci
seofinherentpowerstocheckthe
i
nfri
ngementoft heprocessoft hecourt.Abuseofthepower softhecourtwhi
chhappens
i
nunf ai
rnesstothepartyneedst ogetreli
efont hegroundthattheactofacourtshal
lnot
prej
udiceanyone.Whenapar typract
icesfraudonthecour toronapartytoaproceedi
ng,
theremedieshavetobepr ovidedont hebasisofinherentpower.

Thewor d‘abuse’ i
ssai dtooccurwhenaCour tusesamet hodindoingsomethi
ngthatitis
neverexpect edt odoi stheper petr
atorofthesaidabuseandt herei
saf ai
l
ureofjusti
ce.
Theinjusticedonet othepar t
ymustbegi venreli
efont hebasisofthedoctri
neofactus
curi
aenemi nem gr avabit(anactoft hecourtshallpr
ejudicenoone).Apartytoacasewi l
l
becomet heper petratoroftheabusei ncaseswhent hesaidpar t
ydoesactsli
keobtaini
ng
benefi
tsbyf uncti
oni ngfraudont heCourtorapar tytot heproceedi
ngs,pr
omptingthe
multi
plicit
yofpr oceedi ngs,et
c.

Sect
ion152ofCPCdeal
swi
tht
he“
Amendmentofj
udgement
s,decr
ees,
andor
der
.”
Accor
dingtoSecti
on152ofCPC, t
heCour thasthepowertochange(
eitherbyownact
ions
orontheappl
icati
onofanyoft
hepar t
ies)wri
tt
enorarit
hmetical
mist
akesi nj
udgment
s,
decr
eesorordersorf
ault
sari
singfr
om anunexpectedlapseorimper
fecti
on.

Sect
ion153dealswi t
hthe“Generalaut
horit
ytoamend.”ThisSecti
onempowersthecourt
toamendanyf aul
tanderrori
nanypr oceedi
ngsinsui
tsandallrequi
redi
mprovementsshal
l
bemadef ort
hepur poseofar
rangingrai
sedissuesordependi
ngonsuchproceeding.

Sect
ion152and153oft heCPCmakesi
tcl
eart
hatt
hecour
tmaysetcor
rectanybl
under
s
i
ntheirexper
iencesatanyti
me.

Powertoamenddecr
eeororderwher
eanappeali
ssummar i
lydi
smissedandpl
aceofthe
tr
ial
tobedeemedtobeopenCourtar
edef
inedunderSect
ion153Aand153BofCPC,1908.

Li
mit
ati
on

Theexer
ciseofi
nher
entpower
scar
ri
eswi
thi
tcer
tai
nbar
ri
erssuchas:

Theycanbeappli
edonl
yint
hedefici
encyofparti
cul
arprovi
sionsi
ntheCode;
Theycannot
beappli
edi
ndisputewi
thwhathasbeenexpressl
ygivenint
hecode;

Theycanbeappl iedi
nr ar
eorexcept i
onal cases;Whil
eoper ati
ngthepower s,t
hecour thas
tofoll
owt hemet hodshownbyt helegisl
ature;Court
scannei therexerci
sejur
isdicti
onnor
entrusti
nt hem bylaw;Toabidebyt hepr i
ncipleofResJudi catai.
e.,
nottoopent heissues
whichhav ealreadybeendecidedf i
nall
y ;
Topi ckamedi atortomakeanawar dafresh;
Substanti
ver i
ghtsofthepar t
iesshallnotbet akenaway ;
Tol imitapartyfr
om taking
proceedi
ngsi nacour toflaw;andTosetapar tanorderwhi chwasv ali
datthemomentof
i
tsissuance.

Execut
ionofJudgementandDecr
ee(
Order21)

Meani
ng,
Nat
ureandScope

Theterm“ executi
on”isnotdefi
nedi ntheCPC.Thet erm“ execut
ion”meansimpl ementing
orenfor
cingorgi vi
ngef f
ecttoanorderora judgmentpassedbyt hecourtofjusti
ce.I
n
si
mplewor ds“execut
ion”meansthepr ocessofenforci
ngorgi vi
ngef f
ecttothedecreeor
j
udgmentoft hecourt
, bycompell
i
ngt hejudgment-debtortocarryoutthemandat eofthe
decr
eeoror derandenablethedecree-
holdertorecoverthethinggrant
edtohi m by
j
udgment .

I
ll
ust
rat
ion:
Xfil
esasui tagainstYf orRs20,000andobt ai
nsadecreeagai nsthim.HereXwouldbe
call
edthedecr ee-
holder ,Yisthejudgment-
debtor,
andtheamountofRs20, 000ist
he
j
udgment -debt.Yisboundt opayRs20, 000toX,asthedecr eeispassedagai
nsthi
m.
SupposeYr efusest opayt hedecretal
amounttoX, Xcanr ecoverthesai
damountby
executi
onthrought hej udi
cial
process.Thepri
ncipl
esgov erni
ngtheexecuti
onofadecree
ororderaregiveninSect i
on36toSect i
on74(substant
ivelaw)andOr der21ofthecode
whichprovidesforpr ocedurall
aw.

Execut
ionpr
oceedi
ngsunderCPC

InGhanShyam Dasv.AnantKumarSinha,theSupr
emeCour tdealtwiththepr
ovi
sionsof
thecoderel
ati
ngtotheexecut
ionofordersanddecreeandstatedthattheCodecontai
ns
elabor
atepr
ovisi
onswhichdealwi
thallquesti
onsregar
dingexecutabi
li
tyofadecr
eei nal
l
aspects.

TheCour tfurtherobservedthatnumer ouspr ov

isi
onsofOr der21t akecar eofvari
ous
sit
uati
onspr ov i
dingeffecti
veremedi estoj
udgment -
debtors,decree- holdersandclai
mant
object
or s.Inthecases, whereprovi
sionsarenotcapableofgi vingr eli
efinadequat
e
measur esandappr opri
ateti
me, toanaggrievedpart
y,thenfil
ingar egularsuiti
nthecivi
l
courtisthesol ut
ion.TheCour tfurt
herexplai
nedthatthejudicialqual i
tyoftheremedy
underCi vil
Pr ocedur eCodeisconsi deredt
obesuper i
orascompar edt ootherstat
utes
theref
ore, t
hej udgesar eexpectedt odobet t
erastheyareent r
ust edwi ththeadminist
rat
ion
ofjusti
ce

Cour
tswhi
chcanexecut
edecr
ees

Secti
on38oftheCodestat
est
hatadecreecanbeexecutedeit
herbyt
heCour
toft
hef
ir
st
i
nstanceorbytheCour
ttowhi
chithasbeensentf
orexecuti
on.

Sect
ion37oftheCodef urt
herest
abl
ishesthescopeoft
heexpr
essi
on“cour
twhichpassed
adecree”wi
ththeobjectofenabl
i
ngadecr ee-
hol
dertor
ecov
erthef
rui
tsofthedecr
ee.The
cour
tswhichfal
lwit
hinthesaidexpr
essionareasfol
l
ows:

Thecour
toft
hef
ir
sti
nst
ance;

Thecour
twhi
chact
ual
l
ypassedt
hedecr
eei
ncaseofappel
l
atedecr
ees;

Thecourtwhichhasjuri
sdi
cti
ontotryt
hesui
tatt
het
imeofexecuti
on,i
fthecourtoffi
rst
i
nstanceceasedtoexist
;Thecourtwhi
chatt
heti
meofexecut
ionhadjur
isdict
iont
ot r
ythe
sui
t,i
fthecourtoff
ir
stinst
ancehasceasedt
ohavej
uri
sdi
cti
ontoexecutethedecree.

Explanat
iont
ot hesect
ionclar
if
iest
hatthecour
toff
ir
stinst
anceshal
lhavej
uri
sdict
iont
o
executeadecreeeveninthecaseofanyareabei
ngt
ransfer
redfr
om t
hejuri
sdi
cti
onofthe
courtoffi
rstinst
ancetothejur
isdi
cti
onofanyot hercourt
.Insuchcases,thecourtt
othe
j
urisdi
cti
onofwhi chsuchareahasbeent r
ansf
erredwi l
lal
sohav ejuri
sdi
cti
ontoexecute
thedecree,provi
dedthatt
hesaidcourthadjur
isdict
iontotrythesaidsui
twhent he
appli
cati
onf orexecut
ionwasmade.

Tr
ansf
erofdecr
eef
orexecut
ion

Secti
on39pr
ov i
desthatwhenadecree-hol
dermakesanappl i
cat
iontot
hecour
tofthef
ir
st
i
nstancet
osendt hedecr
eeforexecuti
ontoanothercour
t,t
hecourtoff
ir
sti
nst
ancemay
dothesameifanyofthefol
lowi
nggr oundsexi
st:

I
fthej
udgment-debt
orcarr
iesonbusi ness,orr
esidesorpersonall
ywor ksforgai
n,wi
thi
n
t
hejur
isdi
cti
onofsuchCour t
;ifthepropert
yofjudgment-debtordoesnotcomeundert he
j
uri
sdi
cti
onoftheCourtofthef i
rsti
nstancebutitcomesundert helocall
imitsoft
he
j
uri
sdi
cti
onofsuchCourt;

I
ft hedecr eedir
ectsdel
i
ver
yorsaleofimmovablepr
opert
ysit
uatedoutsi
dethejur
isdi
cti
on
oft heCour twhi
chpassedthesame;Ift
heCourtwhi
chhadpassedt hedecr
eeconsider
s
thatt hedecreeshoul
dbeexecutedbyanot
hercourt
,buti
tshal
lrecordt
hereasonsin
writingfordoingthesame.

Secti
on39(2)st
atest
hattheCour
tofthefi
rsti
nstancemaysuomot
usendi
tforexecut
ion
toanysubordi
nat
eCourtofcompetentj
uri
sdi
cti
on.

TheSecti
onf ur
therstat
esthati
ftheexecut
ionofthedecr
eeisagai
nstaper
sonorpr
opert
y
out
sidetheterr
it
orial
jur
isdi
cti
onofthecourtpassi
ngthedecr
ee,t
hensuchCour
thasno
powertoexecutethedecree.

nMahadeoPr
I asadSi nghv .Ram Lochan,t
heSupremecourthel
dthatt
heprovi
sionsof
Sect
ion39arenotmandat orybecausethecourtwil
lhav
ediscr
eti
oninthematt
erwhichcan
beexerci
sedbyit
,judici
ally.Thedecree-
hol
derwouldnothaveanyvest
edorsubstant
ive
ri
ghttogett
hedecr eetransferr
edtoanothercourt
.

Execut
ionoff
orei
gndecr
eesi
nIndi
a

TheCodelaysdowntheprocedur
eforexecuti
onoffor
eignjudgmentsanddecreesi
nIndi
a.
Whil
eenforci
ngafor
eignj
udgmentordecreeinIndi
aitshouldbeensuredthatt
he
j
udgmentordecreei
saconclusiv
eone,givenonthemerit
soft hecaseandbyacourt
havi
ngcompetentj
uri
sdi
cti
on.

Whati
saf
orei
gnj
udgmentandaf
orei
gndecr
ee?

Sect
ion2(
6)oft
heCPCdef
inesaf
orei
gnj
udgmentasaj
udgmentofaf
orei
gncour
t.Asper
secti
on2(5)ofCPC,afor
eigncourti
mpli
esacourtwhichissi
tuat
edout
sideI
ndi
aand
whichisnotest
abl
ishedorcont
inuedbytheaut
hori
tyoftheCentr
alGov
ernment
.

Aforei
gndecr
eeisdefi
nedinExplanati
onI It
osect i
on44AoftheCPCasadecr eeor
j
udgmentofsuchcourtandwhichdirectsthatasum ofmoneyispayable.However,such
sum ofmoneyshal
lnotbeasum pay ableinrespectoft
axesorot
herchar gesofalike
natur
eori
nrespectofanypenalt
yorf i
ne.Itshouldnoti
ncl
udeanarbit
ralaward,evenif
suchanawardisenf
orceabl
easadecr eeorjudgment.

For
eignj
udgmentordecr
eeneedst
obeconcl
usi
ve

Afor
eigndecreeorjudgmentneedst obeconclusi
vei
nnature.Secti
on13oftheCPClays
downthetestforconcl
usivenessofaforei
gnjudgmentordecree,
whichsay
st hataf
orei
gn
j
udgmentwoul dbeconclusiveinal
lcasesexceptt
hefol
lowing:

 Whenacour
tofcompet
entj
uri
sdi
cti
onhasnotpr
onouncedi
t;

 Wheni
thasnotbeenpr
onouncedont
hemer
it
soft
hecase;

 Wheni
thasbeenbasedonawr
ongv
iewofi
nter
nat
ional
laworar
efusal
to
r
ecogni
zet
hel
awofI
ndi
aincasesi
nwhi
chsuchl
awi
sappl
i
cabl
e;

 Whent
hepr
oceedi
ngscar
ri
edoutwhi
l
eobt
aini
ngt
hej
udgmentar
eopposedt
o
nat
ural
just
ice;
Whensuchj
udgmenthasbeenobt
ainedbyf
raud;

 Wheni
tsust
ainsacl
aimt
hathadbeenbasedonabr
eachofanyl
awi
nfor
cei
nIndi
a.

Thus,aforeignjudgementordecreeshal
lpassthesev entest
sment i
onedabove.Otherwi
se,
suchfor
eignj udgmentordecreecannotbeenforcedinIndiaassuchjudgmentordecree
wil
lnotber egardedasconcl
usiveifi
tfai
lsanyofthesetests.

Modeofenf
orcementofaf
orei
gnj
udgmentordecr
ee

Twoway
sinwhi
chadecr
eeorf
orei
gnj
udgmentcanbeenf
orcedi
nIndi
aar
easf
oll
ows:

Wher
ethedecr
eeorj
udgmenthasbeengi
venbyacour
tinar
eci
procat
ingt
err
it
ory
;

Wher
edecr
eeorj
udgmenthasbeengi
venbyacour
tinanon-
reci
procat
ingt
err
it
ory
.

Execut
ionoff
orei
gndecr
eeofar
eci
procat
ingt
err
it
oryi
nIndi
a
AccordingtoSect
ion44AoftheCPC,
adecr eeofanysuper
iorcour
tofareci
procat
ing
ter
ri
toryshall
beexecutedi
nIndi
aasthathasbeenpassedbythedist
ri
ctcour
t.

“Reci
procati
ngt er
ri
tory
“signi
fi
es,
anyt erri
tor
yorcountryoutsi
deIndiawhi
cht heCentral
Governmenthasdecl aredtobeareciprocati
ngter
rit
ory,
bynotifi
cat
ionintheOffi
cial
Gazette,and“superi
orcourt
s“,
wit
hr eferencetoanyreci
procat
ingterr
it
ory
, meanssuch
court
st hatwouldbespecifi
edint
hesai dnot i
fi
cat
ion.

Theref
ore,ajudgmentwhi chhasbeenpr onouncedbyacour tofar eci
procat
ingt
erri
tor
y
canbeenf or
cedi nI
ndiaasanI ndiandecreebyfili
nganexecuti
onappl i
cati
on.Acert
ifi
ed
copyofadecr eeofanysuper i
orcourtofar eci
procati
ngt
erri
toryshouldbefil
edinaDistr
ict
Court,
oncethisisdone,thedecr eeshallbeexecut edasi
fithadbeenpassedbyt heDistr
ict
CourtofIndi
aandt heprov i
sionsgov er
ningexecutionwhi
char elai
ddowni nOrder21ofthe
CPCwi l
lbeapplicabl
etot hedecr ee.

Whil
efil
i
ngt heexecutionappli
cat
iont
heorigi
nal
certi
fi
edcopyofthedecr
eeshall
bef i
l
ed
al
ongwithacertif
icatef r
om t
hesuper
iorcour
tstat
ingtheext
entt
owhichthedecreehas
beensati
sfi
edoradj usted.

Execut
ioni
ncaseofdecr
eesf
rom non-
reci
procat
ingt
err
it
ori
es

I
nthecaseswhereajudgmentordecreehasnotbeenpronouncedbyacour tofa
r
ecipr
ocat
ingter
ri
tory
, i
tcanbeexecut
edonlywhenaf r
eshsuitonthatfor
eignjudgmenti
s
f
il
edinacourtofIndiawhichhascompetentj
uri
sdi
cti
ontoentert
ainthesame.

TheBombayHi ghCourt,i
nMar ineGeotechnicsLLCv s.CoastalMar i
neConstructi
on&
Engineer
ingLtd.,
observedthatwhenadecr eehasbeenpr onouncedbyacour tofanon-
reci
procati
ngforei
gnterri
tor
y ,
itcannotbeexecut edunlessaf reshsuithasbeenf i
l
edby
thedecree-
holderonthatforei
gndecreeoront heorigi
nalcauseofact i
on,orboth.Thesui
t
mustbef il
edwithi
naper i
odoft hreeyearsfrom thedateofthej udgmentordecree.The
personseekingexecuti
onshallshowt hattheforeigndecr
eepassest hetest
sofSect i
on13.

Thecourtf
urtherobservedthatSection13oft heCodepr ovi
dessubstant
ivelawand
Sect
ion44Aoft heCodei sanenabl i
ngpr ovisionanditenabl
esadecr ee-
holdertoputa
decr
eeobtainedfrom acourtofar eciprocatingter
ri
toryi
ntoexecuti
on.Section13clearl
y
expr
essestheprinci
plesofprivat
eint er
nationallaw,t
hatacourtwil
lnotenfor ceaforei
gn
j
udgmentofacompet entcourt
.

Execut
ionofI
ndi
andecr
eesi
naf
orei
gnt
err
it
ory

Section45oftheCodei srel
atedt
otheexecuti
onofdecr eesoutsidetheterr
it
oryofI
ndia.I
t
statesthataCourthasthepowertosendadecr eeforexecut i
ontoaCour toutsi
deIndi
a
whichhasbeenest abli
shedbytheCentr
alGovernment ’
saut hori
ty.I
tshouldbeensured
thattheStatehas,bynoti
fi
cati
onint
heOf f
ici
alGazette,declaredthesaidsecti
oncanapply
t
osuchCour
t.Apl
ainr
eadi
ngoft
heaf
oresai
d pr
ovi
siony
iel
dst
hef
oll
owi
ngf
eat
ures:

Thedecreewhi
chhast
obeexecut
edshoul
dbeofanI
ndi
anCour
tandi
tshoul
dbef
or
execut
ioninaf
orei
gnt
err
it
ory
.

TheCent ral
Gov er
nmentshoul
dhaveestabl
ishedthet
ransf
ereecour
tinsuchfor
eign
terr
it
ory.TheStateGover
nmentshouldhavedeclar
edbynoti
fi
cati
onintheOff
ici
alGazet
te
thatthi
ssectionwill
appl
ytothesai
dforei
gnCour t
.

Theprov i
sion,
theref
ore,prescri
bestheprer
equisit
econdit
ionsf
ortheexecutionofan
Indi
andecr eeoutsi
dethecount ry
.Theref
ore,i
ntheabsenceofeitheroftheaforesai
d
condit
ionsinSection45,anI ndi
anCourthasnoj ur
isdi
cti
ontosenditsdecreeforexecut
ion
toaCour tnotsit
uatedinIndia.

Execut
ionofdecr
eeatmor
ethanonepl
ace

Ther
ei snoprovi
sioni
ntheCodewhi
chprev
entsadecree-
hol
derfr
om executi
ngadecr
ee
si
multaneousl
yatmorethanonepl
aceagai
nstt
hepropert
yofthej
udgment -
debt
or.

InPrem LataAgarwalvsLakshmanPr asadGupta&Or s,SupremeCour tobservedthat

“si
multaneousexecuti
onproceedinginmor ethanonepl aceispossi bl
ebutthepowershall
beusedi narest
ri
ctedmanner ,
inexcept i
onalcasesbyimposi ngpr operter
mssot hatt
he
j
udgmentdebt or
sdonotf aceanyhar dshipbecauseofsev eralexecuti
onsar ebeing
all
owedt obeproceededwithatthesamet i
me.”Therefore,simult
aneousexecut i
on
proceedi
ngsarenotwi t
houtjur
isdict
ionoril
legal
.

Mor
eover,
asperSect
ion39oftheCode, si
mult
aneousexecut
ionofadecreeisper
missi
ve
i
nnatur
easitpr
ovi
desforexecuti
onofadecreeeit
herbytheCourtoff
ir
stinst
anceorby
t
heCourtt
owhichiti
ssentforexecut
ion.

Pr
ocedur
einexecut
ion

Sect
ion51t
o54oft
heCodet
alksaboutt
hepr
ocedur
einexecut
ion.

Sect
ion51

Thesectionst
atesthejur
isdi
cti
onandpoweroft hecourti
nexecuti
ngadecree.An
appl
icat
ionforexecut
ionofthedecr
eecaneitherbeoralorwri
tt
en.Thecourtmayexecut
e
decr
eeaspert hemodeofi mplement
ati
onprayedbyt hedecr
ee-hol
derorasthecour
t
deemsfit.

Modeofexecut
ingdecr
ee
  Bydel
i
ver
yofanypr
oper
ty(
mov
abl
eori
mmov
abl
e)speci
fi
cal
l
ydecr
eed.

 Bysal
eoft
hepr
oper
tywi
thorwi
thoutt
heat
tachmentoft
hepr
oper
ty.I
fthepr
oper
ty
i
ssit
uatedwi
thi
nthej
uri
sdi
cti
onoft
hecour
ttheni
thast
hepowert
oat
tacht
he
pr
opert
y.

 Byar
restanddet
ent
ion.Howev
er,
thi
smodeshoul
dnotbeexer
cisedwi
thoutgi
vi
ng
areasonabl
eoppor
tuni
tyt
othejudgment-
debt
or,
int
hef
orm ofashow-
causenot
ice
astowhyheshouldnotbeimpr
isoned.

Execut
ionbyappoi
nti
ngar
ecei
ver

Ifanyothermodeapar
tfr
om t
heonesmenti
onedi
ncl
ause(
a)t
o(c)needst
obeusedi
nthe
execut
ionofadecreet
hencl
ause(
e)comesint
opl
ay.

Sect
ion52

Thissectiondealswiththecaseswher ethedecreei spassedagainstt helegal

representat
iveofthejudgment-debtor(
deceased) .Solongast hepropertyofthedeceased
remainsinthehandsofal egalr
epresentat
ive,adecreecanbeexecut edagainstthe
property,
ifi
tisforthepaymentofmoneyoutoft hepropertyofthedeceasedandi ft
he
decreehasbeenpassedagai nstthepart
yast helegalrepresentat
iveoft hedeceased
person.

I
nasi t
uati
onwherethepr opert
ywhichisint
hepossessionofthej
udgement-
debtorcame
i
nt hehandsofthelegalrepresent
ati
v eandi
thasnotbeendulyappl
iedbyhi
m, t
hecourt
wil
l enfor
cetheexecut
ionoft hedecreeagai
nsthi
m asifthedecr
eewastotheextent
passedagainsthi
m personally.

Sect
ion53

TheSect i
onstatesthatwhenapropert
yisl
iableforpaymentofadebtofadeceased
ancestoranditi
si nthehandsofasonanddescendant ,t
hentheproper
tywil
lbedeemedt
o
beofthedeceasedwhi chhasashi
slegalr
epresentat
ivecomeintothehandsoft
hesonor
otherdescendants.

Sect
ion54

Whenadecr eehasbeenpassedf orpar

tit
ionorf ortheseparat
epossessionofashar eof
anundivi
dedest at
eforthepaymentofr evenuetot hegovernment,thi
ssecti
oncomesi nt
o
pl
ay.Thepartit
ionoftheestateorshareneedst obemadebyt hecol l
ect
or,butifthe
col
lect
ordeniesmakingt hepart
it
ionofther ev
enuepay i
ngpropert
y, t
hentheci
vilcourtcan
doso.Toattracttheprovisi
onsofthi
ssect i
on,theplaint
if
faskingforthediv
isi
onof
gov
ernmentr
evenuei
snotdeemedasanessent
ial
condi
ti
on.

Power
soft
het
ransf
erorcour
t

Onceacour twhichhaspassedadecreeandtr
ansferr
edittoanothercourtofcompetent
j
urisdi
cti
on,itwoul
dceasetohavejur
isdi
cti
onoverthatdecr
eeandi tcannotexecut
ethe
decree.Then,onl
ythetr
ansfer
eecour
tcanentert
ainanapplicat
ionforexecuti
on.

Power
soft
het
ransf
ereecour
t

UnderOrder21Rul e8oftheCode,ifadecreeundert
heprovi
sionsofsecti
on39hasbeen
sentforex
ecutiontoanotherdi
str
ict,
itmaybeexecutedbyeit
herthedist
ri
ctcourtt
owhich
i
twassentorbyasubor di
natecourtwhichhascompetentj
uri
sdict
ion,
towhichthedist
ri
ct
courtmayreferit
.

Secti
on42prov
idesforthepowersofthetransf
ereecour
tandst
atest
hatt
heCour tt
o
whichadecr
eehasbeensentf orexecut
ionshall
havethesamepower
sinexecut
ionof
suchdecr
eeasifithadbeenpassedbyitself
.

TheCour thast hepowert opunisht

hepersonswhocauseobst ructi
onsintheexecuti
onof
thedecreeandt hepowershallbeexer
cisedbythecourtasift
hedecr eehasbeenpassed
byit.Themai nobj ectofgi
vi
ngsuchpower stot
het r
ansfer
eecour ti
st oensurethatt
he
j
udgment -debtorpay sthemoneyorgivessuchotherthi
ngtothedecr ee-
holderaswouldbe
dir
ectedbyt hedecr ee.

TheCour
twi
l
lhav
ethef
oll
owi
ngpower
s,namel
y:
—

 Tosendt
hedecr
eef
orexecut
iont
oanot
herCour
tundersect
ion39.

 Toenf
orceexecut
ionofadecr
eeagai
nstt
hel
egal
repr
esent
ati
veoft
hedeceased
j
udgment
-debt
orundersect
ion50.

 Toor
derat
tachmentofadecr
ee.

Howev er
,thecourttowhichadecreei
ssentforexecuti
onwillnothavet
hepowertoorder
executi
onattheinstanceoft
het r
ansf
ereeofthedecreeandthepowertograntl
eaveto
executeadecreepassedagainstafi
rm agai
nstanyperson,
otherthanaper
sonrefer
redto
i
nRul e50ofOr derXXI.

Power
sofexecut
ingcour
t

Thesect
ionst
atest
hej
uri
sdi
cti
onandpoweroft
hecour
tinexecut
ingadecr
ee.An
appl
icat
ionforexecut
ionofthedecr
eecanei
therbeor
alorwri
tt
en.Thecourtmayexecut
e
decr
eeaspert hemodeofi mplement
ati
onpr
ayedbythedecr
ee-hol
derorasthecour
t
deemsfit.

Modeofexecut
ingadecr
ee

Bydel
i
ver
yofanypr
oper
ty(
mov
abl
eori
mmov
abl
e)speci
fi
cal
l
ydecr
eed.

Bysal
eoft
hepropert
ywithorwit
houttheatt
achmentoft
heproper
ty.Ift
heproper
tyis
si
tuat
edwi
thi
nthejur
isdi
cti
onofthecourtt
henithast
hepowertoattachthepr
opert
y.

Byar r
estanddetent
ion.Howev er
,thi
smodeshoul
dnotbeexerci
sedwit
houtgi
vinga
reasonabl
eopportuni
tytothejudgment-
debt
or,
int
heform ofashow-
causenot
iceasto
whyheshoul dnotbeimprisoned.

Execut
ionbyappoi
nti
ngar
ecei
ver
.

Ifanyothermodeapar
tfr
om t
heonesmenti
onedi
ncl
ause(
a)t
o(c)needst
obeusedi
nthe
execut
ionofadecreet
hencl
ause(
e)comesint
opl
ay.

Jur
isdi
cti
onandPl
aceofSui
ng(
Sec.15t
o20)

Meani
ngofj
uri
sdi
cti
on

I
ngeneralmeani
ng,Jur
isdi
cti
onisthepoweroft
heCour
ttot
aket
hecogni
zanceofan
of
fenceandtodeter
minethecauseofacti
on.

Accor
dingt oBl
ack’
sLawdi
cti
onar
yJur
isdi
cti
onmeans“
Acour
t’
spowert
odeci
deona
caseorissueadecree.
”

Thejur
isdi
cti
onwasdefinedinthecaseofHirdayNathvsRam Chandra.TheHighCour
tof
Cal
cutt
astatedthatj
uri
sdict
ionmaybedefinedasjudici
alpowerofCour
ttohearand
det
erminethecauseandadjudicat
euponit
.

Jur
isdi
cti
oni
sdeci
dedmai
nlyont
hebasi
sof
:-

 Pecuni
aryv
alue

 Local
li
mit
sofCour
t

 Thesubj
ectmat
terofCour
t
Sot heCour
tbef
oretakingthecogni
zanceofof
fence,
thef
oll
owi
ngpoi
ntsneedst
obe
takenint
oconsi
der
ation:-

 Thepecuni
aryv
alueoft
hesui
t

 Thenat
ureoft
hecase

 Thet
err
it
ori
all
i
mit
soft
hecour
t

Iti
snotonl ysuff
ici
entthatf
orum musthaveanauthori
tyt
odealwitht
hematt
erort
hatt
he
courthasapecuni ar
yjuri
sdi
cti
onorthecourthasalocalj
uri
sdi
cti
onbutt
hecour
tmustbe
compet entenoughtogranttherel
i
efinsuchmatter
.

Jur
isdi
cti
onofCi
vi
lCour
t(Sect
ion9)

Thewor dciv
ilisnotdefi
nedi nsecti
on9i tself.Accor di
ngtoDi cti
onary“ci
vi
lri
ght
sispri
vat
e
ri
ghtsandremedi esthatarediff
erentfr
om t hecr i
mi nalandpol i
ti
cal”
.Theword“nat
ure”
i
ndicatest
hei denti
tyoressenti
alcharacterofaper sonort hi
ng.So, wecandrawthe
defi
nit
ionofsuitsofcivi
lnaturemeanst hatt hesuitinadi sputerelat
ingtopri
vat
eri
ghts
andthesuitmustnotber el
atedtoapol i
ticalorcrimi nalmatter.

Theciv
ilcour
tshal
lhav
ejur
isdi
cti
ont
otr
yal
lthesui
tsexceptt
hesui
twhi
chi
simpl
i
edl
yor
expr
esslybar
red.

Asuitwhichisrelat
edt otherighttopr
opertyorsui
tinwhi
chof f
iceiscontest
edisofcivi
l
natur
esuit,
notwithstandi
ngt hatsuchri
ghtmaydependent i
rel
yont hedecisi
onsof
questi
onsastor eli
giousceremoniesorrit
es.Iti
simmater
ialwhetherthefeestotheoff
ice
areatt
achedornot ,orwhethersuchanof fi
ceisatt
achedt
oapar t
icul
arpl
aceornot .

Thesui twhi chi sexpr esslybarredmeanst hesui twhichi sbar r

edbyanyst at
uteorany
otherlawf ort het i
mebei ngi nforce.Thel egislat
urehasanopt iontobart hejuri
sdicti
onof
thecivilcour twi threspectt oapar ti
cularclassofsui tkeepi ngi t
selfwiththeambi tofthe
powerconf er r
edont heConst i
tuti
onofI ndia.Theest ablishmentoft hetri
bunal hastaken
awayt hej urisdictionoft heci vi
l courtwithr egardtot hesubj ectmat tert
hatisallott
edt othe
tri
bunal ont hef irstinstance, howev er,i
fanyquest ionsr elatedt olawr ai
sed,orany
provisi
onoft heactsocr eatedt hetri
bunal canbel ookedi ntobyt hecivi
lcourt.Theci vi
l
courthasnoj urisdictionov erthemat t
erinwhi chcour tundert heCodeofCr i
minal
Procedur e,Rev enueCour thasexcl usivejurisdicti
on,ormat terisdealtwithspecialtr
ibunal
dealtunderspeci alstatutes.exampl eMot orAcci dent sCl aimsTr ibunal,
Cooper ati
ve
Tribunal.

Asuitisi
mpli
edl
ybarr
edwheniti
sbarr
edbyei
therthegeneralpr
inci
pleofl
aworgener
al
conductofl
aw.Thebasi
cpur
poseofbarr
edi
mpliedl
yisthatthecour
tshoul
dnotdealwit
h
t
hemat
terwhi
chcausesi
njur
ioust
othepubl
i
corwhi
chi
sagai
nstt
hepubl
i
cwi
l
l.

I
nthecaseofP.
M.AMet
ropol
i
tanv
sMor
anMarMar
thoma[
2],

TheSupr
emeCour
tobser
vedt
hat
:-

 Thephr
asesusedi
nsect
ion9hasaposi
ti
veandnegat
ivemeani
ng

 Theear
li
erpar
thasawi
dersenseasi
tcov
ersal
lthemat
terofci
vi
lnat
ure;
ont
he
ot
herhand,t
helatt
erparthasawi
dersenseasi
texcl
udest
hemat
terwhi
chi
s
i
mpli
edlyorexpr
esslybarr
ed.

 Thet
woexpl
anat
ionsment
ionedi
nSect
ion9expr
essest
hel
egi
slat
ivei
ntent
ions.

 I
tcastanobl
i
gat
ionont
hecour
ttoexer
ciset
hej
uri
sdi
cti
onf
ort
heenf
orcementof
pr
ivat
eri
ght
s

 Nocour
tisatdi
scr
eti
ont
oref
uset
hemat
terwhi
chf
all
sundert
hissect
ion

 I
tismandat
oryt
otaket
hecogni
zanceofmat
terbecauset
hewor
d“shal
l
”isused
whi
chmeanst
hati
tisamandat
orysect
ion.

I
nthecaseofShankarNar
ayananPot
tiv
sK.Sr
eedev
i

TheSupr
emeCourthel
dthatt
he‘Civi
lCourthasinher
entj
uri
sdict
ioninall
typesofci
vi
l
matt
erasperSect
ion9ofCPCunlessthesuiti
sexpressl
yorimpliedl
ybarr
ed.”

Thismeanst hatLegisl
atur
ecanexcl
udet
hej
uri
sdi
cti
onoft
heci
vi
lcour
tbyi
nser
ti
nga
provi
sionorclauseinanyActit
sel
f.

InthecaseofSt ateofA. PVSManj et

iLaxmikanthRao, t hecour theldthatforthepur pose
ofconst r
ucti
ngt het esttodeterminetheexclusionofci v i
lcourtitisnecessarytol ookinto
theintentofthel egisl
aturetoexcludet hej
uri
sdict
ion.Itmeanst hatthetestisdonet o
determinewhet hert hereisanyreasonf ort
heexclusionofj uri
sdictionandi ft
herei sany
reason,tofurtherfindoutwhet herthejustreasonisjust if
iedornot .Althoughjustifi
cati
onis
notsubjectedt ojudicialr
eview.Oncet hecourtsati
sfiesi tsel
foft hereason, t
heni tneedsto
determinewhet hert heActwhi chexcludesthejuri
sdictionpr ovi
desanal ter
nativ
er emedy
forthesameornot .Analternati
veremedymustbei nr egar dtosuchf uncti
onwhi chcivil
courtmustexer cisei nabsenceofsuchexcl usionandwoul dbeempower edtopassany
orderwhichtheci vi
lcourtinsimil
arcircumstanceswoul dhav epassed.

I
nthecaseofBarCounci
lofWestBengal
vsA.Aust
in.TheHi
ghCour
tofCal
cut
tast
ates
t
hatwhenthestatut
ewhichbar
sthejur
isdi
cti
ondoesnotpr
ovi
deanal
ter
nat
iver
emedy
t
henthej
urisdi
cti
onoft
hecivi
lcour
tcannotbeexcl
uded.

I
nthecaseofBal
awwav
sHasanabi

I
fapartoft
hesui
tisexcl
udedfr
om thej
urisdi
cti
onofciv
ilcour
ttheni
tisnotnecessar
y
t
hatt
heenti
resui
tcannotbei
nsti
tut
edinthecivi
lcour
t.

InthecaseofShr
iPanchNagarParakvsPurushott
am Das.I
fther
earenoexpress
provi
sionsi
nanystat
utet
hecourtneedstol
ooki nt
othepurpose,
schemeandr el
evant
provi
sionsoft
heActinor
dertodeter
mineimpli
edexclusi
onofthejur
isdi
cti
onofacivi
l
court
.Secti
on15to20dealswit
htheplaceofsuing.

Ther
ear
ethr
eeki
ndsofj
uri
sdi
cti
ont
odet
ermi
net
hepl
aceofsui
ng:
-

 Ter
ri
tor
ial
jur
isdi
cti
ons

 Pecuni
aryj
uri
sdi
cti
ons

 Subj
ectmat
terj
uri
sdi
cti
on

Whenev erthesuitisbr oughtbef or

ethecour tthef i
rstquestionist odeterminewhet herthe
courthasjuri
sdicti
ont odeal witht
hemat ter.I
ft hecour thasallthese( t
erri
tori
al,
pecuniary,
orsubjectmatterjurisdicti
ont henonlythecour thast hepowert odeal wit
ht hecase.Inthe
case,ift
hecour tdoesnothav eanyoftheabov e-ment i
onedf actor
st henitwi l
lbe
consideredaslackofj ur i
sdicti
onorthei r
regul
arexer ciseofjur i
sdict
ion.whent hecour t
whodoesnothav ej uri
sdicti
ondeci dethecaseandgi v eadeci si
ont hensuchdeci si
onwi ll
beconsideredasv oidorv oi
dabl edependingupont hedi f
fer
entci r
cumst ances.

Pecuni
aryj
uri
sdi
cti
on(Sect
ion15)

Everysuitshallbeinstit
utedinthecour
toflowestgradecompetenttot
ryi
t.Theword
compet entdenot esthatthecourtmusthavethepowertohearthecasewit
hregardsto
pecuniaryjur
isdicti
on.Thecourtoflowestgradewhohasaj ur
isdi
cti
onwit
hregardsto
pecuniaryval
ueshal ldeal wi
ththecaseatfi
rsti
nstance.

Thei
ssuear
ises:
-whowi
l
ldet
ermi
net
hev
alueoft
hesui
t?

Ordi
nar i
l
y ,
theplai
nti
ffmakesthevaluat i
onofthesuitfort
hepurposeofdeterminingthe
pecuniaryjur
isdi
cti
onofthecourtunlessitpri
maf aci
eappearstothecourtthatthe
val
uati
onwasnotdonecor rect
ly.Whent hecour
tfindsthatt
hevaluat
ionwasei t
herdone
overv
aluedorunder val
ued,
thenthev aluati
onwil
lbedonebyt heCourtandthecour twil
l
di
rectt
hepar
tyt
oappr
oacht
heappr
opr
iat
efor
um.

Thej
uri
sdi
cti
onofthecour
tisdeci
dedbyt
hepl
aint
if
fval
uat
ionbutnott
heamountf
or
whi
chdecr
eeispassed.

Letsusunder st
andfrom anexample,i
fthecourthasapecuni ar
yjur
isdi
cti
onofRs15000
andthesui tf
orrecov
eryofaccountsisfi
ledonthevaluati
onofsuitdonebytheplai
nti
ff
.
Thev aluat
ionwasofRs15000.Lat ert
hecourtsfi
ndthatRs20000i sdue,int
hiscase,
the
courtisnotdepri
vedofit
sjuri
sdict
iontopassadecreef orthatamount.

Iti
stheval
uati
ondonebyt heplai
nti
fft
odeter
minethejur
isdict
ionofthecour
t.Butt
his
doesnotmeant hatt
heplai
ntif
fissetf
reet
ofil
eforanyarbit
raryval
ueandtochoosethe
courti
nwhichhewant st
of i
l
easui t
.

Whenthecour
tfi
ndsthatval
uati
onisdoneimpr
operl
yfort
hepurposeofav
oidi
ngthe
j
uri
sdi
cti
onoftheappr
opri
atecourt
,thecour
tmayrequi
ret
heplai
nti
fft
oprovethat
val
uat
ionwasdoneinapropermanner.

Ter
ri
tor
ial
Jur
isdi
cti
on(
Sect
ion16t
o20)

I
tisdi
vi
dedi
nto:
-

 Sui
tsr
elat
edt
oimmov
abl
epr
oper
ty(Sect
ion16t
o18)

 Sui
tsr
elat
edt
oMov
abl
epr
oper
ty(Sect
ion19)

 Ot
hersui
ts(Sect
ion20)

Sect
ion16st
atesthatt
hesuitr
elat
edt
oimmov
abl
epr
oper
tyshal
lbei
nst
it
utedwher
esuch
i
mmov abl
eproper
tyissi
tuat
ed.

I
ttal
ksaboutt
hei
nst
it
uti
onoft
hesui
twi
thr
espectt
o:-

 Recov
eryofi
mmov
abl
epr
oper
tywi
thorwi
thoutpr
ofi
torr
ent

 Par
ti
ti
onofi
mmov
abl
epr
oper
ty

 For
ecl
osur
e,sal
eorr
edempt
ioni
ncaseofchar
geormor
tgageuponi
mmov
abl
e
pr
oper
ty

 Compensat
ionf
ora wr
ongcausedt
oimmov
abl
epr
oper
ty
  Det
ermi
nat
ionofanyi
nter
estorr
ight
srel
atedt
oimmov
abl
epr
oper
ty

 Recov
eryofmov
abl
epr
oper
tyunderat
tachmentordi
str
aint
,foral
ltheabov
e-
ment
ionedpur
pose.

Whent hesuiti
sfi
l
edf ortherel
ieforcompensat i
onforwrongcausedt
oimmov abl
e
propert
yheldbyadefendantoranyot herper
sonont hebehal
fofadef
endantwherethe
rel
iefcanbeobtai
nedt hr
oughhi spersonalatt
endancethensui
tsmaybeinst
it
utedina
courtwit
hinwhoselocaljur
isdi
ction:
-

 t
hepr
oper
tyi
ssi
tuat
ed,
or

 t
hedef
endantv
olunt
ari
l
yandact
ual
l
yresi
desorcar
ri
esonbusi
nessorper
sonal
l
y
f
orgai
ns.

Sect
ion17:-
Casesinwhicht
heimmov
abl
epr
oper
tyi
ssi
tuat
edwi
thi
nthel
ocal
li
mit
soft
he
j
uri
sdict
ionofdi
ff
erentcour
ts.

Whent hesuitisfi
ledforobtaini
ngthecompensat ionorrel
iefforthewrongcausedto
i
mmov ablepropertysi
tuat
edwi thi
nthejur
isdict
ionoftwoormor ecourts,
thesui
tmaybe
fi
ledinanycour twithi
nwhosel ocalj
uri
sdi
ctionapor t
ionofthepr opert
yissi
tuat
ed.Buti
n
respectfort
hev alueofsubjectmatteroft
hesui t,
theentir
eclaimi scogni
zabl
ebysuch
court.

Sect
ion18–Apl
aceofani
nst
it
uti
onwhent
hej
uri
sdi
cti
onofcour
tsi
suncer
tai
n

Whent hereisuncert
aintywithr
egardst ot
helocall
imit
softhejuri
sdi
cti
onofcour t
s,and
anyofthecour tshassatisf
iedt
hatt her
eisagroundforuncert
aint
y,r
ecordthestatement
andmaypr oceedwiththecasetoent er
tai
nanddisposeofthecase.Thedecreepassedby
suchcour twil
lhavethesameef fectasift
hepropert
ywassi t
uatedwit
hinthelocalli
mit
sof
i
tsjur
isdicti
on.

Inacasewher ethecour ttaki

ngthecogni zanceofcasedoesnotr ecordthestat
ementand
objecti
oni sbroughtbeforeAppellat
eorRev i
sionalCourt
,theAppel l
ateorRevisi
onal
court
shallnotallowtheobjectionsunlessitissatisfi
edthatattheti
meofi nst
it
uti
onofsuitt
her
e
wasnor easonablegroundf oruncert
aintyasr egar
dst oj
urisdi
cti
onofCour tandther
ehas
beenaf ailureofj
usti
ce.

Secti
on19–Suit
swit
hregar
dtomovablepr
oper
tywhenAppl
i
cabl
ewher
ethesui
tisf
ort
he
wrongcausedt
otheper
sonorpr
opert
y.

Condi
ti
ons
Ift
hewr ongwasdonewi thi
nthel
ocalli
mitsofthejuri
sdi
cti
onofonecourtandthe
defendantvol
unt
aril
yresi
desorcarr
iesonhisbusinessorworksforper
sonalgainwi
thi
n
thelocall
imit
softhejuri
sdi
cti
onofanothercourtt
hentheplai
nti
ffhasanopti
ont of
il
eat
eit
hercourt.

Let
susunder
standt
hroughanexampl
e.

A,resi
dinginDel
hi,
beat
sBi
n Bangal
ore.Bmayi
nst
it
utet
hesui
tei
theri
nDel
hior
Bangalore.

Aresi
dingi
nBangalor
e,publ
i
shesadef
amat
oryst
atementofBi
nDel
hi.BmaysueAi
n
Bangal
oreorDel
hi.

Ot
hersui
tstobeinst
it
utedwheredefendant
sresi
deorcauseofact
ionari
ses(Sect
ion20)
whenAppl
icabl
ewhent her
eisabreachofcontr
actorcommerci
alt
ransact
ions.

Condi
ti
ons

Ift
hebr eachofcontr
actwasdoneorcauseofact i
onari
seswit
hinthelocall
imi
tsofthe
j
urisdi
ctionofonecourtanddefendantvol
untar
ilyr
esi
des,car
ri
esonhi sbusi
nessorwor ks
forper
sonal gainswit
hinthel
ocalli
mitsofthejuri
sdi
cti
onofanothercourtt
heplai
nti
ffhas
anoptiontof i
l
eateit
hercourt

Exampl
e

Cisatradesmani
nBangalore,Dcarr
iesonbusinessinHy der
abad.D,
byhisagenti
n
Bangal
ore,buy
sgoodsfrom CandrequestsCtodel i
verthem t
oAmarchandCompany.C
del
iver
sthegoodsinBangal
oreaccordi
ngly.Cmaysuef ort
hepri
ceofgoodseit
heri
n
Bangal
orewherethecauseofact
ionarisesori
nHy derabadwhereDcarr
iesonhis
busi
ness.

Obj
ect
ionst
ojur
isdi
cti
on(Sect
ion21)

I
fobj
ect
ionr
elat
edt
othepl
aceofsui
ng:
-

 pecuni
aryl
i
mit
s

 compet
enceoft
heexecut
ingcour
twi
thr
egar
dst
olocal
li
mit
sofi
tsj
uri
sdi
cti
on

i
snotbroughti
nt heCour
tatthefir
sti
nstance,bef
oreset
tl
ementori
nacasewherethe
i
ssuesaresett
led,t
hennoobjecti
onwil
lbeallowedbytheRev
isi
onalorAppel
l
ateCour
t
unl
essther
eisaf ai
lur
eofjust
ice.
Non-Appl
i
cabi
l
ity

 Ter
ri
tor
ial
jur
isdi
cti
on

 Pecuni
aryj
uri
sdi
cti
on

I
nthecaseofKar
anSi
nghv
sChamanPaswan

Whent hecourtcommi t
sanerrori
nentertai
ningt
hesuitwit
hregardtopecuni
aryor
ter
ri
torialj
uri
sdi
cti
ont henthedeci
siongivenbysuchcourtwil
lnotbevoi
dbutwi l
lbe
consideredastheil
legalexer
ciseofjur
isdi
cti
on.

Bar
sonasui
ttosetasi
deadecr
eeonobj
ect
ionast
othepl
aceofsui
ng(
Sect
ion21A)

Nosuitshall
bebroughtupchal
l
engingtheval
idi
tyofdecreepassedinaf
ormersui
t
betweenthesameparti
esorbetweenthepart
iesli
ti
gat
ingunderthesameti
tl
eonany
groundbasedonanobjecti
onastoaplaceofsuing.

I
nst
it
uti
onofSui
t(Sec.26)

Pl
eadi
ngs:
(Or
der6)

Whatar
ethePl
eadi
ngs?

Beforeunder standingamendmentofpl eadings, ther ei saneedt oexplainwhati sPleadings

andi tsRul e.Pleadingsar et hest atement swhi char et hebackboneofev erycivi
lsuit
.No
civi
lsui twillcomei ntoexi stencei ftherearenoPl eadi ngs.Pleadi ngshav ebeendef ined
underOr der6Rul e1ofCPCwhi chst atesthatPl eadi ngshal l bePl ai
ntorWr i
tten
Statement s.Plaintisthest atement sfi
ledbyt hePl aint if
finaCi vilCour
tt oprovehiscl ai
m
wher easWr it
tefeenst at
ement sar et hestatement sdef i
nedi nOr der8Rul e1ofCPCwhi ch
stat
est hatdndantshoul df il
ewr itt
enst atement si n30day sf rom thedateofi ssuanceof
thesummons.Wr it
tenstat ement sar efil
edbyt hedef endantf orhisdefense.Plainthasnot
beendef inedinCPCbuti tcanbet er medaspl eadi ngsofPl aintif
ffrom whichci vi
lsuitis
i
niti
at ed.Pl eadingsshoul dbepr oper lydraftedandi tshoul dnotcont ai
nanyv agueor
unambi guousst atement s.Pl eadingsar ethosemat erial f
act swhi chhelpsplainti
fftodef i
ne
thecauseofact ionandt hedef endantt oest ablishhi sdef ensei naci vi
lsuit.

Whatr
ulest
obef
oll
owedwhi
l
edr
aft
ingofpl
eadi
ngs?

Pleadi
ngshoul
dcontai
nthefact
sbutnolawshouldbeappli
edi npleadings.Onlythecourt
hasthepowertoappl
ythelawonthebasi
soffactst
atedinthePl eadi
ngs.Inthecaseof
GouriDut
tGaneshLalFi
rmv .MadhoPr
asad,
1honorablecourtstatedthatPleadingsshoul
d
bedef
inedi
nfourwor
ds–“
PleadFact
s,notl
aws”
.

Pleadi
ngsshoul dcont ai
nmat eri
alf
acts.Part
iesshoul
dav oi
dusingimmater
ialorir
rel
evant
factsi
nthePl eadings.InthecaseofVirenderNathv.Sat
palSingh2,t
hecourtstat
edthat
mat er
ial
factsaret hosefactswhichhelpsPlaint
if
ftodef
inehiscauseofact
ionor
defendanttostronghi sdefense.

Par
ti
esshoul
dnotgi
vet
heev
idencei
nthepl
eadi
ngsf
rom whi
chf
act
sar
epr
oved.

Pl
eadingsshoul
dcontai
nt hemater
ial
factsinthebri
eff
orm.Par
ti
esshoul
dav
oidusi
ng
i
rr
elev
antorimmateri
alstatement
swhiledraft
ingthePl
aint
.

Or
derVIRul
e17CodeofCi
vi
lPr
ocedur
e:

Amendmentofpl eadi
ngs–TheCour tmayatanystageoft
heproceedingsal
loweither
partytoalt
eroramendhispleadi
ngsinsuchmannerandonsuchtermsasmaybej ust,
and
allsuchamendmentsshallbemadeasmaybenecessar yf
orthepurposeofdeter
mi ni
ng
therealquest
ionsi
ncontrover
sybetweenthepar
ti
es.

Providedthatnoappli
cati
onf oramendmentshal
lbeal
lowedaf
terthet
rial
hascommenced,
unlessthecourtcomestot heconclusi
ont
hatinspi
teofduedi
l
igence,
thepart
ycoul
dnot
haver ai
sedthematterbeforethecommencementoftri
al.
”

I
nwhi
chst
ageofci
vi
lsui
tpl
eadi
ngcanbeamended?

ThePr ovisi
onrel
atedt oAmendmentofPl eadingsgiv
espowertothecivi
lcour
ttoall
ow
part
iest oalt
er,
amendormodi fyt
hepleadingsatanystageofproceedi
ngs1.Provi
sionfor
Amendmentofpl eadingshasbeenstatedinOr der6Rul
e17oftheCodeofci v
ilpr
ocedur e.
Butthecour twil
lall
owamendmentonl yifthisamendmentisnecessarytodet
erminet he
controversybet
weent hepar
ti
es.Thepurposeoft hi
sprovi
sioni
stopromoteendsofj ust
ice
andnott odefeatthelaw.

ThePr ovisoofOrder6Rul e17st atesthatcourtwill

notallowappl i
cationofamendment
afterthetri
alhasbeencommencedunl esscour tcomest otheconcl usionthatpart
ydi
dnot
raisetherelev
antfactsbef oret
hecommencementoft hetri
al.Thi
spr ov i
sogives
discreti
onarypowert othecourttodecideont heappl i
cati
onofpl eadingsaf t
erthe
commencementoft heTrial.Aninsti
tut
ionofthesui ti
snecessar yforappl y
ingfor
amendmentofpl eadings.

Thisprov
isionwasdeletedbytheCiv
ilProcedure(Amendment)Code,1999.Thi
somi ssion
wasmadet oensur
econsistencyi
nnewchangesi nt
hecivi
lcode.Butl
ater,
itwasrestored
bytheCivi
l Pr
ocedur
e( Amendment)Code, 2000.Thi
samendmenthasgi venpowertot he
courtt
oallowappli
cati
onoft hepl
eadingswithsomel i
mit
ati
on.
I
nt hecaseofGur di
alSinghv.RajKumarAnej
a,t
hecourtst
atedt
hatanypersonwhois
applyi
ngf ort
heamendmentofpl eadi
ngsshoul
dstat
ethatwhati
stobealtered,
amended
ormodi f
iedintheori
ginalpl
eadi
ngs.

I
nthecaseoftheRajeshKumarAggar
wal&Orsv
.K.
K.Modi&Or
s5,t
hecour
tst
atedt
hat
Amendmentofpleadi
ngsconsi
stsoft
wopar
ts:

Inthefi
rstpar
t,t
heword‘may
’gi
vesdi
scr
eti
onar
ypowert
othecour
ttoal
l
owordi
sal
l
ow
appli
cat
ionofpleadi
ngs.

Inthesecondpart,
theword‘shal
l’
giv
esobli
gator
ydirect
iontot
heciv
ilcour
ttoall
owthe
appli
cati
onofpleadi
ngsift
hisamendmentisnecessaryfort
hepur
poseofdetermini
ngt
he
realquest
ionsi
ncontrov
ersybetweenthepar
ti
es.

Whydocour
tsal
l
owamendmentofPl
eadi
ngs?

Thepr i
maryobj
ect i
veforthecour ttoallowapplicati
onf orAmendmentofPl eadi
ngsis
securetheendsoft hejust
iceandpr eventinjust
icet ootherparti
es.Also,t
hisamendment
i
snecessaryforthepur poseofdet erminingthereal quest
ionsincontroversybetweenthe
parti
es.Amendment sofpleadingshelpt hepart
iest ocorrectit
smi st
akesi nthepleadi
ngs.
InthecaseofCropperv .Smi t
h,thecour tstat
edt hattheobjectbehindamendmentof
pleadi
ngsistoprotecttherightsofthepar ti
esandnott opunishthem forthemi st
ake
madebyt hem i
nt hepleadings.

Whatcanbeamendedi
npl
eadi
ng?

 Pl
aintf
il
edbyt
hePl
aint
if
f

 Wr
it
tenSt
atement
sfi
l
edbyt
heDef
endant

I
mpor
tanceoft
heDoct
ri
neofRel
ati
onbacki
nAmendmentofPl
eadi
ngs

Whent hecour
tallowstheappli
cati
onoftheAmendmentofPleadingstheni
trelatesback
tothedateofsuit
.ButinthecaseofSampat hKumarv.Ayy
akannu6,thecourtstatedthat
i
nsomespeci alcases,
thecourtcandi
rectthatamendmentofpl
eadingswil
lnotr el
ate
backtothedateofsuit
.

AmendmentofPl
eadi
ngswhengr
ant
ed:

InthecaseofKi
shanDasVit
hobaBachel
or,t
hecour
tstat
edthatt
herearetwonecessar
y
condit
ionst
obesati
sfi
edbef
oregr
anti
ngleavef
oramendmentofpleadi
ngs:
  Thi
sgr
antofl
eav
eshoul
dnotl
eadst
othei
njust
icet
oot
herpar
ty.

 Thi
sAmendmentofpl
eadi
ngsi
snecessar
yfordet
ermi
ningt
her
eal
quest
ionof
cont
rov
ersybet
weenpar
ti
es.

I
nthecaseofRaj kumarGurawar
a(Dead)Thr.L.
Rs.vsS.K.Sar
awagiAndCo.Pvt
.Lt
d.And
Anr
,thehonorabl
eSupremeCourtstat
edcert
aincondit
ionswhenamendmentsof
Pl
eadingscanbeallowedt
heyare:

 Whennat
ureoft
hecasewi
l
lchangebyal
l
owi
ngappl
i
cat
ionf
oramendmentof
appeal

 Whenanewcauseofact
ionar
isebyal
l
owi
ngappl
i
cat
ionofanamendment

 WhenAmendment
sofPl
eadi
ngsdef
eat
sthel
awofl
i
mit
ati
on.

Ot
herpoi
ntsonwhi
chAmendment
sofPl
eadi
ngsi
sgr
ant
ed:

 Whent
heappl
i
cat
ionofamendmenti
sfi
l
edt
oav
oidmul
ti
pli
cit
yofsui
ts.

 Whenpar
ti
esi
nthepl
aintorwr
it
tenst
atement
sar
ewr
ongf
ull
ydescr
ibed.

 Whent
hepl
aint
if
fomi
tst
oaddsomepr
oper
ti
est
othepl
aint
.

AmendmentofPl
eadi
ngswhenr
efused:

 Appl
i
cat
ionofamendmentofPl
eadi
ngsi
srej
ect
edbyt
hecour
twhent
his
amendmenti
snotnecessar
yfordet
ermi
ningt
her
eal
quest
ionofcont
rov
ersy
bet
weenpart
ies.

 Appl
i
cat
ionofamendmentofpl
eadi
ngsi
srej
ect
edwheni
tleadst
othei
ntr
oduct
ion
ofat otal
l
ynewcase.Inthecaseoft heModi Spg.Mi
ll
sv.LadhaRam &sons7
SupremeCour thel
dthat“thedefendantcannotbeal
lowedtochangecomplet
ely
thecasemadei ncert
ainparagr
aphsoft hewrit
tenst
atementandsubst
it
utean
enti
relydif
fer
entandnewcase”.

 Whent
hePl
aint
if
fordef
endanti
snegl
i
gent

 Whenpr
oposedal
ter
ati
onormodi
fi
cat
ioni
sunj
ust

 Appl
i
cat
ionf
orAmendment
sofPl
eadi
ngsi
sref
usedwheni
tvi
olat
est
hel
egal
right
s
 orcausei
njust
icet
otheot
herpar
ty

 Leav
etoamendi
sref
usedwheni
tleadst
otheneedl
esscompl
i
cat
ionsi
nthecase.

 Leav
etoamendi
sref
usedwhent
her
ehasbeenexcessi
vedel
aybyt
hepar
ti
esi
n
f
il
ingt
hesui
t.

 Appl
i
cat
ionofAmendmenti
sref
usedwheni
tchangest
henat
ureoft
hedi
sput
es

 Thecour
twi
l
lnotgr
antappl
i
cat
ionofamendmentofpl
eadi
ngsi
fiti
smadewi
th
mal
afi
dei
ntent
ion.

 Wher
esev
eral
oppor
tuni
ti
esar
egi
vent
opar
ti
est
oappl
yforamendmentof
pl
eadi
ngs.Butt
heyf
ail
edt
omakeanappl
i
cat
ion.

St
epbySt
eppr
ocedur
eforf
il
inganappl
i
cat
ionf
orAmendmentofPl
eadi
ngs:

Step1–Fi r
stl
ythePlai
ntif
forDef
endantwhowant
stoamendit
spleadi
ngscanwr
it
ean
appli
cat
ionforthe amendmentofpl
eadi
ngstot
heconcer
nedci
vil
court

Step2– Afterdr
aft
ingtheappl
i
cat
ionappl
i
cantneedst
opr
oducet
heappl
i
cat
ionbef
ore
theconcer
nedcivi
lj
udge.

St
ep3–Hehast
opayar
equi
redcour
tfeeundercour
tfeesAct
,1870.

St
ep4-Appl
i
cantneedst
otel
lthepur
poseoft
heal
ter
ati
oni
nhi
sappl
i
cat
ion.

Step5–Judgewil
lreadtheappl
icat
ionandi
fhethi
nksfi
tthatthisal
terati
onor
amendmenti
snecessaryfort
hepurposeofdet
ermini
ngt
her ealquesti
onsincont
rov
ersy
betweent
hepar
ti
esThanhewi ll
grantpermi
ssi
onforamendmentf orpleadi
ng.

Step6–Af t
erget
tingt
heorderfr
om thecour
t,t
heappl
icantneedstofi
lenewpleadi
ngs
withi
nthepr
escri
bedti
meandi fnotimehasbeenpr
escri
bedbyt hecourtt
henheneedsto
fi
l
ei ti
n14daysfr
om thedateoforder.

St
ep7–Heal
soneedst
ogi
veacopyofal
ter
edpl
eadi
ngst
otheopposi
tepar
ty

Cant
hepl
eadi
ngsbeamendedi
fthesui
tisdebar
redbyt
heLi
mit
ati
onAct

InthecaseofL.J.Leach&Co.Lt
d.v.Jar
dineSki
nner&Co,theSupremeCourtstat
edt
hat
courtcandecl
i
net heappl
i
cat
ionofamendmentofpleadi
ngsifi
tisdebar
redbythe
Li
mitat
ionAct.Butthecour
thasdi
scr
etionar
ypowertoall
owthi
sapplicat
iontosecur
e
endsofjust
ice.Theli
mit
ati
oncanbegroundforrej
ecti
ngt
heappl
icat
ionbutthecourtcan
al
lowifthecourtthi
nkst
hatamendmentisnecessar
y.

InthecaseofSout hKonkanDi stiller

ies&Anrv .PrabhakarGajananNai k&Ors9,thecourt
statedthatiti
ssettl
edpri
nciplet hatcourtcandisall
owt heapplicat
ionofamendmenti fon
thedateoft hefi
li
ngofApplicationi tisbar
redbyt heli
mitat
ion.Butthisnotmeant hatcour
t
cannotor dergr
antforAppli
cation.Forsecur i
ngt heint
erestofjusti
ce,thecour
thas
discret
ionarypowertoall
owappl icati
onofamendmentofpl eading.

InthecaseofPankaj
a&Anrv .Yel
l
appa( D)byLRs&Or s,thecour thel
dt hatthereisno
settl
edpri
nci
plet
hatwhichstatesthatcourtcanrejecttheappl icationofamendmenti fon
thedateoffi
l
ingtheappl
icati
oniti
sbar redbylimit
ation.Thecour tstatedthediscreti
onto
all
owornottoall
owappl i
cati
ondependsont hefactual backgroundoft hecase.Iffact
s&
cir
cumstanceofthecaseclearl
yestabl
ishesthatthisamendmenti snecessaryto
determi
nethecauseofactionandtoav oidfurt
herli
tigationthent hecour tshouldall
owt hi
s
appli
cati
on.

InthecaseofRaguThi l
akD.Johnv.S.Rayappan,thecourtstat
edt hatiti
sdisput
edfact
thatappl
icat
ionofamendmentwi l
lbeal
lowedornotwheni tisbarredbyt heLimit
ati
on.But
i
nmanycases, t
heissueofl
imit
ati
onismadeani ssueinthesuit,I
nt hosecases,
appli
cati
onofamendmenti sal
lowedfordi
sposingofthecase.

I hecaseofVi
nt shwambharv.Laxminaray
an12,t
hecour
thel
dthatappl
icat
ionfor
amendmentofPleadi
ngist
ot herel
atebacktoaf
il
li
ngoft
hedateofappli
cati
onnott
othe
dat
eoffi
li
ngofthesuit.

Whyi
sOr
der6Rul
e17cr
it
ici
zed?

 Appl
i
cat
ionoft
heAmendment
sdel
aysJust
ice.Ar
unMohan,
seni
orl
awy
er-
aut
horof
thebookcall
ed“Just
ice,
Cour
ts,
anddel
ays”tel
lsi
nhi
sbookthatal
most80%oft
he
appli
cati
onfort
heamendmentisfi
l
edwit
ht hesol
eobj
ect
iveofdel
ayi
ngthe
proceedi
ngs.

 Oneoft
hebi
gchal
l
engesf
acedbyt
heI
ndi
ancour
tsi
sthebackl
ogoft
hecases.Ci
vi
l
cour
tisalr
eadybur
denedwit
hlotmanycasesandamendmentofpl
eadi
ngsput
s
moreburdenontheci
vil
cour
ts.

Or
der6Rul
e17i
sthemostmi
susedl
aw.

 I
tisahi
ndr
ancet
ospeedydi
sposal
oft
hemat
ter

 I
thasmor
epossi
bil
i
ties&chancesofv
iol
ati
onofl
egal
right
sont
heot
hersi
de.
  Somet
imesi
tisdi
ff
icul
ttof
indt
her
eal
quest
ionofcont
rov
ersybet
weenpar
ti
es

 Thecont
rov
ersybet
weent
heAmendmentofpr
oceedi
ngsandt
heLi
mit
ati
oni
sst
il
l
notset
tl
ed.I
ndi
ff
erentcases,
ther
ear
edi
ff
erenti
nter
pret
ati
onsoft
hisr
ule.

 Manyappli
cantswit
ht hemalafi
deint
enti
onaref
il
ingtheappl
i
cat
ionfor
amendment.I
tisnoteasyfort
heciv
ilcour
ttoest
abli
shmalafi
dei
ntenti
onoft
he
par
ti
es.

Whathappenswhenanappl
i
cantf
ail
stoamendi
napr
escr
ibedt
ime?

Pr
ovi
sionon:
OrderVIRul
e18Ci
vi
lPr
ocedur
e

Fail
uretoamendaf t
erorder:Ifapartywhohasobtainedanorderf
orleavetoamenddoes
notamendaccor di
nglywithi
nthetimeli
mitedf
orthatpurposebytheorder,ori
fnoti
meis
ther
ebylimi
tedthenwi t
hinfourt
eendaysfr
om thedateoftheorder,heshal
lnotbe
permitt
edtoamendaf tertheexpir
ati
onofsuchli
mitedtimeasaforesai
dorofsuch
four
teendays,asthecasemaybe, unl
essthet
imeisextendedbytheCour t
.

OrderVIrul
e18st atesthatwhenapar tyhadappli
cati
onforamendmentandi tisall
owed
bythecourtthroughanor der.Butthepar
tydoesnotamendi twit
hinthetimeprescri
bedi
n
theorderorifnotimeispr escr
ibed,wi
thi
nthefourt
eendaysf r
om issuanceofordert
hen
thepartywil
lbenotpermi ttedtoamend.

Pl
aintandWr
it
tenSt
atement(
Order7,
8)

Pl
aint

APl ai
nti salegaldocumentthatcontai
nst hecontentofanyci
vilsui
twhi chshowsthe
Plai
ntiff
’sclai
m af t
erfi
li
ngsuit
.Theplaintisthefi
rstst
epofthePl ai
ntif
fintheform ofa
l
egal documentf orthecommencementofsui tanditshowswhataPl ai
ntif
fwantsfrom
thatsuit.Theconceptofapl ai
ntisment i
onedintheCivil
ProcedureCode.Thr oughthehel
p
ofplaint,theplai
nti
ffnarr
atesordescri
best hecauseofacti
onandr elatedinf
ormati
on
whichi sconsideredasessenti
alfrom t
hev iewpoi
ntofthesuit
.

Inthecaseofpl ai
nt,thecauseofact ionconsistsoftwodi vi
sions,
fir
stisthelegaltheor
y
(thefactualsi
tuat
ionbasedonwhi cht heplai
nt i
ffcl
aimstohav esuff
ered)andsecondi s
thelegal r
emedyt hattheplai
nti
ffseeksf r
om t hecourt.Aplai
ntisconsideredanimpor t
ant
conceptbecausei tistheforemostandi nit
ialstagetoinit
iat
eanylawsui tandhelpstofind
acivilcourtofappropriat
ejuri
sdi
ction.

OrderVI
Ioft
heCodeofCivil
Procedur
edeal
s,par
ti
cular
lywit
hplai
nt.I
nOrderVIIofCPC,
t
herearemanydi
ff
erentr
uleswhichdeal
wit
hdiff
erentconst
it
uent
sofplai
nt.Rules1to8
dealwiththeparti
cularsofthepl
aint.Rule9ofCPCdeal swit
hhowthepl aintwil
lbe
admitt
edandaf terthatRule10to10- Btalksaboutther
etur
noftheplaintandthe
appearanceofparti
es.Andt hemainRul esi.e11to13dealwitht
herejecti
onoftheplai
nt
andinwhi chci
rcumst ancesthepl
aintcanber eject
ed.

Secti
on26oft heCodeofCivi
lProcedurestat
es“Ev
erysui
tshal
lbeinstit
utedbythe
present
ati
onofapl ai
ntori
nsuchot hermannerasmaybeprescr
ibed.”Thissect
ioncl
earl
y
showsthatplainti
sverymuchnecessaryfort
heestabl
i
shmentofasui tbefor
etheciv
ilor
commer ci
alcourt.

Necessar
yCont
ent
sofAPl
aint

Aplai
ntisal egaldocumentthatcont
ainsalotofnecessar
ycontent
sintheabsenceof
whi
ch,itcannotbeconsideredasapl ai
nt.Thecont
entsnecessar
yforaplai
ntare
menti
onedi nRules1t o8ofOr derVI
IofCPC.Thesearement i
onedbel
ow:

 Pl
aintshoul
dcont
aint
henameoft
hecommer
cial
orci
vi
lcour
twher
easui
twi
l
lbe
i
nit
iat
ed.

 Pl
aintshoul
dcont
aindet
ail
soft
hepl
aint
if
fsuchast
hename,
addr
ess,
and
descr
ipt
ion.

 Pl
aintshoul
dcont
aint
hename,
resi
dence,
anddescr
ipt
ionoft
hedef
endant
.

 Whenapl
aint
if
fhassomedef
ect
sorpr
obl
emsi
nheal
thoranyt
ypeofdi
sabi
l
ity
,the
Pl
aintshoul
dcont
ainast
atementoft
heseef
fect
s.

 Pl
aintshoul
dcont
aint
hef
act
sduet
owhi
chcauseofact
ionar
isesandwher
ethe
causeofact
ionar
isesi
tshoul
dal
sobement
ioned.

 Pl
aintshoul
dnotonl
yment
ionf
act
sduet
owhi
chcauseofact
ionar
isesbutal
so
t
hosef
act
swhi
chhel
pinr
ecogni
zi
ngt
hej
uri
sdi
cti
on.

 Pl
aintshoul
dal
socont
ainaboutt
hatr
eli
efwhi
cht
hepl
aint
if
fseeksf
rom t
hecour
t.

 Whent
hepl
aint
if
fisr
eadyt
osetof
fapor
ti
onofhi
scl
aim,
thePl
aintshoul
dcont
ain
t
hatamountwhi
chhasbeensoal
l
owed.

 Pl
aintshoul
dcont
ainast
atementoft
hev
alueoft
hesubj
ect
-mat
terofsui
tnotonl
y
f
ort
hepur
poseofj
uri
sdi
cti
onbutal
sof
ort
hepur
poseofcour
t-
fees.

 Atl
ast
,thecont
entt
hatshoul
dbeonpl
ainti
sthepl
aint
if
fver
if
icat
iononoat
h.
Thisshowst hattheplai
ntisanecessar
ycomponentf orthesuccessfulinit
iati
onofsuitsin
commer cialorcivi
lcour
tsandplaysaveryimportantr
olethroughoutthesui t
.Some
addit
ionalparti
cular
swhichwerenotment i
onedabov eincl
udet hefol
lowing:Plai
nti
ffshall
stat
et heexactamountofmoneyt obeobtai
nedf r
om thedefendantasgi venunderRule2
oforderVIIwhereasRule3ofor derVI
IofCPCst atesthatwhent hepl
aintcont ai
nssubject
matterofimmov abl
epropert
y,t
henthepropert
ymustbedul ydescr i
bed.

Rej
ect
ionofpl
aint

ThePl
aintshall
berej
ectedi
ncertai
nsi
tuat
ionswhenr
equir
ement
sar
enotf
ulf
il
led.Some
oft
hesituat
ionsinwhi
chthepl
ainti
srej
ectedar
easfol
lows:

 Thepl
ainti
srej
ect
edi
nacasewher
ethecauseofact
ioni
snotdi
scl
osed.I
fthe
causeofact i
oni snotdiscl
osedt heni
tisnotpossibletoprovethedamagecaused
tothepl ai
nti
ff.Toseekreli
efagainstthedefendant,
thefactsneedtobement i
oned
clearly
.InthecaseofSnpShi ppingSer v
icePvt.Lt
d.v.Wor l
dTankerCarri
er
Cor porati
on,
t hepl
aintwasrejectedandt hesui
tdismissedunderOrder7,Rul
e1(a)
oftheC. P.C.
,1908.

 Thepl
ainti
sal
sor
eject
edi
nacasewher
ethepl
aint
if
frel
i
efi
sunder
val
uedandt
he
pl
ainti
ffi
srequestedbyt
hecour
ttocor
rectt
hev
aluat
ionwi
thi
nthegi
vent
imef
rame
buttheplai
nti
fff
ailst
odoso.

 Thepl
ainti
srej
ect
edi
nacasewher
eal
lthedocument
sar
enotpr
oper
lyst
amped
andthepl
aint
if
fonbeingr
equir
edbythecour
ttosuppl
yther
equi
redst
amppaper
wit
hinati
met obef
ixedbycourtf
ail
stodoso.

 Thepl
ainti
smost
lyr
eject
edduet
othest
atementment
ionedi
nthepl
aintsecur
edby
anyl
aworst
atut
ethatdoesn’
tgi
veanyr
ightt
othepl
aint
if
ftof
il
ethesui
t.

 Whenadupl
i
cat
ecopyoft
hepl
ainti
snotsubmi
tt
edwher
easi
tisment
ionedt
hati
t
i
smandator
ytosubmi
tthedupl
i
cat
ecopyt
heni
nthatcondi
ti
onpl
ainti
sli
abl
etobe
di
smi
ssed.

 Thepl
ainti
srej
ect
edwhent
hepl
aint
if
ffai
l
stocompl
ywi
tht
hepr
ovi
sionsofRul
e9
ofOr
derVI
IofC.
P.C.

Pr
ovi
sionsont
heRej
ect
ionofPl
aintunderC.
P.C.

Aswehavealreadysaidi nwhatci
rcumst ancest
heplaintcanber ej
ectedandnowwhatare
thepr
ovi
sionsthatarerelat
edtotherejecti
onoftheplaintunderCodeofCiv i
lPr
ocedur
e.
Someoftheprovisi
onsr egar
dingtherejecti
onofapl
aintar ement i
onedbelow:
  Or
derVI
IRul
e12ofC.
P.Cst
atest
hepr
ocedur
eonr
eject
ingt
hepl
aintsot
hati
tcan
beusedasapr
ecedentf
orf
utur
ecases.

 Or
derVI
IRul
e13ofC.
P.Cst
atest
hatr
eject
ionoft
hepl
aintdoesnotst
opt
he
pr
esent
ati
onorf
il
li
ngoft
hef
reshpl
aint
.

Twomodeswhi
char
ement
ionedt
oshowt
hemanneri
nwhi
cht
hepl
aintcanber
eject
ed:

 Thedef
endanthast
her
ightt
ofi
l
eanappl
i
cat
ioni
nthef
orm ofani
nter
locut
ory
appl
i
cat
ionatanyst
ageofpr
oceedi
ngsf
ort
her
eject
ionoft
hepl
aint
.

 Suomot
o(oni
tsown)
:Themeani
ngoft
hesuomot
oit
sel
fdef
inest
hewayof
rej
ectionoftheplaint.Suomot orej
ecti
onisunderOr
der7Rule11whi
chst
ates
Rejecti
onoft heplaint.Acourtcani
tsel
ftryasui
tunderOr
der7Rul
e11ift
heplai
nt
ful
fil
lsthecondit
ionsdi scussedint
hefir
stpoint
.

Landmar
kCasesonRej
ect
ionofPl
aint

Manycasescameinfr
ontofcour
trel
atedt
otherej
ecti
onofplai
ntbutsomeoft hecases
gi
venbel
owar enowconsi
der
edasalandmarkforot
hercasesonthereject
ionofpl
aint:

Kal
epurPalaSubr
ahmanyam vTigut
iVenkata:Inthi
scase,i
twassaidt
hatapl
aintcannot
berej
ect
edinpartandr
etai
nedpartunderthisrul
e.I
tmustbereject
edasawholeandnot
wit
htherej
ecti
onofonepartandacceptanceofanother
.Thisj
udgmenti
sconsi
deredasa
l
andmarkjudgmentont
hereject
ionoftheplaint
.

SopanSukhdeoSablev.Asstt
.CharityCommr.
:Inthiscase,i
twasheldthatwher
ethesui
t
wasatthestageofrecordi
ngofevidenceandanapplicat
ionunderOr
der7Rule11ofthe
codewasfil
edtodelaytheproceedingsoft
hesuit
,theappli
cati
onunderOrder7rul
e11of
thecodewasreject
ed.

BibhasMohanMukherj
eev.HariChar
anBaner
jee:I
nthi
scase,i
twashel
dthatanOrder
rej
ecti
ngaplai
nti
sadecreeandhenceiti
sappli
cabl
eandbindi
nginot
hercaseswhi
ch
i
nv ol
vest
herej
ect
ionofthepl
aint.

1.ROJAv s.U.
S.RAYU:Cour
t,i
nt hi
scase,hel
dthatanyappli
cati
onf ort
her ej
ect
ionof
theplai
ntunderOr
der7Rule11ofthecodeofcivilpr
ocedurecanbef i
ledatany
stageandthecour
thastodisposeofthesamebeforeproceedingwiththetri
al.

KuldeepSinghPathani
avs.Bikr
am SinghJar
ya:Int
his,
thecourthel
dthatf
oranapplicat
ion
underOrderVIIRul
e11(a)ofCodeofCi vi
lPr
ocedur
e,onlyt
hepleadi
ngsoftheplai
nti
ffcan
belookedintoandneit
herthewrit
tenstat
ementnoraverment
scanbeconsideredfor
i
nquiry.
Appear
anceandNon-
Appear
anceofPar
ti
es(
Order9)

Theappear
anceofpar
ti
est
othesui
t

AsstatedunderRul
e1ofOr derIXoft heCodeofCi vi
l Procedure,
theparti
estothesuitare
requi
redtoatt
endthecourtei
therinpersonorbyt heirpleadersont hedaywhichhasbeen
fi
xedinthesummons.Iftheplai
ntif
foradef endant,whenor deredtoappearinperson,do
notappearbefor
ethecourtandneithershowt hesuffici
entcausef orhi
snon-appearance,
thecourti
sempoweredunderRul e12ofOr derIXasf oll
ows.

 I
fthepl
aint
if
fdoesnotappear
,di
smi
sst
hesui
t.

 I
fthedef
endantdoesnotappear
,passanex-
par
teor
der
.

Non-
appear
anceofbot
hpar
ti
est
othesui
t

Whennei t
hert hepl
aint
if
fnort hedef
endantappear
sbeforethecourtwhenthesuiti
scal
led
forheari
ng,thenthecourtisempower edt
odismissthesui
tunderRule3ofOr derI
X.The
dismissalofthesui
tundert hi
srul
edoesnotputabaronf i
li
ngaf r
eshsuitonthesame
causeofact i
onasperRul e4.

Theplaint
if
fcanal soappl yforset
ti
ngasidethedismissali
fheisabl
etosatisf
ythecourt
thatt
herewassuf ficientbehindhi
snon-appear
ance.Ifthecourti
ssat
isf
iedwiththecause
ofnon-appearancet henitmaysetasidetheorderofdismissal
andscheduleadayf ort
he
heari
ngoft hesuit
.

Theappear
anceoft
hepl
aint
if
f

Whenonlythepl
ainti
ffappear
sbutthedefendantdoesnotappear
,thenanex-
par
teor
der
canbepassedagainstthedef
endant.But
,theplai
nti
ffhast
oprovethatt
hesummonwas
ser
vedtothedef
endant .

Ifser
viceofthesummonsi sprov
edthenonlyt hecourtcanproceedf oranex-
part
eagainst
thedefendantandthecourtmaypassadecr eei nfavouroftheplaint
iff
.Thi
sprovisi
on
appli
esonlyforthefi
rstheari
ngandnotf ort
hesubsequenthear ingsofthematterandthe
samehasbeenhel di
nt hecaseofSangram Singhv .El
ecti
onTribunal.

Evenwhi l
epassinganex-part
eor deri ti
sthedutyofthecour
ttosecur etheendofjusti
ce
evenintheabsenceofthedef endant .Int
hecaseofMay aDeviv.LaltaPrasad,i
thasbeen
heldbytheSupremeCour tthat-Iti
st hedutyofthecourtt
oensuret hatstat
ementsinthe
pl
aintstandprovenandthepr ayersaskedbefor et
hecourtar
ewor thyofbeinggranted.
Thisprovi
sionofpassi
ngexpar teor dercannotbepassedwhent herearemor ethanone
defendantsint
hecaseandanyoft hem appears.
Appear
anceofdef
endant

Theprovi
sionslai
ddowntodealwit
htheappearanceofonlythedef
endanthasbeenlai
d
downfrom rul
e7-11ofOrderI
X.Whenthedefendantappearsbutt
herei
snon-appear
ance
ofthepl
ainti
ff
,thent
her
ecanbet wosit
uat
ions:

 Thedef
endantdoesnotadmi
tthecl
aim oft
hepl
aint
if
f,ei
therwhol
l
yoranypar
tofi
t.

 Thedef
endantadmi
tst
hepl
aint
if
fcl
aim.

I
fthedefendantdoesnotadmittheclaim oftheplai
nti
ff
,thenthecourtshallorderfor
di
smissalofthesui
t.But
,whent hedefendantadmi t
scompl et
elyoranypar toftheclai
m
madebyt heplai
nti
fft
henthecourtisempower edt opassadecr eeagainstthedefendant
onthegroundofsuchadmi ssi
onandf orrestoftheclai
m, t
hesui twi
ll
bedi smissed.

Dismissalofthesuitofthepl
ainti
ffwit
houtheari
nghimisaseriousmatterandi
tshould
notbeadopt edunlessthecourtgetssati
sfi
edthati
ntheint
erestofj
usti
cesuchdismissal
i
sr equi
red,ascit
edbyBeaumont ,C.
J.inthecaseofShamdasaniv.Cent
ralBankofIndi
a.

Doest
hesamepr
ovi
sionappl
ytot
henon-
appear
anceoft
hepl
aint
if
fduet
odeat
h?

Whenthepl ai
nti
ffdoesnotappearbecauseofdeat
h,t
hecour
thasnopowert
odismi
sst
he
sui
t.Ev
eni fsuchorderispassedi
twill
amounttoanull
it
yashel
di hecaseofP.
nt M.
M.
Pil
l
ayathi
riAmmav .K.LakshiAmma.

Appl
i
cat
iont
osetasi
det
hedi
smi
ssal

Whent hesuithasbeendi smi

ssedont hegroundofnon-appearanceofthepl
aint
ifft
henhe
canmakeanappl i
cat
iontosetasidetheorderofdismissal
.Ifthecour
tissat
isfi
edwitht
he
reasonofnon-appearanceasasuffi
cientcausethenthecourtcansetasidet
heor der
dismissi
ngthesuitandf i
xadayfortheproceedingofthesuit.

Suf
fi
cientcause

Forconsi deri
ngthesuffici
entcauseofnon- appearanceoftheplai
ntif
fthemainpoi nttobe
consi
der ediswhet hertheplaint
iffreal
lytr
iedt oappearonthedaywhi chwasf i
xedf or
heari
ngornot .Whensuf fi
cientcauseisshownbyt hepl
aint
if
fforhi
snon- appearance,then
i
tismandat oryforthecourttoreopent hesui t.I
nabsenceofsuffi
cientcause,i
tisupont he
di
scretionoft hecourttosetasidet hedismi ssalornotasheldi hecaseofP.
nt K. P.
R.M.
RamanChet tyarv.K.A.
P.Ar unachalam Chett y
ar.Suff
ici
entcausedependsupont hefacts
andcircumst ancesofeachandev erycase.
I
nthecaseofChhot
alalv.Ambal aHar
gov an,
theBombayHi ghCourtobser
vedt
hati
fthe
par
tyar
ri
veslat
eandfinditssuitdi
smissedduetohisnon-appear
ancethenhei
senti
tl
edto
hav
ehissui
torappl
icati
onr est
oredwi
tht hepaymentofcosts.

Whensummoni
snotser
ved

Rule2to5ofOr derIXlaysdownt heprovisionforthesit

uationwhent hesummoni snot
servedtothedef endant.Oneofthef undament alprocedurallawi
st hatapar t
ymustbe
giv
enaf ai
roppor tunit
ytorepresenthiscase.And, fort
his,anoti
ceoft helegalpr
oceedi
ngs
i
niti
atedagainsthimi sobli
gat
or y.Therefore,serv
icesummonst othedef endanti
s
mandatoryandi tisaconditi
onal precedent.

Whent her
eisnoservi
ceofsummonsoritdoesnotgivehi
m suf
fi
cientt
imeforeff
ecti
ve
present
ati
onofthecaset
henadecreecannotbepassedagai
nsthi
m asheldinthecase
ofBegum Parav.Lui
zaMati
ldaFer
nandes.

Rule2ofOr derIXal
soholdst hatwhent heplainti
fffail
stopaycost sf orservi
ceof
summonst ot hedef
endantthent hesui tmaybedi smi ssed.But,nodismi ssalcanbemade
eveninthepresenceofsuchf ail
ureifthedef endantappear sont hedayofhear ingei
theri
n
personorthroughhi
spleader .Howev er,theplaint
iffisentit
ledtofil
eaf reshsuitwhent he
suiti
sdismissedunderthisrule.and,ifthecour ti
ssat isf
iedthatthereisar easonabl
e
reasonbehindsuchfai
luretopaycost sthent hecour tmaysetasi detheor derofdismissal
.

Whent hesummoni sr
eturnedunser
vedandtheplai
ntif
fdoesnotapplyforfr
eshsummons
for7day sfr
om whi
chthesummoni sret
urnedunservedbythedefendantoranyoft
he
defendants,
thent
hecourtcandismi
ssthesuitagai
nstthedefendantorsuchdef
endant
s

Whent hesummonwasnotdul yservedtot hedefendanti snotprovedthenthecour

tcan
dir
ecttoissueafreshsummont ot
hedefendantf orser v
ice.Whent heservi
ceofthe
summonsi spr
ovedbeforet
hecourtbutthetimepr escri
bedi nthesummoni snot
suff
ici
entforhi
mt oansweronthedaywhi chhasbeenf ixed,t
henthehearingcanbe
postponedbythecourttoafut
uredateandnot i
cewi llbegiventothedefendant.

Expar
teappear
ance

Ex-
par
teDecr
ee

Whent hedef endantisabsentonthedayoft hehear

ingasfi
xedint hesummonanex- part
e
decreecanbepassed.Theex- part
eorderi
spassedwhent heplainti
ffappear
sbeforethe
courtont hedayoft heheari
ngbutthedefendantdoesnotevenaf t
erthesummonhasbeen
dul
yser ved.Thecour tcanhearthesui
tex-part
eandgiveex-
partedecreeagainstt
he
defendant.
Anex-par
tedecreeisav ali
doneandi ti
snotnullandv
oidbutcanbemer el
yvoidabl
e
unl
essiti
sannulledonal egalandvali
dground.Anex-
part
ecanbeenforcedli
keabi -
par
te
decr
eeandithasal l
thef or
cesasav ali
ddecreeashel
dinthecaseofPanduranga
Ramchandrav.ShantibaiRamchandra.

Remedi
esagai
nstanex-
par
tedecr
ee

Whenanex-
part
edecr
eehasbeenpassedagai
nstadef
endant
,thef
oll
owi
ngr
emedi
esar
e
av
ail
abl
etohi
m.

 Hecanappl
ytot
hecour
tunderr
ule13ofOr
derI
Xforset
ti
ngasi
det
heex-
par
te
decr
eepassedbyt
hecour
t.

 Hecanappeal
agai
nstt
hatdecr
eeundersect
ion96(
2)oft
heCodeor
,pr
eferr
evi
sion
undersect
ion115oft
hecodewhennoappeal
li
es.

 Hecanappl
yforar
evi
ewunderOr
der47Rul
e1.

 Asui
tont
hegr
oundoff
raudcanbef
il
ed.

Set
ti
ngasi
deanex-
par
tedecr
ee

Forsett
ingasi
deanex-part
edecreeanappl i
cat
ionmaybemadebyt hedefendant.An
appli
cati
ontosetasi
dedecreecanbemadet othecourtpassi
ngthatdecree.Thereare
cert
ainrul
estobefol
lowedforsetti
ngasideanex-par
tedecreeandi ft
hedef endant
sati
sfi
esthecourtwi
thsuff
ici
entreason,
thenonlytheex-par
tedecreewhichhasbeen
passedcanbesetaside.

Theli
mit
ati
onper
iodf
ormaki
nganappl
i
cat
ionf
orset
ti
ngasi
deanex-
par
tedecr
eei
sof30
days.

Thegr
oundsonwhi
chanex-
par
tedecr
eecanbesetasi
dear
e:

Whent hesummonshasnotbeendul
yser
ved.Duet
oany“
suf
fi
cientcause”
,hecoul
dnot
appearonthedayoft
hehear
ing.

Suf
fi
cientCause

Thet er
m suf f
ici
entcausehasnotbeendef i
nedany
wher ebutasheldinthecaseofUCO
Bankv .IyengarConsult
ancy,i
tisaquesti
onwhichisdetermineduponthefact
sand
ci
rcumst ancesofthecases.Thetesttobeappli
edforthisiswhetherornott
hepart
y
actuall
yandhonest l
yintendedtobepresentatt
hehearingandtri
edhisbesttodoso.
Therearesev
erali
nstanceswhi
chhavebeenconsider
edassuf
fi
cientcausesuchaslat
e
arr
ival
ofthetr
ain,
sicknessoft
hecounci
l
,thest
rikeofadv
ocat
es,deathofarelat
iveof
part
yetc.

Theburdenofpr
ooft
hatt
her
ewasasuf
fi
cientcauseofnon-
appear
ancei
supont
he
def
endant.

Commi
ssi
ons(
Sec.75t
o78Or
der26)

Whati
smeantbyi
ssueofcommi
ssi
onbyt
heCour
t?

Commi ssi
onisi
nstr
ucti
onorrol
egivenbytheCour
ttoapersontoactonbehalfofthe
Courtandtodoever
ythi
ngthatt
heCourtrequi
rest
odel
iv
erf ul
landcomplet
ejusti
ce.Such
per
sonwhocar r
iesoutt
hecommi ssi
onisknownasaCourtcommi ssi
oner.

Forexample,whenevert
heCourthastodoal ocalinv
esti
gati
on,acommissioneri
s
appointedwhoconductsthel
ocali
nvest
igat
ion.Simil
arl
y,t
orecordtheevi
denceofa
witnesswhocannotcomet otheCourtf
orevidence,t
heCourtcanissueacommi ssi
onf
or
recordi
ngofsuchevi
dence.

Whocanappoi
ntacommi
ssi
oner
?

UnderCPC, t
heCour twhichissuesthecommi ssioncanappoi ntt
hecommi ssi
oner
.Sect ion
75,provi
dest hat“theCourt”canissuecommi ssionpr ovidedt heli
mi t
ati
onsandrest r
ict
ions
appli
cable.Therefore,t
heCour twhohast odecidet hesui tcanappoi ntt
hecommi ssioner .
Commi ssionerisappointedtocarryoutthefunctionsf orwhi chthecommi ssioni
si ssued.
Courthast hediscreti
onarypowertoappointthecommi ssionerandsuchpowercanbe
exerci
sedont heappl i
cati
onofanyoft hepartiesort heCour tcani ssuethecommi ssion
suomot o.

Wewil
lunderst
andt
hepr
ocedur
efol
l
owedbyt
heCour
tst
oappoi
ntt
hecommi
ssi
onerl
ater
i
nthi
sart
icl
e.

Whocanbeappoi
ntedasacommi
ssi
oner
?

General
l
y,t
hereisapanelofcommissi
onerswhichisf
ormedbytheHighCourti
nwhich
advocat
esareselect
edwhoarecompetenttocarr
youtthecommissi
onissuedbyt
heCour
t.

Thepersonappoi
ntedascommissi
onershoul
dbei ndependent
,impart
ial
,di
sint
erest
edin
thesui
tandtheparti
esi
nvol
vedi
nit.Suchapersonshouldhavetherequi
sit
eskill
stocar
ry
outthecommissi
on.
Itwil
lbeacompl et
ewast eoftimeandr esourcesoftheCour
tandthepartiesifaperson
whocannotr eadandunder st
andt heaccountsanddocumentsi
sappointedas
commi ssi
onertoadjustaccounts.Simil
arl
y,apersonwhodoesnothavet hequali
ficat
ions
toconductscient
if
icinvest
igati
onshouldnotbeappoi nt
edasacommi ssionerforsuch
task.

TheDistri
ctj
udgesupervi
sesthesubordi
nat
eCourtswhohav et
otakespecialcarewhi
le
appoi
ntingacommissioner(
1).Thesamepersonshouldnotbeappoi
ntedbyt heCour
tinal
l
commi ssi
onsandapersonwhohangsaboutt heCourtshoul
dnotbeappointed.

Whati
sthepr
ocedur
eforappoi
ntmentofcommi
ssi
oner
?

EveryHi
ghCourthasthepower(Arti
cle227)tomakerul
esandregul
ati
onswhichi
stobe
fol
lowedbyt
hesubordinateCourt
s.Procedur
eforappoi
ntmentofacommissi
oneri
s
provi
dedi
nHighCourtruleseachstat
e.

Forinstance,
inDel
hi,
Chapter10ofDel
hiHighCourtrul
es,
1967,pr
ovi
desprocedur
efor
appointmentofCommi ssi
oner
.Thefol
l
owingprocedurei
sfol
lowedbytheDel
hiHigh
Court(2):

 Apanel
ofnotmor
ethan4commi
ssi
oner
sist
obef
ormedwhi
chconsi
stsofy
oung
per
sonsi
ncl
udi
ngal
adyl
awy
er,
appoi
ntedbyt
heCour
tforr
ecor
dingofev
idence.

 TheDi
str
ictCour
tnot
if
iest
hebaraboutt
henumberofv
acanci
esofcommi
ssi
oner
s
andthebarfor
war
dt heappl
icat
ionsreceivedf
ort
hesametot
heCour
twhot
hen
for
wardsitt
otheHighCourtwit
ht hei
rrecommendat
ion.

 Thet
erm ofsuchappoi
ntmenti
sgener
all
y3y
ear
swhi
chcanbeext
endedbyan
orderoftheHi
ghCour
tbutnocommi
ssi
onercanbeappoi
ntedaf
ter6y
ear
sofsuch
appoint
ment.

Whencanacommi
ssi
onerbeappoi
ntedbyt
heCour
t?

Acommi ssi
onercanbeappoi
ntedbytheCourtwhenacommi ssi
oni
sissuedbyt
heCour
t.
AccordingtoSecti
on75ofCPC, t
heCourthasthepowert
oissueacommi ssi
ont
ocar
ryout
thefol
lowingfunct
ions:

Toexami
newi
tnesses:
Order26Rul
e1-
8

Thegener
alrul
eofevidenceistobri
ngtheev i
dencebefor
etheCourtandmustberecorded
i
nopenCourt.Buti
nextraordi
naryci
rcumstances,t
heappearanceofwit
nessi
sdispensed
andthewi
tnessisal
lowedtodeposeev i
dencewi t
houtappeari
nginCourt
.
Appear
ancei
sexempt
edi
f:

 Awi
tnessi
sbedr
iddenori
sunabl
etoat
tendt
heCour
tduet
osi
cknessori
nfi
rmi
ty,
in
suchcircumst ancestheCourtcanexemptt heappearanceofwi tnessandallowt he
witnesstodeposeev i
dencetoacommi ssionerappoint
edf orthesame.Sucha
witnesswi l
lhavetosubmi tacert
if
icatesignedbyar egist
er edmedi cal
practi
tioner
asev i
denceofsi cknessorinf
ir
mity.(OrderXXVIRul e1,C.P.C.)I
nsuchsi t
uations
theCour twil
lexerci
seitspowerspr ovi
dedunderor der18r ule4andappoi nta
commi ssionerforexaminati
ononi nter
rogatori
es(3).

 Awi
tnessappr
ehendsdangert
ohi
sli
feandi
nfor
mst
heCour
taboutsuchdanger
andift
heCourtthinksthatrecor
dingevi
denceofthewit
nessisnecessary
,theCourt
mayissuecommi ssiontorecordevi
denceofsuchwit
ness.Whereapar t
yaccused
offr
audseekshimsel ft
obeexami nedwithcommissi
on,theCourtmustnotissue
commissionandav oidper
sonofsuchdemeanort oabusetheprocedur
e.

 Thewi
tnessi
sapar
danashi
nladywhoseat
tendancei
sexempt
edunderSect
ion132
oft
hecode.

 Thewi
tnessi
saCi
vi
lorMi
l
itar
yOf
fi
ceroft
heGov
ernment
,cannotat
tendwi
thout
det
ri
mentt
othePubl
i
cSer
vice.(
OrderXXVIRul
e4)

 I
ftheCour
tthi
nkst
hati
tisi
nthei
nter
estofj
ust
iceorexpedi
ti
ousdi
sposal
oft
he
caseorforanyotherr
eason,
theCourtcani
ssueacommi
ssi
onnot
wit
hst
andi
ngany
ofther
ulesprovi
dedintheorder
.(or
der26r
ule4A)

 Aper
sonwhocannotbeor
der
edt
oat
tendt
heCour
tinper
sonunderOr
der16r
ule19
canbeexami
nedbyt
heCour
tbyi
ssui
ngacommi
ssi
on.(
order26r
ule4pr
ovi
so)

 Acommi
ssi
oncanbei
ssuedf
orexami
nat
ionofaper
sondet
ainedi
npr
ison.(
order
16Ar
ule7)

TheCourtwilli
ssueanorderofcommi ssi
onf
orexami
nat
ionofawi
tnessonf
oll
owi
ng
groundsifsuchperson:
(order26rul
e4)

 Resi
desbey
ondt
hej
uri
sdi
cti
onoft
heCour
t.[
order26r
ule3(
a)]

 Aboutt
oleav
efr
om t
hej
uri
sdi
cti
onoft
heCour
t.[
order26r
ule3(
b)]

 Agov
ernmentser
vantandcannotat
tendwi
thoutaf
fect
ingt
hepubl
i
cser
vice[
order
26r
ule4(
c)]
.
  Resi
desout
sideI
ndi
aandt
heCour
tdeci
dest
hathi
sev
idencei
snecessar
y.

 Thecommi
ssi
onwi
l
lbei
ssuedt
oanyot
herCour
twi
thi
nwhosel
ocal
li
mit
ssuch
per
soni
sresi
dingandi
ftheper
sonresi
deswit
hint
hel
ocalli
mit
soft
heCour
t
i
ssui
ngi
t,acommissi
onercanbeappoi
ntedt
ocarr
youtsuchcommi
ssi
on.

Theprov i
sionsoftheCourtrel
ati
ngtosummoni ng,
att
endanceexami nati
onofwi t
nesses,
penalt
iesimposedont hewi t
nesswil
lapplyont heper
sonwhohast ogiveevi
denceor
producedocument sbefor
et hecommi ssi
oner.Thecommi ssionerwhoisexecuti
ngt he
orderoftheCour t
,wit
hinwhoselocall
imitsuchpersonresidesorbyt heCourtbeyond
whosej ur
isdict
ionsuchpersonresi
des,wil
lbedeemedt obeaci vi
lCourt
.

I
fthecommissioneri
snotajudgeoftheciv
ilCourt
,thecommissi
onercannoti
mpose
penal
ti
esbutcanmakeanappl i
cat
iontotheCourtwhichhasi
ssuedcommi ssi
ont
oimpose
penal
ti
esontheperson.(
order26r
ule17)

Tomakel
ocal
inv
est
igat
ions:
Order26Rul
e9-
10

TheCourtcanappointcommi ssi
onf
orl
ocal
inv
est
igat
ioni
ftheCour
tisoft
heopi
niont
hat
alocal
invest
igat
ionisnecessary
:

 Forpr
opercl
ari
tyofanymat
teri
ndi
sput
e,or

 I
nascer
tai
ningt
hemar
ketv
alueofanypr
oper
ty,
or

 Toknowt
heamountofmensr
eaorannual
netpr
ofi
ts.

Whi
l
eappoi
nti
ngacommi
ssi
onerf
or,
theCour
thast
oexami
ne(
4).

 Thepl
eadi
ngsofbot
hthepar
ti
es,

 Rel
iefcl
aimed,

 Ther
eal
cont
rov
ersybet
weent
hepar
ti
es.

I
tisimportantt
onotethattheobj
ectofacommi ssionisnottocol
lectevi
dencewhichcan
bebroughttotheCourtbythepar
ti
esbuttoacquireev i
dencefr
om afixedspot
.Iti
salso
usedtoenabletheCourtt
ohav emorecl
ari
tyregardingthefact
softhecase.

Commi ssionershoul
dnotbeappoint
edtopr
ov i
depre-
tr
ialdecr
eeagai
nstt
hedefendant,
thati
s,theCourtshouldnotappoi
ntacommissi
onertoprovi
detherel
i
efcl
aimed,di
rect
ly
ori
ndi
rect
ly,
bythepl
ainti
ffbef
orethef
inal
decr
eeispassed.I
tisi
mpor
tantbecausesuch
commissi
onwil
lprej
udicether
ight
softhedef
endantt
oaf ai
rtr
ial
.

Toadj
ustaccount
s:Or
der26Rul
e11-
12

I
nasui t
,ift
heCourtthinksthati
tisnecessar
ytoveri
fytheaccountsinv
olvedint hesuit
,the
Courtmayissueacommi ssi
ontomaket heexaminati
onofsuchaccount sandmayappoi nt
acommi ssi
oner.(
rul
e11)TheCour tt
akesspecial
carewhi l
emakingsuchanappoi nt
ment .
TheCourtappoint
sonl ysuchapersonwhoi scompetenttoexaminesuchr ecords.The
repor
tssubmitt
edbyt hecommi ssi
onerisconsi
deredevidencebytheCourt.(r
ule12)

Tomakepar
ti
ti
on:
Order26Rul
e13-
14

TheCour tcanissuecommi ssionforpart

it
ionofasuitpropert
y.Suppose,t
heCour thas
passedapr eli
minarydecreeforpart
iti
onoft hesui
tproper
ty,i
nsuchasi t
uation,t
heCourt
canappointacommi ssi
onertocarryoutthedecree.(
rule13)Thecommi ssionerhasto
div
idethepr oper
tyinsharesanddistri
buteitamongtheparti
esaccordingtot hesui
tdecr
ee.
Commi ssionerhastosubmi tareportaft
ersuchparti
tioni
scompl et
ed.(r
ule14)

Tohol
dinv
est
igat
ion:
Order26Rul
e10-
A

Whent heCourthastoconductascienti
fi
cinvesti
gat
ion,theCourtcanappoi
nta
commi ssi
onerwhowillt
henberesponsibleforsuchinvesti
gat
ion.Forexampl
e,toi
dent
if
y
thesubstanceusedasarawmat eri
alinthesubjectmatter,
theCourtmayissue
commi ssi
ontoholdsci
enti
fi
cinvest
igati
on.(rul
e10-A)

Afterconducti
ngsuchi
nvest
igat
iont
hecommi
ssi
onerhast
osubmi
tther
epor
twi
thi
nthe
ti
mepr escri
bedbytheCourt
.

Tosel
lthepr
oper
ty:
Order26Rul
e10-
C

Supposethesubjectmatterofasuitisamov abl
epr opert
ywhichcannotbepreserv
edby
thecommi ssi
onerandifiti
snotsold,it
sval
uecannotber ecov
ered.Ther
efor
e,theCour
t
appoint
sacommi ssi
onerwhoisgi v
entheresponsibil
it
ytosellt
hepropert
yandsubmita
repor
talongwiththeproceedsrecei
vedfrom thesaleofsuchproperty
.

Todomi
nist
eri
alwor
k:Or
der26Rul
e10-
B

Minister
ialworkmeanst headmi nist
rat
iveworkwhichtheCourthastodo,butar
enotof
j
udicialnatur
elikeaccounti
ng,calcul
ati
on,et
c.Suchwor ktakesalotofv
aluabl
eti
meofthe
Courtwhi chcanbeusedi notherimportantj
udici
alfunct
ions.
Ther
efore,
theCour
tappoint
sacommi ssi
onert
odosuchwor ksonbehal
foft
heCour
t.I
tis
i
mportanttonot
ethatcommissi
oner
scannotdojudi
cial
funct
ions.(
5)

Pr
ocedur
eforcar
ryi
ngoutt
hecommi
ssi
on:

 Thecommi
ssi
onerwi
l
lconductt
hel
ocal
inv
est
igat
ion,
exami
nat
ionofwi
tnesses,
adj
ustaccount
sandot
herf
unct
ionsasor
der
edi
nthecommi
ssi
on.

 Af
tercompl
eti
onoft
hef
unct
ion,
thecommi
ssi
onerwi
l
lreducet
hef
indi
ngsi
nwr
it
ing
andwi
l
lmakear
epor
t.

 Thecommi
ssi
onerwi
l
lsubmi
tther
epor
tsi
gnedbyhi
m al
ongwi
tht
heev
idence
r
ecor
dedi
ntheCour
t.

 Ther
epor
tofcommi
ssi
onerwi
l
lfor
m apar
toft
her
ecor
d.

 Whi
leexami
ningt
her
epor
t,t
heCour
tort
heconcer
nedpar
ti
es,
aft
erpr
iorper
missi
on,
canexami
net
hecommi
ssi
onerper
sonal
l
yinopenCour
t.

 I
ftheCour
tisdi
ssat
isf
iedwi
tht
hepr
oceedi
ngsoft
hecommi
ssi
onert
heCour
tcan
orderafur
theri
nqui
ryonthecommi
ssi
onorcani
ssueaf
reshcommi
ssi
onand
appointanewcommi ssi
oner
.

Tosummar
ize,
thecommi
ssi
oncanbei
ssuedi
nthef
oll
owi
ngci
rcumst
ances:

1.Tomakeal
ocal
inv
est
igat
ion.

2.Toadj
ustaccount
s.

3.Tomakepar
ti
ti
on.

4.Tohol
dinv
est
igat
ion.

5.Toconductsal
es.

6.Toper
for
m mi
nist
eri
alwor
k.

Power
soft
hecommi
ssi
oner
:Or
der26Rul
e16-
18

Underor
der26r
ule16,
power
sofacommi
ssi
onerar
easf
oll
ows:
  Commi
ssi
onerhast
heaut
hor
it
ytoexami
net
hepar
ti
esandt
hewi
tnessesandany
otherper
sonwhot
hecommi
ssi
onert
hinkscangi
veev
idencei
nthemat
terr
efer
red
tohim.

 Commi
ssi
onercandi
rectt
hepar
ti
est
opr
oduceanydocument
swhi
chi
srequi
redt
o
beexami
ned.

 Commi
ssi
oneral
sohast
hepowert
oent
erandsear
chanyl
andorbui
l
dingwi
tht
he
per
missi
onoft
heCour
t.

 I
fthepar
tyf
ail
stoappearbef
oret
hecommi
ssi
oneraf
tert
heor
deroft
heCour
t,t
he
commi
ssi
onercanpr
oceedexpar
te.

Whet
hert
hecommi
ssi
onerwi
l
lbeent
it
ledt
oaRemuner
ati
on?

Ther ei
snopr ovisi
onintheCPCwhi chexpresslyprovidesforremunerat
iont othe
commi ssi
onerbutRule15oforder26pr ov
idefort heexpenseswhi chmi ghtbeincur
redby
thecommi ssi
oner.Whil
eissui
ngcommi ssion,theCour tdir
ectstheappl
icanttodeposita
sum ofamountwhi chcanbeusedbyt hecommi ssionertoaccountfortheexpenseswhich
mi ghtbeincurr
edbyhi m whi
lecar
ryingoutthecommi ssion.TheCourthast he
discret
ionarypowertomakedi r
ecti
onsregardingther emuner at
ion.

Whatar
ethel
i
mit
ati
onsont
hecommi
ssi
oner
?

Commi ssionerhast oassi

stt heCourtincarr
yingoutthejudi
cialfunctionsbuthecannotdo
thejudicialfuncti
onsonbehal foftheCour t
.Forexample,acommi ssionercannotval
uethe
suitproper t
ybecausei ti
saj udici
alfuncti
onandonl yt
heCourthast hepowert odoso.A
commi ssionercanassisttheCour tbyproduci
ngt hedocument ssuchaspl ansofthesuit
propertybywhi chtheCourtcanascer tai
nthev al
ue.

Iti
snottheobject
iveofissui
ngacommi ssi
ontoprocur
eev i
denceforthepar
ti
es.
Theref
ore,
ifapartyhastheapprehensi
onthatt
heopposit
epartywil
ltamperwitha
documentwhichisrelev
anttothecase,t
heCourtshoul
dnotappointacommi ssi
onert
o
sei
zesuchdocument s.

Whati
stheev
ident
iar
yval
ueoft
her
epor
tsubmi
tt
edbyt
hecommi
ssi
oner
?

Accordingtoorder26rule10( 2)oft
heCPC,therepor
tandt heev i
dencesubmit
tedby
commi ssioner
sformsapar toftherecor
dbutift
heev i
dencei ssubmitt
edwit
houtthe
repor
toft hecommi ssi
oner,suchevi
dencedoesnotform partoftherecor
d.(
6)

Thereportf
ormsani
mport
antpartoft
hecaseandcanonlybechal
lengedonsuff
ici
ent
grounds.
TheCour
thast
hefi
nalsayonhowmuchr el
ianceshoul
dbeplacedontherepor
t
submi
tt
edbyt
heCour
t.

Recei
ver(
Order40)

Whoi
sar
ecei
verundert
heci
vi
lpr
ocedur
ecode?

Underorder40ofCPC, TheReceiv
erisani
ndependentandi
mparti
alpersonwhois
appoint
edbyt hecour
ttoadminist
er/
manage,t
hatis,t
oprot
ectandpreserveadi
sput
ed
propert
yinvol
vedinasuit.

Forexampl e, inadi sputebet weenAandBf orani mmov ableproperty,ifthecour tthinks

thatitisint hebesti nter
estofbot hthepar
tiesthatpossessi onshouldbet akenfrom Band
givent oani ndependentper son, t
hecourtmayappoi ntar eceiverwhocanmanaget he
proper t
yt i
l
l thet imet hesuitisbeingdeci
ded.Suchar eceiverappointedbyt hecour twould
ber esponsi blef orthemai ntenanceoftheproperty.Hecancol lectthei ncomeaccr uingli
ke
rentoranyot herpr ofi
tsandut i
li
zeittomaintai
nt heproperty.Afterdeduct ingtheexpenses
i
ncur redinmai ntenancefrom theincomereceivedf r
om t heproperty,
t her eceiverwillhav
e
tosubmi tther emai ningincome, i
fany,i
nthecour t.

Heisnotrepr
esentat
iveofei
theroft
hepar t
iesi
ntheaction,i
suniformlyregar
dedasan
off
iceroft
hecourtworki
ngintheint
erestofnei
therpl
ainti
ffnordefendantbutfort
he
commonbenef i
tofallt
heparti
es.

Whati
sthepur
poseoft
heappoi
ntmentofar
ecei
ver
?

Whenapar tyinpossessionoft hedisputedproper t

yexhauststhepropert
yorcauses
i
r r
eparabledamagest oit
,thewhol eobjectofthesuitgetsdefeat
edbecauset hesubject
mat t
erceasest oexistoritsvaluegetsaf f
ected.Therefor
e,whenthecour ti
softheopini
on
thatthepropertyindisputemustnotgot oeitheroftheparti
es,pendenteli
te,
thecourt
appointsarecei v
erwhoi sentrustedwiththepr otect
ionandpreservat
ionofsuchproperty.
Itisaform ofinteri
m protect
ionwhi chthecour tprovi
destotheparti
eswhomakest he
appli
cationtil
ltheti
met hecour tadjudi
catesthemat t
er.

Whati
sther
oleofar
ecei
ver
?

TheReceiverisregardedasanof f
icerofthecourtandistheextendedarm andhandoft he
court
.Hei sentr
ust edwit
hther esponsibil
i
tytoreceiv
edisputedpropert
yormoneygi v
enby
thecourtandmanagesuchpr oper t
yormoneyt illt
hetimeadecr eeispassedort hepart
ies
havecompr omisedoranyot herper i
odast hecourtdeemsf i
t.Thepropertyorfund
entr
ustedtother eceiv
erisconsideredtobecust odi
alegisi
.e.inthecustodyofthelaw.
TheReceiverhasnopowerot herthant hoseentr
ustedtohim bythecourtwhi l
eappointi
ng
him.
Whocanappoi
ntar
ecei
ver
?

Accordingtot
heci vi
lprocedur ecode,thecour
tbeforewhicht heproceedi
ngsar epending
canappointareceiveri
fitappear sjustandconveni
enttothecour ttoappointsuchreceiv
er
[sect
ion51(d)
].Iti
swi t
hint hediscr
etionar
ypowerofthecour ttoappointt
her ecei
ver.For
example,inasuit,
thetri
al courtcanappointarecei
ver.Whereas,inappeal,
t heappel
late
courtcanappointareceiver .

However,t
hediscr
eti
oni
snotabsol
ute,ar
bit
rar
yorunregul
ated.Theexpr
essi
on“j
ustand
conv
enient
”doesnotmeantheappoi
ntmentisbasedonthewhi msandwishesoft
hejudge
onanygroundswhichst
andagai
nstequit
y.

Howdoest
hecour
tdeci
dewhet
hert
oappoi
ntar
ecei
verornot
?

Cour
thast
okeept
hef
oll
owi
ngpr
inci
plesi
nmi
ndbef
oreappoi
nti
ngar
ecei
ver
:

 Appoi
ntmentofar
ecei
veri
sadi
scr
eti
onar
ypower
.

 I
tisapr
otect
iver
eli
eft
othepl
aint
if
f.Theobj
ecti
stopr
otectandpr
eser
vet
he
di
sput
edpr
oper
tyt
il
lthet
imet
hesui
tispendi
ngi
nthecour
t.

 Ar
ecei
vershoul
dnotbeappoi
ntedunl
esst
hepl
aint
if
fshowspr
imaf
aci
ethathehas
ast
rongcaseagai
nstt
hedef
endantandi
tismor
ethanl
i
kel
ythathewi
l
lsucceedi
n
t
hesuit
.

 Appoi
ntmentofar
ecei
veri
soneoft
hehar
destr
emedi
esasi
tdepr
ivest
he
defendantofhisri
ghtt
opossessi
onbefor
ethefi
nal
decree.Theref
ore,
thecour
t
shouldnotresortt
oitmer
elyonthegr
oundthati
twil
ldonohar m.

 Ther
eshoul
dbest
rongappr
ehensi
ont
hatt
her
eisadangert
othepr
oper
tyort
he
pl
aint
if
fwi
l
lbei
nwor
seofasi
tuat
ioni
ftheappoi
ntmentofar
ecei
veri
sdel
ayed.

 Thecour
tshoul
dappoi
ntar
ecei
veronl
ywhent
her
eisapossi
bil
i
tyofwr
ongori
njur
y.
Also,i
fitisshownthatthesubjectmatterisnoti
nthepossessi
onofanyoft
he
parti
esandi ti
sint
hecommoni nt
erestofboththepar
ti
estoappoi
ntarecei
verf
or
theprotecti
onandpreservat
ionofthepr oper
ty.

 Thecour
tshoul
dlookatt
heconductoft
hepar
tywhomakest
heappl
i
cat
ionf
or
appoint
mentofar ecei
ver
.Thepar
tyshoul
dcometothecour
twit
hcl
eanhandsand
thei
rconductshouldbesucht
hatt
heyarenotdi
sent
it
ledt
othi
sequi
tabl
erel
i
ef.

Theabov
epr
inci
pleswer
eint
roducedbyt
heMadr
asCour
ti hecaseofT.Kr
nt ishnaswamy
Chett
yvsC.ThangaveluChettyAndOr s.
,AI
R1955Mad430.Thesepr
inci
plesar
enowwel
l
est
abli
shedi
ntheIndianjur
isprudence.

Whocanappl
yfort
heappoi
ntmentoft
her
ecei
ver
?

Generally,
apl
aint
if
ffil
estheappli
cati
onforappointmentofar ecei
verbutdefendant
scan
al
sof i
lesuchappli
cati
on.Athi
rdpartyisnotal
lowedt ofi
l
et heappli
cationbutifhei
s
i
nter
est edint
heprotect
ionandpreservat
ionofthepropert
y,hecanal somakean
appl
icationaf
tert
akingpermi
ssionfrom t
hecour t
.

Whocanbeappoi
ntedasar
ecei
ver
?

Aper sonwhoi sindependent

,impart
ial
andtotall
ydisi
nterest
edshouldbeappointedasa
recei
v er
.Suchaper sonshouldnothaveanystakeinthedisputedpropert
y.Gener
all
y,
parti
estot hesuitar
enotappointedasrecei
verbythecour t
.Butinextr
aordi
nary
cir
cumst ances,apartytosui
tcanbeappointedasreceiver.

Whencanar
ecei
verbeappoi
nted?

Thecourtcanappoi
ntar ecei
verwheneverthecour
tisoft
heopiniont
hateit
herparty
shouldnothol
dthepropertyi
ndisput
e.Thecourtcanappoi
ntareceiv
erbeforeoraft
era
decreeandcanremoveanyper sonfr
om thepossessi
onorcust
odyoft heproper
tyand
commi tt
hesamepropertyinthecustodyormanagementoftherecei
ver.

Undert hecodeit
sel
f,therecei
vercanbeappoint
edtoprev
enttheendsofjust
icebeing
defeated.[
secti
on94(d)]
.Simil
arl
y,fort
heexecut
ionofadecr
ee,thecour
thast hepowert
o
appointarecei
ver.[
secti
on51(d)].

Thereareprovi
sionsinspecialact
swhichprovi
desfortheappoi
ntmentofar
eceiverbythe
court
.Forexampl e,secti
on84oftheCompaniesAct,2013provi
desfort
heappointmentof
areceiv
er.Simil
ar l
y,secti
on69AoftheTransf
erofPropert
yAct,1882al
soprovi
desforthe
appoint
ment.

Whati
sthepr
ocessofappoi
ntmentofar
ecei
ver
?

Theprocessofappointmentofarecei
veri
sprovi
dedbythecourt
sinthei
rrespect
ivecour
t
rul
es.Thehighcourthasthepowertomakerulesfort
hesuper
int
endenceandcontrolof
thesubordi
natecourt
s.

Fori
nst
ance,

I
nchapt
erXI
Xoft
heDel
hiHi
ghCour
t(Or
igi
nal
Side)r
ules,
1967,
thef
oll
owi
ngpr
ocessi
s
pr
ovi
ded:

 Appl
i
cat
ionf
orappoi
ntmentshal
lbemadei
nwr
it
ingandshal
lbesuppor
tedby
af
fi
dav
it.

 Recei
verot
hert
hant
heof
fi
cial
recei
verhast
ogi
vesecur
it
y.

 Thesecur
it
yist
obegi
vent
othesat
isf
act
ionoft
her
egi
str
ar.

 Hehast
opr
ovi
deper
sonal
bondswi
tht
henumberofsur
etyr
equi
redbyt
her
egi
str
ar.
Theper
sonalbondwil
lbedoubl
etheamountofannual
rentalv
alueofthepr
oper
ty
ort
hetotal
valueoft
heproper
tywhi
chtherecei
veri
sgoingtoadmini
ster
.

 Wi
thi
naweekofappoi
ntment
,ther
ecei
verwi
l
lhav
etosubmi
tar
epor
tpr
ovi
dingt
he
det
ail
sregar
dingt
hepr
oper
tysuchasi
nvent
oryofpr
oper
tyorbooksofaccountet
c.

 Ther
egi
str
arwi
l
lgi
vedi
rect
ionsonwher
etoi
nvestt
hemoneyr
ecei
vedbyt
he
recei
verfr
om theproper
ty.Gener
all
y,suchmoneyi
ssubmi
tt
edi
nschedul
edbanks
orgovernmentbonds.

Whatar
ethepower
soft
her
ecei
ver
?

Underor
der40r
ule1(
d)power
soft
her
ecei
verar
epr
ovi
dedasf
oll
owi
ng:

 Col
l
ect
ionofr
ent
sandpr
ofi
tsar
isi
ngoutoft
hepr
oper
ty.

 Appl
i
cat
ionanddi
sposal
ofsuchr
ent
sandpr
ofi
ts.

 Execut
ionofdocument
sast
heownerhi
msel
f.

 Toi
nst
it
uteanddef
endt
hesui
t.

 Suchpower
sast
hecour
tmaydeem f
it
.

Also,therearei
ndirectpower swhichar eceiv
erenj
oysbeingthehandoft hecourt.For
exampl e,I
fapersonobst ructsorinterf
ereswitht
herecei
ver’
srightt
opossession, i
twill
amountt oobstructi
oninacour tproceedingandsuchapersoncanbemadel i
ablef or
contemptofcour t.Simil
arly
,propertyinthehandsofther
eceivercannotbeattached
withouttheleav
eoft hecour t.

Thecour
thast
hedi
scr
eti
onar
ypowert
onotconf
eral
lther
ight
sont
her
ecei
ver
.Ev
eni
fthe
cour
thasgivenal
lthepowerstohim,
heshouldtaketheadv
iceoft
hecour
tinal
li
mpor
tant
deci
sionsr
elat
edtotheproper
tytopr
otecthi
mself.

Wi
thoutt
heper
missi
onoft
hecour
t,t
her
ecei
vercannot
:

 Gr
antl
easeont
hepr
oper
ty.

 Br
ingsui
tsexceptf
orsui
tforr
ent
.Asui
twi
l
lbedi
smi
ssedi
fnotper
mit
tedbyt
he
cour
t.

Whatar
ethedut
iesoft
her
ecei
ver
?

Underor
der40r
ule(
3),
dut
iesofar
ecei
verar
epr
ovi
dedasf
oll
ows:

 Fur
nishsecur
it
ytoaccountf
orwhathewi
l
lrecei
vef
rom t
hepr
oper
tyasi
ncome.

 Submi
taccount
s(hal
fyear
ly)f
orsuchper
iodorf
orm asdi
rect
edbyt
hecour
t.The
accountbasi
cal
l
yincl
udesthei
ncomerecei
vedandexpensesi
ncur
redf
ort
he
prot
ecti
onandpreser
vat
ionoft
heproper
ty.

 Payt
heamountduet
othecour
t.

 Taker
esponsi
bil
i
tyf
oranyr
educt
ioni
nthev
alueoft
hepr
oper
tybecauseoft
he
r
ecei
ver
’swi
l
lful
negl
i
gence.

 Di
schar
get
hedut
iesper
sonal
l
yandshoul
dnotdel
egat
eorassi
gnanyoft
her
ight
s
ent
rust
edt
ohi
m byt
hecour
t.

Thereceiverhastofulf
ilallt
heduti
esandr esponsibil
i
tiesentr
ustedt ohim bythecour t
.
Otherwise,t
hecourtcant akeact
ionagainsthim andmakehi m personall
yli
ableforany
l
osswhi chmi ghtoccurduet ohi
snegli
genceorwi lfulf
ailur
etopr otectandpreservethe
propert
y .

Whatar
ethel
i
abi
l
iti
esofar
ecei
ver
?

Accor
dingt
oOr
der40r
ule(
4),
Whenar
ecei
verf
ail
s:

 Tosubmi
tther
epor
tsasspeci
fi
edbyt
hecour
tor
,

 Topayt
heamountduef
rom hi
m asdi
rect
edbyt
hecour
tor
,
  Causesl
osst
othepr
oper
tyduet
ogr
ossnegl
i
gence.

 Anyot
herdut
ywhi
chcour
tdi
rect
edhi
mtodo,

Thecour
tmayordert
heat t
achmentofpr
oper
tyoft
her
ecei
vert
orecov
ert
hel
osscaused
duetohi
swi
ll
ful
defaultornegl
i
gence.

Thecourt,
afterr
ecov
eri
ngall
thelossesfr
om theproceedsr
ecei
vedaf
tersel
l
ingr
ecei
ver
’s
proper
ty,
will
paythebal
ance(i
fany)totherecei
ver
.

Therecei
verisboundinkeepi
ngdowntheexpensesandtaki
ngcareoft
heproper
tyinhi
s
possessi
onasapr udentmanwouldobser
veinconnect
ionwit
hhisownproper
tyunder
si
milarci
rcumstances.

Wi
l
lar
ecei
verbeent
it
ledt
oremuner
ati
on?

Recei
versareentit
ledtoremuner
ati
onasfi
xedbythecour
tfortheserv
icesr
ender
edby
them.Also,arecei
verhastobeprovi
dedf
orthel
ossorexpensesincur
redbyhi
mf or
maint
ainingtheproper
ty.

Underorder40rul
e(2)
,thecour
tcanfi
xtheremuner
ati
ontobepaidtotherecei
verfort
he
ser
vicesprovi
dedbyhi
m.Thecourtcanpassageneral
orspeci
fi
corderregardi
ngthe
same.

Forexample,
TheDelhi
highcourthaspr
ovi
dedi
nDel
hiHi
ghCour
t(or
igi
nal
side)r
ules,
1967,
the f
orremuner
ati
onoftherecei
verasf
oll
ows:

Rent
srecover
ed,outst
andi
ngrecov
ered,t
heval
uereal
i
sedont
hesal
eofmov
abl
eand
i
mmov abl
epropert
iescal
cul
atedonanyoneest
ate:

 OnFi
rstRs.10,
000:
5%

 Abov
eRs.10,
000upt
oRs.20,
000:
3%

 Abov
eRs.20,
000upt
oRs.50,
000:
2%

 Abov
eRs.50,
000upt
oRs.1,
00,
000:
1%

 Abov
eRs.1,
00,
000:
½%

Si
mil
arl
y,f
ort
aki
ngcust
odyofmoney
,1%,
fort
aki
ngcust
odyofGov
ernmentsecur
it
iesof
st
ocks,
shar
es,
1%oft
heest
imat
edv
alue.

I
fnor
emunerati
onisspeci
fi
edforanywork,
suchremuner
ati
oncanbegr
ant
ed,
ast
hecour
t
mayt
hinkr
easonabl
e,ontheappl
icat
ionoft
herecei
ver
.

Canacol
l
ect
orbeappoi
ntedasar
ecei
ver
?

Yes,accordi
ngto(Order40rule5),acoll
ectorcanbeappointedasareceiveri
fther
evenue
generatedfr
om thepropert
yisreceivedbythegov er
nment,
thecourtcanappointa
coll
ectorasarecei
verwithhisconsentifthecourtthi
nkst
hatmanagementofsuch
propert
ybycoll
ectorwill
promotet heint
erest
soft hosewhoareconcerned.

Tempor
aryI
njunct
ions(
Order39)

Whati
saTempor
aryi
njunct
ion?

UndertheSpeci f
icRel
iefAct
,1963,Sect
ion37dealswi t
hat empor
aryinj
uncti
on.
Tempor aryi
njuncti
onsconti
nueforaspecif
iedper
iodoft i
meoruntil
thefurt
herorderof
thecourt.Theymaybeal l
owedatanystagei nasuitandaremanagedbyt heCodeofCivi
l
Procedure(1908).

Theessential
pur
poseforgranti
ngt
hisinj
unct
ioni
stosecuretheint
erest
sofanindi
vi
dual
orthepropert
yoft
hesuitunti
lthef
inal
judgmenti
spassed.Thefactor
slookedi
ntowhi
le
provi
dingsuchaninj
unct
ionare:

1.I
fapar
tyhasacaseofpr
imaf
aci
e?

2.I
fthebal
anceofconv
eni
encei
sinf
avoroft
hecompl
ainant
?

I
II
.Whet
hert
hepl
aint
if
fwoul
dsuf
feri
rr
epar
abl
edamagesbef
oret
hej
udgmenti
spassed?

Thetimeperi
odofsuchani
njunct
ioni
sdependentont
hedi
scr
eti
onofthecourt
.Thiskind
ofi
njunct
ionwasal
soprovi
dedasundert
hecaseUnionofI
ndi
av.BhuneshwarPrasad.

Someexampl
esofcasesst
atedi
ntheCPCwher
etempor
aryi
njunct
ioncanbegr
ant
edar
e:

 Wher
eanypr
oper
tyi
ndi
sput
einasui
t,whi
chi
spr
obabl
eofget
ti
ngwast
ed,
dest
roy
edorest
rangedbyanypar
tyt
othesui
t,ori
l
legal
l
ysol
dinexecut
ionofa
decr
ee;or

 Wher
ethedef
endantt
hreat
enst
oremov
eordi
sposeofhi
spr
oper
tyi
nor
dert
o
 def
raudhi
scr
edi
tor
s;or

 Wher
ethedef
endantt
hreat
enst
odepr
ivet
hepl
aint
if
fofhi
spr
oper
tyort
hreat
enst
o
causei
njur
ytot
hepl
aint
if
finconnect
ionwi
tht
hepr
oper
tyi
ndi
sput
eint
hesui
t;or

 I
nanycaset
opr
eventt
hedef
endantf
rom commi
tt
ingabr
eachofacont
ractorany
ot
heri
njur
y;

 Wher
epur
suantt
osect
ions38and41oft
heSpeci
fi
cRel
i
efAct
,noper
pet
ual
i
njunct
ionormandat
oryi
njunct
ioncoul
dbegr
ant
ed;

 Wher
etost
ay,
theoper
ati
onofanor
derf
ort
het
ransf
er,
suspensi
on,
reduct
ionof
rank,obli
gator
yreti
rement,di
smissal,
removalorot
herwiseter
minat
ionofserviceof
anyper sonappoint
edtopubli
cserviceandpostinconnecti
onwit
hSt ateaf
fai
rs,
i
ncludinganyempl oyeeofanycompanyorcompany -ownedorcontr
ol l
edbythe
Gov er
nmentoft heState;

 Wher
etost
ayanydi
sci
pli
nar
ypr
oceedi
ngs,
pendi
ngori
ntendedorhav
ingt
heef
fect
ofanyadverseentr
yagainstanypersonappoi nt
edt
othepubl
i
cserv
iceandt
opost
i
nconnectionwiththeState’
saff
air
s,includi
nganyempl
oyeeoft
hecompanyowned
orcont
rol
l
edbyt heSt at
e’sgover
nment ;or

 Tor
est
ri
ctanyel
ect
ion;

 Wher
etor
est
rai
nanyauct
ioni
ntendedt
obemadeorr
est
rai
ntheef
fectofany
Governmentaucti
on;orst
aythepr
oceedingsfortherecov
eryofanydues
r
ecov er
abl
easr ev
enueonlandunl
essadequat esecuri
tyi
sprovi
ded,andany
i
njuncti
onordergr
antedinbr
eachoftheseprovisi
onsshall
bevoid.

I
nallcases,
exceptwher
et heobjectofgranti
ngtheinj
unct
ionappear
stobedefeat
edby
t
hedelayevenbefor
etheinjuncti
onisgranted,t
heCourtshal
li
ssueadir
ectnot
iceoft
he
r
equestfort
hesamet obegi ventotheotherpart
y:

Provi
dedt hat
,wherei
tisproposedtograntaninj
unct
ionwi
thoutnoti
cetot
heot herpar
ty,
theCourtrecordst
hereasonsforit
sviewthatthepur
poseofgrant
ingthei
njuncti
onwould
bedefeatedbydelayandrequir
estheappli
cantto:

(a)del
ivert
oorsendt ot
heot
herpar
tybyr
egi
ster
edpost
,immedi
atel
yaf
tert
heor
derof
granti
ngtheinj
unct
ion,

(i
)acopyoft
herequestf
ort
hei
njunct
iont
oget
herwi
thacopyoft
heaf
fi
dav
itf
il
edi
n
suppor
toft
herequest
;
(
ii
)acopyoft
hecompl
aint
;and

(
ii
i)acopyoft
hedocument
sonwhi
cht
heappl
i
cantr
eli
es;

(b)tofil
e,onthedayonwhichsuchinj
unct
ioni
sgrant
edoronthedayimmedi
atel
y
fol
lowingthatday,anaf
fi
davi
tstat
ingt
hatthecopi
esafor
esai
dhavebeensodel
iv
eredor
sent.

Howev er
,thecourtmustdisposeofsuchsui
tswi
thinaperi
odoft
hir
tyday
sfrom t
hedate
ofgranti
nganinjunct
ionandininst
anceswherei
tisnotabl
etodoso,i
tmustspeci
fyt
he
reasonsfori
tsinabi
li
ty.

Orderforinj
uncti
onmaybedi scharged,vari
edorsetaside–TheCPCal sostatesthat,
at
therequestofanypartywhoi sdissatisf
iedwiththeorder
, anyor
derforinj
unctionmaybe
dischar
gedorv ari
edorsetasi debytheCour t;subj
ecttotheknowledgethatifapartymade
af al
seormisleadi
ngst at
ementi nar equestforatemporaryinj
uncti
onorinanyaf fi
davit
support,
forsuchar equest.

Furt
hermor e,whereani njuncti
onhasbeeni ssuedaftergivi
ngapartytheopportuni
tytobe
heard,theordershallnotbedi schar
ged,vari
edorsetasi deontherequestofthatparty
unl
esssuchdi schar
ge,v ari
ati
onorset-asi
dei snecessi
tatedbyachangeofci r
cumst ances
orunlesstheCour ti
ssat isfi
edthattheorderhascausedt hatpar
tydif
ficul
tyandhardship.

I
njunct
iontoabindingcorporat
iononitsof
fi
cer
–Ani
njunct
iont
oacorpor
ati
oni
sbinding
notonl
yont hecorporat
ionit
selfbutal
soonall
membersandof
fi
cer
softhecor
por
ation
whosepersonalacti
onsitseekstocurt
ail
.

Theint
erl
ocut
oryor
der
spassedwi
thr
egar
dtoi
njunct
ionsasst
atedi
ntheCPCar
eas
fol
l
ows:

Powert oor
derinterim sal
e–Uponappl i
cati
onbyanypar tytoalawsuit,
theCour tmayor der
thesalebyanyper sonnamedi nt hatorder
,andonsucht ermsasi tconsider
sfit,ofany
mov abl
epropert
yt hatisthesubjectofsuchal awsuitorthati
sattachedbeforeaj udgment
i
nsuchal awsuit,
whi chi
ssubjecttorapidandnaturaldecli
neorwhi chi
tmay ,foranyother
j
ustandsuffici
entr easonmaybedesi r
abletobesoldof f
.

Det
ent
ion,
preser
vat
ion,
inspect
ion,
etc.oft
hesubj
ect
-mat
teroft
hel
awsui
t:

(1)t
heCourtmay,att
her
equestofanypar
tyt
othepr
oceedi
ngsandundersuchcondi
ti
ons
asitconsi
der
sfi
t:

(a)makeanor
derforthedet
ent
ion,
preser
vati
onorinspect
ionofanyproper
tyt
hati
sthe
subj
ectoft
heproceedi
ngsorastowhichanyquest
ionmayar i
sether
ein;
(b)foral
loranyoft
heaf
orement
ionedpur
posesaut
hor
izeanysuchper
sonf
oranysuch
purpose;

(
c)authori
zesamplestobetakenoranyobservat
ionst
obemadeorexper i
mentst
obe
t
est
edf orall
oranyoftheaforementi
onedpur
poseswhichmayseem necessar
yorusef
ul
f
orthepurposeofobtai
ningfull
inf
ormati
onorevi
dence.

(2)Theprovi
sionsgoverni
ngt heexecut
ionoft
heproceedi
ngsshal
l,
mut at
ismut
andi
s
(makingnecessaryal
terat
ionswhilenotaff
ect
ingt
hemai npoi
ntati
ssue),
appl
ytoaper
son
authori
zedtoenterunderthi
sr ul
e.

Appl
i
cat
ionf
orsuchor
der
stobemadeaf
ternot
ice:

(
1)Theplai
nti
ffmayr
equestanor
derunderRul
e6atanyt
imeaf
tert
hesui
thasbeen
i
nst
it
uted.

(2)Anappl
icat
ionbyt
hedef
endantf
orasi
mil
aror
dermaybemadeatanyt
imeaf
teri
ts
appear
ance.

(3)Bef
oremakinganor derpursuantt
oRul e6orRule7onanapplicat
ionf
ort
hatpurpose,
theCourtshal
l
,exceptwhereitappearsthatthepurposeofmaki
ngsuchanorderwouldbe
defeat
edbyadelay,issueadir
ectnoticetotheotherpart
y.

Whenapar tymaybeputi nimmedi atepossessi onofl andwhi chi sthesubj ect-

matterofa
suit
: Wherel andpay i
ngrev enuet oGov er
nment ,orat enur eliabl etosal e,isthesubject-
mat terofal awsuit,
ifthepar t
yi npossessi onofsuchl andort enur efailst opaythe
Gov ernmentr evenue,orther entdueoft het enuret othepr oprietor,ast hecasemaybe, and
suchl andort enureisconsequent l
yor deredt obesol d, anyot herpar tyt othelawsuit
clai
mi ngtohav eani nter
esti nsuchl andort enur emay , uponpay mentoft herevenueor
rentduepr ev i
ouslytothesal e(andwi thorwi thoutsecur i
tyatt hediscr eti
onoft heCour t
),
bepl acedini mmedi at
epossessi onoft helandort enur e;andt heCour tinitsdecree, may
awar dtothedef aulti
ngpar tytheamountsopai d, wi
thi nterestt hereonatt heratethatthe
Cour tconsidersfit
,ormaychar get heamountsopai d, withint erestther eonatther ate
orderedbyt heCour t,i
nanyadj ustmentoft heaccount smaybedi rectedbyt hedecr ee
passedi nthesui t
.

Deposi tofmoney ,et

c.inCourt
:Wher et heobj
ectofalawsuiti
smoneyorany thi
ngelse
capableofdeliv
er yandanypartythereofadmitsthati
tholdssuchmoneyorany thi
ngelse
asat rusteef
oranot herpart
yorthatitbelongstoorisduetoanotherpar
ty,
theCour tmay
orderthesamet obedeposi tedincour tordel
i
veredtothatl
ast-
namedparty,wit
hor
withoutsecuri
ty,subjectt
otheprovisionsofthejudgment.

Summar
yPr
ocedur
e(Or
der37)
Summar ysui
torsummar ypr
ocedureisgiveninorderXXXVIIoftheCodeofCivi
lProcedur
e,
1908.Summar yprocedurei
salegal pr
ocedureusedf orenf
orcingari
ghtt
hattakeseff
ect
fasterandmoreeffi
cient
lyt
hanordinarymethods.[1]It
sobjectist
osummarisethe
procedureofsui
tsincasethedefendanti
snothav inganydefence.

Asummar ysuitcanbeinsti
tut
edinHighCour
ts,
CityCi
vi
lCourt
s,Court
sofSmallCauses
andanyothercourtnot
if
iedbytheHighCourt
.Hi
ghCourtscanrest
ri
ct,
enl
argeorvarythe
cat
egori
esofsuitstobebroughtunderthi
sor
der.[
2]

Cl
assesofsui
tswher
esummar
ypr
ocedur
eisappl
i
ed

Summar ysuitscanbeinst
it
utedincaseofcert
ainspecifi
eddocumentssuchasabillof
exchange,hundies,
andpromissor
ynotes.Summarypr ocedur
eisappl
icabl
etorecov
era
debtorli
quidateddemandinmoneyar i
singonawritt
encont r
act
,anenactmentorona
guarant
ee.[
3]

Whati
sabi
l
lofexchange?

Abillofexchangeisawr it
tenuncondi
ti
onalorderbyonepart
y(thedrawer )t
oanother(t
he
drawee)topayacer tainsum ei
theri
mmediatelyoronafi
xeddat eforpaymentofgoods
and/orservi
cesreceived.[
4]Ift
hesum istobepaidimmediatel
yitiscall
edasightbil
l.
Term bil
li
st hebi
llofexchangewherethesum istobepaidonaf ixeddate.

Hundi
es

AHundieisanuncondi t
ional
orderi
nwrit
ingmadebyapersondirect
inganot
hertopaya
cert
ainsum ofmoneyt oapersonnamedi nt
heor
der.I
tisafi
nanciali
nstr
umentevol
vedon
theIndi
ansub-cont
inentandusedfort
radeandcr
edi
tpurposes.
[5]

Pr
omi
ssor
ynot
es

Apromissor
ynotecontai
nsanunconditi
onal
promiset
opayacert
ainsum totheorderofa
speci
fi
cal
lynamedpersonortobearer
—thati
s,toanyi
ndi
vi
dualpr
esent
ingthenote.A
promi
ssorynot
ecanbeei t
herpayabl
eondemandorataspecif
icti
me.[6]

Li
qui
dat
eddemandi
nmoney

Li
quidat
eddemandisademandf
orafi
xedsum e.
g.adebtofRs.50.Iti
sdist
ingui
shed
fr
om aclai
m ofunl
i
qui
dat
eddamages,
whichi
sasubjectoft
hediscreti
onar
yassessment
bythecour
t.[
7]

I
nst
it
uti
onofsummar
ysui
ts
I
nordertoi
nsti
tut
easui
tundersummar
ypr
ocedur
e,t
henat
ureofsui
tmustbeamongt
he
f
oll
owingcl
asses:
-

Sui
tsuponbi
l
lofexchange,
hundi
esandpr
omi
ssor
ynot
es

Sui
tsf
orr
ecov
eri
ngadebtorl
i
qui
dat
eddemandi
nmoney
,wi
thorwi
thouti
nter
est
,ar
isi
ng:
-

 Onawr
it
tencont
ract
,or

 Onanenact
ment(
ther
ecov
erabl
esum shoul
dbef
ixedi
nmoneyori
tshoul
dbei
n
t
henat
ureofadebtot
hert
hanapenal
ty)
,Or

 Onaguar
ant
ee(
her
ethecl
aim shoul
dbei
nrespectofadebtorl
i
qui
dat
eddemand
onl
y)

Asummar
ysui
tisi
nst
it
utedbypr
esent
ingapl
ainti
nanappr
opr
iat
eci
vi
lcour
t.

Cont
ent
sofpl
aintf
orsummar
ypr
ocedur
e

Apartfrom fact
saboutthecauseofact i
on,thepl
aintmustcontainaspeci
ficaff
ir
mati
on
thatthesuitisfi
l
edunderthi
sor der
.Itshouldal
socontai
nt hatnosuchrel
iefhasbeen
clai
medwhi chdoesnotfal
lundertheambi tofr
uleXXXVIIoftheCPC.Inthetit
leoft
hesui
t,
foll
owinginscri
pti
onmustbet hereunderthenumberofthesui t
:-

“
(UnderOr
derXXXVI
Ioft
heCodeofCi
vi
lPr
ocedur
e,1908)
”[8]

Pr
ocedur
esaf
teri
nst
it
uti
onofSummar
ysui
t

Undersummar ypr
ocedures,t
hedef endanthastogett
heleavetodefendf
rom t
hecour
t.A
bur
denisplaceduponthedefendantt odiscl
osethef
actssuf
fici
entt
oenti
tl
ehimtodefend
i
ntheappli
cati
onforleav
et odefend.

Det
ail
edpr
ocedur
es

 Af
teri
nst
it
uti
onofasummar
ysui
t,t
hedef
endanti
srequi
redt
obeser
vedwi
tha
copyoft
hepl
aintandsummonsi
nthepr
escr
ibedf
orm.

 Wi
thi
n10day
sofser
viceofsummons,
thedef
endanthast
oent
eranappear
ance.

 I
fthedef
endantent
ersanappear
ance,
thepl
aint
if
fshal
lser
veont
hedef
endanta
summonsf
orj
udgment
.
  Wi
thi
n10day
sofser
viceofsuchsummons,
thedef
endanthast
oappl
yforl
eav
eto
def
endt
hesui
t.

 Leav
etodef
endmaybegr
ant
edt
ohi
m uncondi
ti
onal
l
yoruponsucht
ermsasmay
appeart
otheCour
torJudget
obej
ust
.

 I
fthedef
endanthasnotappl
i
edf
orl
eav
etodef
end,
ori
fsuchanappl
i
cat
ionhas
beenmadeandr
efused,
thepl
aint
if
fbecomesent
it
ledt
othej
udgmentf
ort
hwi
th.

 I
fthecondi
ti
onsonwhi
chl
eav
ewasgr
ant
edar
enotcompl
i
edwi
thbyt
hedef
endant
t
henal
sot
hepl
aint
if
fbecomesent
it
ledt
ojudgmentf
ort
hwi
th.

 Sub-
rul
e(7)ofOr
der37pr
ovi
dest
hatsav
easpr
ovi
dedbyt
hator
dert
hepr
ocedur
ein
summarysuit
sshal
lbet
hesameast
hepr
ocedur
einsui
tsi
nst
it
utedi
nanor
dinar
y
manner
.[9]

Canasummar
ysui
tbet
ri
edaf
tert
hei
nst
it
uti
onofanor
dinar
ysui
tont
hesamecauseof
act
ion?

Accordi
ngtosecti
on10oft heCPC, acourtcannotproceedwi t
hthet ri
alofasuiti
nwhich
thematterini
ssuei
salsodirectl
yandsubstantial
lyi
ni ssuei
napr eviousl
yinst
itut
edsui
t
betweenthesameparti
es.Itiscal
ledthepri
ncipleofressub-j
udice.Theprovi
sioncont
ained
i
nt hesecti
onismandator
yandnodi scr
eti
onisleftwiththecourt
.[10]

However
,thewordt
ri
al,i
nthiscase,
hasnotbeenusedini
tswi
destsense.Theconceptof
r
essub-j
udicei
snotappl
icabl
etosubsequent
lyi
nst
itut
edsummarysuit
s.

TheCour
tortheJudgedeal
ingwi
ththesummar ysui
tcanpr
oceeduptothest
ageof
hear
ingt
hesummonsf orj
udgment.Judgmentcanal
sobepassedi
nfavoroft
heplai
nti
ffi
f:
-

(a)Thedefendanthasnotappl
i
edf
orl
eav
etodef
endori
fsuchappl
i
cat
ionhasbeenmade
andrefused,or
,

(
b)Thedef
endantwhoi
spermi
ttedt
odef
endf
ail
stocompl
ywi
tht
hecondi
ti
onsonwhi
ch
l
eav
etodefendi
sgrant
ed.[
11]

Whenal
eav
etodef
endi
sgr
ant
ed

Thef
oll
owingpri
nci
plesar
eappl
i
cabl
eint
hemat
terofgr
antorr
efusal
ofl
eav
etodef
endi
n
summarysui
ts:
(a)I
fthedef
endantsati
sfi
esthecourtt
hathehasasubst
ant
ial
def
ence,
thedef
endanti
s
enti
tl
edtoanuncondit
ionall
eaveofappeal
.

(b)I
fthedefendantraisestr
iabl
eissuesindi
cat
ingthathehasafairorr
easonabl
edefence,
alt
houghnotaposi t
ivelygooddefence,t
hedefendantisor
dinar
il
yenti
tl
edtouncondi
ti
onal
l
eav et
odefend.

(c)Evenifthedef
endantrai
sestr
iablei
ssues,
ifadoubtisl
eftwi
tht
ri
alj
udgeaboutt
he
defendant’
sgoodfai
th,condi
ti
onalleav
etodefendisgrant
ed.

(d)Ift
hedefendantr ai
sesadef encewhichisplausi
blebuti
mprobabl
e,t
hetri
alj
udgemay
grantcondi
ti
onalleav etodefendwithcondit
ionsastotimeormodeoftri
al,
aswellas
paymentint
ocour t,orfurni
shingsecur
it
y .

(
e)I
fthedefendanthasnosubst
ant
ial
def
enceandr
aisesnogenui
net
ri
abl
eissue,
thenno
l
eav
etodefendisgranted.

(f
)Wher epartoftheamountclaimedbytheplai
ntif
fisadmit
tedbythedef
endantt
obedue
fr
om hi
m, leavetodefendshall
notbegrantedunlesstheamountsoadmit
tedtobeduei
s
deposi
tedbyt hedefendanti
nCourt.
[12]

Decr
eei
nsummar
ysui
ts

Theplai
nti
ffisenti
tl
edtoadecreeofasum notexceedi
ngt
hesum ment
ionedi
npl
aint
,
toget
herwithint
erestandcosti
nfol
lowi
ngcondit
ions:
-

 I
fthedef
endantdoesnotent
eranappear
ance(
expar
tedecr
ee)

 I
fthedef
endanthasnotappl
i
edf
orl
eav
etodef
end

 I
fthedef
endanthasappl
i
edf
orl
eav
etodef
endbuti
tisr
efused

 I
fthel
eav
etodef
endi
sgr
ant
edt
hent
hesui
tpr
oceedsasanor
dinar
ysui
tand
decr
eei
sgr
ant
edaspert
heCPC.
[13]

Set
ti
ngasi
dedecr
eei
nsummar
ysui
ts

Int
heCPC, rul
e13oforderIXdeal
swit
hsetti
ngasi
detheexpar
tedecr
ee.Thedef
endant
hastosati
sfythecour
tthatt
hesummonswasnotdulyserv
edorhewasprevent
edbyany
suf
fi
cientcausefr
om appear
ingi
nthehear
ing.
Rule7ofOrder37saysthatexceptasprovi
dedintheorder,
theprocedureinsuit
sunder
Order37shal
lbethesameast heprocedureinsuit
sinst
it
utedinanor di
narymanner.Rul
e4
ofOrder37speci
fi
cal
lyprovi
desforsetti
ngasidethedecr
ee,ther
efore,pr
ovisi
onsofRule
13ofOrder9will
notapplytoasuitfi
ledunderOrder37.

Underrule4oforderXXXVI I,t
hecour thasthepowert osetasidetheexpar t
edecree
passedinsummar ysuit
.Thecourtisempower edtostaytheexecutionofsuchadecr ee.
Underthisrul
e,anapplicat
ionismadeei t
herbecauset hedefendantdi
dnotappeari n
responsetosummonsandl i
mitat
ionexpi r
ed,orhavingappeared,di
dnotapplyforleaveto
defendthesuiti
nt heprescri
bedperiod.Tosetasideexpar tedecree,t
hedefendanthasnot
onlytoshowspeci alci
rcumstanceswhi chpreventedhimf r
om appearingbutal
sofacts
whichwouldent i
tl
ehi mtoleavetodef end.[
14]

Di
ff
erencebet
weensuf
fi
cientcauseandspeci
alci
rcumst
ances

Forset
ti
ngasi deexpartedecr
eeinanor di
narysuit
,thedef
endanthast
osati
sfythecour
t
wit
hsuffi
cientcauseforhi
snon-appearance.I
nsummar ysuit
s,t
heexpart
edecreemaybe
setasi
deifthedefendantshowsspecialci
rcumstances.

Ther easonsoff
eredbythedefendanttoexplai
nthespecialci
rcumst ancesshoul dbesuch
thathehadnopossi bi
l
ityofappeari
ngbeforetheCourtonar elevantday .Forinst
ance,
therewasast ri
keandallt
hebuseswer ewi t
hdrawnandt her
ewasnoot hermodeof
transport
.Thismayconsti
tute“speci
alci
rcumstances”.Buti
fhewer etopl eadthathe
mi ssedthebushewantedt oboardandconsequentlyhecouldnotappearbef oretheCour
t.
I
tmayconst i
tut
ea‘suff
ici
entcause’,
butnota‘specialci
rcumstance’.

Thusa‘ specialcir
cumst ance’wouldt akewithita’cause’or‘ reason’,
whichpreventsa
personi nsuchawayt hatitisalmosti mpossibl
eforhimt oat tendtheCourtortoper f
orm
certainactswhi chhei srequiredtodo.Thust he‘
reason’ or’cause’ f
oundin“special
ci
rcumst ances”ismor est r
ictormor estri
ngentthanin“ sufficientcause”
.Whatwoul d
const i
tute‘specialci
rcumst ances’,woulddependupont hef act sofeachcase.Special
ci
rcumst ances( f
orthepur poseofset ti
ngasidetheexpar tedecr ee)mayconstitut
ea
‘
sufficientcause’,butnotv iceversa.[
15]

Appeal
sfr
om Or
igi
nal
Decr
ee(Sect
ion96t
o99A;
Order41)

Meani
ngofappeal

Thet er
m‘ appeal’nowherehasbeendef i
nedundert heCPC.TheBl ack’
sLawDi cti
onary,
whileconst r
uingtheconceptof‘
appeal’initsmostor igi
nal
andnat uralsense,explainsitas
“thecompl aintt
oasuper i
orcourtforaninjust
icedoneorer rorcommi t
tedbyani nferi
or
one,whosej udgmentordecisiontheCour tabov eiscall
edupont ocorr
ectorrev erse.Itis
theremov alofacausef r
om aCour tofinferi
orjuri
sdicti
ontooneofsuper iorj
urisdicti
on,
forthepurposeofobt ai
ningareviewandr etri
al”.
Essent
ial
sofappeal
i
ngcases

Anappealisaproceedingwhereahigherforum reconsi
dersthedeci
sionofalowerf or
um,
onquesti
onsoflaw&f actwit
hjuri
sdict
iont oconfi
rm,rever
se,modifythedeci
sionor
remandthemattertothelowerfor
um forfreshdecisi
onincomplianceofitsdi
recti
ons.The
essent
ial
sofappeali
ngcasescanbenar r
oweddownt o3elements:

 Adecr
eepassedbyaj
udi
cial
/admi
nist
rat
iveaut
hor
it
y;

 Anaggr
iev
edper
son,
notnecessar
il
yapar
tyt
otheor
igi
nal
proceedi
ng;
and

 Ar
evi
ewi
ngbodyi
nst
it
utedf
ort
hepur
posesofent
ert
aini
ngsuchappeal
s.

Ri
ghtt
oappeal

Therighttoappeal i
sastatut
or y&subst anti
veone.Thest at
utorynat ureofanappeal
i
mpl i
est hatithastobespecificallyconfer
redbyast atut
ealongwi t
ht heoper ati
ve
appell
atemachi ner
yasopposedt other i
ghttoinst
itut
easui t
,whichi sani nherentri
ght.I
t
i
ssubst antiveinthesensethati thastobet akenprospecti
vel
yunlesspr ovidedotherwise
byanyst atute.Thisri
ghtcoul
dbewai vedoffvi
aanagr eement,andi fapar tyacceptsthe
benefi
tsunderadecr ee,i
tcanbeest oppedfrom chall
engi
ngitslegality.Howev er,an
appealaccr uestothelawasf oundont hedateoftheinsti
tuti
onoft heor igi
nal sui
t.

Oner
ightt
oappeal

Secti
on96oft heCPCpr ov i
dest hatanaggrievedpar t
ytoanydecr ee,whichwaspassedby
aCourtwhileexerci
singitsoriginalj
uri
sdict
ion,i
sconf er
redwi t
hatl eastoneri
ghttoappeal
toahigherauthori
tydesignatedf ort
hispurpose,unlesstheprov i
sionsofanystatut
emake
anexcepti
onf ori
t.Secti
on97, 98and102oft heCPCenumer atecertaincondi
ti
onsunder
whichnofurtherappeali
sper mi tt
ed,henceattri
but
ingt oasinglerightofappeal.

Nor
ightt
oappeal

Noper sonhasar i
ghttoappealagai
nstadecisionunlesshei sapartytothesui
t,excepton
speciall
eaveoftheCourt.Anessenti
alelementtobet akenintoaccountwhil
econsideri
ng
one’sri
ghttoappealiswhethersuchpersonisadverselyaff
ectedbythedecisi
on/suit,
whichisaquesti
onoff acttobedeterminedineachcase.

Gar
ikapat
iVeer
ayav.Subbi
ahChaudhar
y

Intheinst
antcase,i
twashel
dt hatt
hepre-
exi
sti
ngri
ghtt
oappeal
totheFederal
Cour t
conti
nuedtoexistandt
heoldlawwhi chcr
eat
edsuchari
ghtal
soconti
nuedtoexist
.It
const
ruedtothepr eserv
at i
onofthi
srightwhi
lerecogni
zi
ngthechangeini
tsjudi
cial
machineryfr
om theFeder alCourtt
otheSupremeCour t
.However
,thecont
inuanceofthe
oldl
awi ssubjectt
ot heprovisi
onsoftheConsti
tuti
on.

Fi
rstappeal

Section96oft heCPCpr ovi

desthatanappeal shal
l l
i
ef r
om adecr eepassedbyanyCour t
exercisi
ngoriginal
jur
isdi
cti
ontotheauthori
zedappel l
ateCourts,exceptwher eexpr
essl
y
prohibit
ed.Acombi nedreadi
ngofSecti
ons2( 2),2(9),&96oftheCPCi ndicat
esthata
regularFir
stappealmay /
maynotbemai ntai
nabl eagainstcer
tainadjudicati
ons.

Whomayappeal
?

Ar
egul
arf
ir
stappeal
maybepr
efer
redbyoneoft
hef
oll
owi
ng:

 Anypar
tyt
othesui
tadv
ersel
yaf
fect
edbyadecr
ee,
ori
fsuchpar
tyi
sdead,
byhi
s
l
egal
repr
esent
ati
vesunderSect
ion146;

 At
ransf
ereeoft
hei
nter
estofsuchpar
ty,
whosof
arassuchi
nter
esti
sconcer
ned,
i
sboundbyt
hedecr
ee,
prov
idedhi
snamei
sent
eredont
her
ecor
doft
hesui
t;

 Anauct
ionpur
chasermayappeal
agai
nstanor
deri
nexecut
ionset
ti
ngasi
det
he
sal
eont
hegr
oundoff
raud;

 Noot
herper
son,
unl
esshei
sapar
tyt
othesui
t,i
sent
it
ledt
oappeal
underSect
ion
96.

Aperson,whoisnotapartytot
hesuit,
maypr
eferanappealf
rom adecr
ee/or
deri
fhe’
s
bound/aggr
iev
ed/pr
ejudi
cial
l
yaffect
edbyi
tvi
aspeci
alleav
eoftheappel
lat
eCourt
.

Appeal
byonepl
aint
if
fagai
nstanot
herpl
aint
if
f

nI
I ftikharAhmedv .SyedMeher banAli,i
twasconcur r
edthati
fther
eexistsaconfli
ctof
i
nterestbetweenplaint
if
fsandi tisnecessarytoresol
vei
tviaaCourtt
or el
ievet
he
defendant,andi
fitisinfactdecided,i
twilloper
ateontheli
nesofresj
udicatabetweenco-
pl
aintiff
sinthesubsequentsuit.

Appeal
byonedef
endantagai
nstanot
herdef
endant

Therul
einacasewher eanappeali
sprefer
rednotagai nstt
heorigi
nal
lyopposi
tepart
ies
butagai
nstaco-
defendantonaquesti
onofl aw,itcoul
dbeal l
owed.Suchanappealwould
l
ieevenagai
nstafi
ndingifi
t’
snecessar
ywhi leoperati
ngasresjudi
cata(amattert
hathas
beenadjudi
cat
edbyacompet
entCour
tandhencemaynotbepur
suedf
urt
herbyt
hesame
part
ies)
.

Whocannotappeal
?

Apartywhowai veshi
s/herr
ighttopr
eferanappealagainstaj
udgmentcannotf
il
eitata
l
aterstage.Fur
ther
,asinf
err
edf r
om Scrut
tonL.
J.’
swor ds:

“I
tstar
tl
esmet hatapersoncansaythejudgmentiswrongandatthesametimeacceptt
he
paymentunderthejudgmentasbei
ngright….
Inmyopinion,y
oucannottaket
hebenefi
tof
j
udgmentasbei nggoodandthenappealagai
nstitasbeingbad”
,

I
fapartyrat
if
iesanydeci
sionoft
heCour tbyaccept
ingandacknowledgi
ngt
hepr
ovi
sions
underi
t,i
tmaybeestoppedfrom appeal
i
ngt hatj
udgmenti
nahi gherfor
um.

Theappeal
agai
nstexpar
tedecr
ee

Inthef irstappeal underSect

ion96(2),thedefendantont hemer i
tsofthesui
tcancontend
thatthemat eri
alsbr oughtonrecordbyt heplainti
ffwereinsuff
ici
entforpassi
ngadecr eei
n
hisfav ourorthatt hesuitwasnotot herwisemai ntai
nable.Alt
ernati
vel
y,anappli
cati
onmay
bepr esent edtosetasi desuchexpar tedecree( i
tisadecr eepassedagainstadefendanti
n
absent ia).Bothoft heseremediesareconcur rentinnature.Moreover,
inanappealagainst
anexpar t
edecr ee,theappel
latecourtiscompe¬t enttogoi ntothequesti
onofthe
proprietyorot herwiseoftheexpar t
edecr eepassedbyt hetri
alcourt.

Noappeal
agai
nstconsentdecr
ee

Secti
on96(3),basedonthebroadpr i
ncipl
eofestoppel,
declar
esthatnodecr eepassedby
theconsentofthepart
iesshallbeappealabl
e.Howev er
,anappeall
iesagainstaconsent
decreewherethegroundofattackisthattheconsentdecr
eeisunlawfulbeingin
contrav
enti
onofast at
uteorthatthecouncilhadnoauthori
ty.

Noappeal
inpet
tycases

Secti
on96( 4)barsappealsexceptonpoint
sofl awincaseswheret
hevalueoft
hesubject
-
matteroftheorigi
nalsuitdoesnotexceedRs.10,000,ascogni
zabl
ebytheCourtofSmall
Causes.Theunder l
yi
ngobj ect
iveofthi
sprovi
sionistoreducet
henumberofappealsi
n
pett
ycases.

Theappeal
agai
nstPr
eli
minar
yDecr
ee

Sect
ion97pr
ovi
dest
hatt
hef
ail
uret
oappeal
agai
nstapr
eli
minar
ydecr
eei
sabart
orai
sing
anyobjectiontoi
tintheappealagainstafinaldecr
ee.TheCour ti
nthecaseofSubbannav .
Subbannapr ovi
desthat,
theobjectofthesectionisthatquest
ionswhichhavebeenurged
bythepar ti
es&decidedbytheCour tatthestageofthepreli
minarydecr
eewillnotbeopen
forr
e-agitati
onatt
hestageofpr eparati
onofthef i
naldecr
ee.It
’dbeconsider
edasf i
nal
ly
deci
dedi fnoappealispref
err
edagai nstit
.

Noappealagai
nstaf
indi
ng

Thel anguageofSecti
on98( 2)i
simperati
ve&mandat oryi
nterms.Theobjectappear
stobe
thatonaquest i
onoffact
,intheeventofadiff
erenceofopi
nion,vi
ewsexpressedbythe
l
owercour tneedst
obegi venpri
macy&conf ir
med.Theappel l
atecour
tcannotexaminethe
correctnessofthefi
ndingoffact
sanddeci deuponthecorr
ectnessofeit
herview.

Theappeal
agai
nstadeadper
son

Apersonwhohasunknowi ngl
yfil
edanappealagai
nstaper
sonwhowasdeadattheti
me
ofit
spresentat
ionshal
lhav earemedyoffi
l
inganappealaf
reshagai
nstt
hel
egal
heir
sof
suchdeceasedincomplianceoftheLi
mitat
ionAct.

For
msofappeal

Appeal
smaybebr
oadl
ycl
assi
fi
edi
ntot
woki
nds:

 Fi
rstappeal
;and

 Secondappeal
.

Thesub-
cat
egor
iesunderappeal
sar
e:

 Appeal
from or
igi
nal
decr
ee;

 Appeal
from or
der
;

 Appeal
from appel
l
atedecr
ee/
secondappeal
/t
oHi
ghCour
t;

 Appeal
tot
heSupr
emeCour
t.

For
um ofappeal

I
tist
heamount/
val
ueofthesubject
-matt
erofthesui
twhichdeter
minest
heforum i
nwhich
t
hesuiti
stobef
il
ed,andt
heforum ofappeal
.Thefi
rstappeal
li
estotheDi
str
ictCour
tif
thevalueofthesubj
ectmat
teroft
hesui
tisbel
owRs.2,
00,
000;
andt
otheHi
ghCour
tinal
l
othercases.

Appeal
sfr
om Appel
l
ateDecr
ees(
Sect
ion100;
Order42)

AsperSect
ion100oft
heCi
vi
lPr
ocedur
eCode,
1908:

 Anappeal
shal
ll
iet
otheHi
ghCour
tfort
hedeci
sionmadebyt
heDi
str
ictCour
t.

 Anappeal
li
esi
fthedecr
eei
spassedex-
par
te.

 I
fHi
ghCour
tissat
isf
iedt
hatsubst
ant
ial
quest
ionofl
awi
sinv
olv
edi
tshal
l
f
ormul
atet
hedeci
sions.

I
tistobenotedt
hatt
hesecondappeal
isont
hegr
oundsofasubst
ant
ial
quest
ionofl
aw
notonfi
ndi
ngerr
orsoff
acts.

Nat
ureandScope

Nat
ureoft
hesecondappeal

 Ther
ightt
oappeal
isnoti
nher
it
edbuti
tiscr
eat
edbyst
atut
e.Ther
ightt
ofi
l
esui
ts
i
sinher
enti
nnat
ure.

 Thi
sri
ghtst
art
sfr
om t
hedat
eoff
il
ingsui
ts.

 Thedeci
sionofAppel
l
ateCour
tisf
inal
.

 Ther
ight
scannotbedecl
aredv
oidunt
ilandunl
essdecl
aredbyt
hest
atue.

Scopeoft
heSecondAppeal

TheSecondappeal
canbeexer
cisedonl
ywhent
hecasef
all
sundert
hesecat
egor
ies-

(
a)Quest
ionofl
awi
sinv
olv
ed.

(
b)Quest
ionofl
awshoul
dbesubst
ant
ial
.

Ot
herj
ust
if
icat
iondef
inedasunderSect
ion100ofCPC.
Quest
ionoff
actwr
ongl
ydet
ermi
nedshoul
dnotbet
hecr
it
eri
afort
hesecondappeal

CasesLaws

I
nthecaseofDudhNathPandeyvsSureshChandr
aBhat t
asaal
i,i
twashel
dthat
TheHi
gh
Cour
tcannotsetasi
dethef
indi
ngoffactsbyt
heFirstAppel
lat
eCourt
.

I
nthecaseofDny
anobaBhauraovs.Marut
iBhaur
aoMarnor,
itwashel
dthatf
indi
ngoff
act
i
sagai
nstthewei
ghtofev
idenceandther
eisnoquest
ionofl
awinthi
s.

Thesubst
ant
ial
quest
ionofl
aw

Theterm substanti
alquest
ionofl
awhasnotbeendef
inedanywhereunderCPCbuti
twas
fi
rstti
meinterpret
edbySupr emeCour
ti hecaseofSi
nt rChunniLalMeht
a&SonsLtdvs
CenturySpg&Mf gco.Lt
d.

Thepr opertestincaseofdeterminingt
hesubstanti
alquest
ionofl awdiffer
sfr om our
opinionandopi ni
onofthecourt,i
nouropinion,
itisofgeneralpubli
cimpor t
anceori fit
affectstheri
ghtsofpartiesandalsowhendecisionsarenotf i
nal
lysettl
edbyt hecour tor
federalbodyandi ncaseswhereinthecourtper
ceivesthatt
her ei
nv ol
vesapr i
ncipl
et hen
thatprinci
pletobeappliedwhent herei
sasubstantial
questionoflaw.

Thequest
ionofl
awt obesubst
anti
ali
tshoul
dbequest
ionabl
e,i
twi
l
lal
sodependupont
he
fact
sandcir
cumstancesoft
hecase.

I
nthecaseofMahindraandMahindraLtd.vs.Uni
onofI
ndi
a,i
twashel
dthatcaseshoul
d
i
nvol
vequest
ionsoflawnotmerelyquesti
onoflaw.

Thecour
tshoul
drecor
dther
easonf
ort
hesubst
ant
ial
quest
ionofl
aw.

InthecaseofM. S.VRajavs.SeeniThevar,
itwasheldbytheSupremeCour tthat
for
mul at
ionofasubstanti
alquesti
onoflawmaybei nferr
edfrom t
heki ndsofquest
ions
actual
lyconsider
edanddecidedbyt hecourti
nthesecondappeal,ev
ent houghthe
substant
ialquest
ionoflawisnotspecif
ical
lyandseparat
elyf
ormulated.

Quest
ionoft
hel
awofgener
ali
mpor
tance

Thesecondappealcanonlybef i
l
edwhent her
einv
olv
esaquest i
onoflawandquesti
onof
l
awshouldbesubstantial
.Ifi
tisofgener
alpubl
ici
mportanceori
fitaf
fect
stheri
ghtsof
par
ti
essubstant
ial
l
y .Sect
ion100OfCPCal sodeal
swiththeimport
anceofthequest
ionof
l
aw;
Cl
ause(3)st
atesThememor
andum ofappeal
shal
lst
atet
hatasubst
ant
ial
quest
ionofl
aw
i
sinvol
ved.

Clause(
4)stat
estheHighCourti
ssati
sfi
edthati
tinv
olv
esasubst
anti
alquesti
onoflawi
n
anycaseanditshal
lfor
mulat
ethequesti
on.
Nosecondappeali
ncert
aincases.Thi
sis
defi
nedunderSecti
on102ofCPC:

 Nosecondappeal
shal
ll
iewheni
tisofcogni
zabl
enat
urebycour
tsofsmal
li
ssues.

 Nosecondappeal
shal
ll
iewhent
her
eist
hef
indi
ngofer
ror
sint
hej
uri
sdi
cti
on.

Nol
ett
erspat
entappeal

Let
terPat
entAppeali
sanappealagai
nstthedeci
sionofasingl
ejudgeinthesamecour
t.
Thi
ssavesthepeti
ti
onerf
rom goi
ngtotheSupremeCourt,
sav i
ngalotofcosts.

I
nthi
s,t
hepetit
ionerhast
heopt
iont
omov
ethecaset
oanot
herbenchwher
ether
eismor
e
t
hanonejudge.

Arti
cle226andAr t
icl
e227oftheIndianConsti
tut
ionhaspr ov
isionandj
udgementpassed
i
nAr ti
cle 226st
atesthati
tcanbeissuedtoanyper sonorauthori
tyi
nanycasesandArti
cle
227.ItempowersTheHi ghCourttohavesuperi
ntendenceoversubordi
nat
ecourt
sand
tr
ibunals.Thej
udgementofArti
cle227doesnotf al
l i
nthi
scategory.

Thei
ntr
a-cour
tappeal
incaseofHi
ghCour
tisf
or30day
sandi
tisf
or90day
sincaseof
Supr
emeCourt.

Let
terofPat
entAppeal
isnotmai
ntai
nabl
eint
heAr
bit
rat
ionAct
:

 Thehi
ghcour
tofBombayhel
dthatLPAi
snotmai
ntai
nabl
eunderSect
ion8of
ar
bit
rat
ion.

 Onl
ysect
ion37oft
hear
bit
rat
ionactwoul
dappl
y.

 Rest
orat
ionappl
i
cat
ional
ongwi
tht
heappl
i
cat
ionofcondonat
ioni
snot
mai
ntai
nabl
e.

 LPAshal
lnotl
i
efr
om t
hedecr
ee,
judgementoft
hesi
ngl
ebenchundersect
ion100.

 Or
derofsui
t,notaj
udgementf
rom onecour
ttoanot
heri
snotmai
ntai
nabl
e.
For
um oft
hesecondappeal

Appealfr
om ori
ginaldecree–Gener
all
yeverydecreepassedbysubor
dinat
ecour
tfi
rst
ly
appealhastoli
estoHi ghCourt
.Butappeal
shallnotli
eifi
thasbeenpassedbyt
heconsent
ofthepart
iesunderSection96ofCPC.

Appeal
from or
der

Anappeal
shal
ll
ief
rom t
heor
derwhi
chi
sappeal
abl
e;

 I
tisanor
dermadeundersect
ion35A,
i
.eCompensat
orycost
.

 Ref
usi
ngl
eav
etoi
nst
it
uteasui
tundernat
ureofsect
ion91and92.

 Anor
derundersect
ion95i
.
ecompensat
ionf
orobt
aini
ngar
rest
,ori
njunct
ion.

 I
nsuf
fi
cientgr
ounds.

 Anyor
dermadeunderr
ulesf
rom whi
chanappeal
isexpr
essl
yal
l
owedbyr
ules.

 Anor
dermadeundert
hiscodei
mposi
ngaf
ineordi
rect
ingt
hear
rest
.

Appeal
from Appel
l
atedecr
ee

 Anappeal
shal
ll
iet
oHi
ghCour
tifdecr
eepassedbyt
heappel
l
atecour
t.

 I
fthej
udgementi
sex-
par
te.

 I
fiti
nvol
vesasubst
ant
ial
quest
ionofl
aw.

 Thesubst
ant
ial
quest
ionofl
awhast
obef
ormul
atedot
her
wiseappeal
woul
d be
di
smi
ssed.

Appeal
tot
heSupr
emeCour
t

Anappeal
shal
ll
iet
otheSupr
emeCour
tif
-

 Thecasei
nvol
vesasubst
ant
ial
quest
ionofl
awwhi
chi
sofgener
ali
mpor
tance.

 Whent
heHi
ghCour
tthi
nksoft
hemsel
vest
hecasei
sdeemedt
obef
itanddeci
ded
 byt
heSupr
emeCour
t.

Gr
oundsofAppeal

 Appel
l
anthast
oment
iongr
oundsofappeal
int
hememor
andum ofappeal
.

 Appel
l
anthast
oment
iont
hegr
oundofobj
ect
ionandpr
esenti
tbef
oret
heAppel
l
ate
Cour
t.

 Thenewgr
oundcanber
aisedbyaddi
ti
onal
appl
i
cat
ionl
ateron,
andt
heHi
ghCour
t
hast
hepowert
orej
ectoracceptt
heappl
i
cat
ion.

PowerofHi
ghCour
ttodeci
det
hei
ssueoff
act

Thi
sisdef
inedunderSect
ion103:

TheHighCourtcandeci
detheissueoffact
sifsuf
fi
cientev
idencei
sfoundandt
hecour
t
thi
nksiti
snecessar
yfort
hedisposalofanappeal–

Ifi
thasnotbeendecidedbyl owerAppellat
eCourtorbothbytheCourtatthefi
rsti
nst
ance
andtothelowerAppellat
eCour torifi
thasbeenwronglydeci
dedbyCour tandther
e
i
nvolvesasubstant
ialquest
ionoft hel
awwhi chi
sdefinedundersect
ion100ofCPC.

Pr
ocedur
eathear
ing

 Ev
eryappeal
shal
lbei
nthef
orm ofamemor
andum si
gnedbyt
heappel
l
antandt
o
bepr
esent
edbef
oret
hecour
t.

 Wher
ememor
andum i
snotmadeasperpr
escr
ibedbyl
awt
hent
hecour
thast
he
powert oei
therr
ejectorr
etur
ntheappli
cat
iontot
heappel
l
antandcangi
vet
hepar
ty
prescr
ibedti
met osubmitanappl
icat
ionagai
n.

 Whenanappeal
isnotmadeont
imet
henast
atementofr
easonal
ongwi
thsome
proofshoul
dbesubmittedtocourtandcourtmustsat
isf
yfr
om t
heappl
i
cat
iont
hat
ther
eisreasonabl
ecausefortheappli
cat
ionnotmadeont i
me.

 Noor
derofst
ayofexecut
ionofadecr
eeshal
lbemadeunl
esst
hecour
tdeci
dest
o
heart
heappeal
s.

 Regi
str
yofMemor
andum ofappeal
isnecessar
y.
  TheAppel
l
ateCour
t,af
tercal
l
ingt
her
espondentt
opr
esentbef
oret
hecour
tandask
togi
v eananswerandal
soaskhimtogi
veappl
i
cat
ionaf
terappl
i
cat
ioncour
tmay
cal
ltheAppell
antt
opaytheSecur
it
yCost
.

 Theappel
l
antCour
taf
terhear
ingt
otheappel
l
antmaydi
smi
sst
heappl
i
cat
ion
wi
thoutsendi
ngthenot
icet
othel
owercour
tandal
sowi
thoutsendi
nganot
icet
o
t
herespondent
.

 Theappel
l
atecour
tshoul
dfi
xadayf
orhear
ingandgi
venot
icet
other
espondenti
f
t
her
espondentdoesnotappearonagi
vendayt
hencasewi
l
lbeex-par
te.

Ther
espondentmaydoanycr
ossobj
ect
ion.

Af
terhear
ingt
heappeal
theappel
l
atecour
tmay
-

 Remandt
hecase.

 Mayf
ramet
hei
ssueandr
eferi
ttof
ort
ri
al.

 Takeaddi
ti
onal
evi
denceorr
equi
ressuchev
idencet
obet
aken.

 Theappel
l
atecour
taf
terr
eset
ti
ngt
hei
ssuemaypr
onouncet
hej
udgement
.

Documentt
obesubmi
tt
edwi
tht
heappeal

 For
m No.

 Theor
derappeal
edagai
nst-
2copi
es.

 Or
derofAssessi
ngOf
fi
cer
-2Copi
es.

 Gr
oundsofappeal
.et
c.

Pendi
ngappeal
s

Anappealit
sel
fdoesnotoper
ateasast ayofproceedi
ngsuntilt
hedecr
ee/judgement
appeal
edandexecut
ionofdecr
eenotstay ed.Anappeali
sfil
edtoappel
latecourthowev
er
theappel
l
atecour
tcanorderastayofexecutioni
fthecourtt
hinksi
tnecessary
.

I
ftheappl
i
cat
ioni
smadef
orseeki
ngst
aybef
oret
heexpi
rat
ionoft
imeandi
fthecour
t
t
hinksi
tnecessar
ycangr
antt
heex
ecut
ionofst
ay.

Theprobabi
li
tyoflossorpartysuf
fer
inglossandthepar
tyhasfi
ledanappl
i
cat
iont
ogr
ant
astayandthattoowithoutdelayt
henthecourtcangr
antastay
.

Cases

I
nthecaseofAt
maRam Pr
oper
ti
es(
p)Lt
d.v
.M/
s.Feder
alMot
orsPv
t.Lt
d

Stayordercanbemadecondi
ti
onal
too.Butt
hecondi
ti
onat
tachedt
ost
ayor
dermustbe
reasonabl
e.

I
nanappellat
ecour
tstayofproceedi
ngscannotbei
noperat
ionf
ormorethansixmonths
i
thasbeenheldbytheSupremeCourt,nAsi
i anResur
faci
ngofRoadAgencyPvt.Lt
d.&Anr.
V.Cent
ralBur
eauofInvest
igat
ion.

Gener
alPr
ovi
sionsr
elat
ingt
oAppeal
s(Sect
ion107,
108)

Ref
erencet
oHi
ghCour
t(Sect
ion113;
Order46)

Nat
ureandscope

Acourtsubordinatetot heHi ghCourti

sempower edtor ef
ert hecaseunderSect
ion113.
Thecourtinrel
ationt oSect i
on113meansacour thavingOr i
ginalCi
vi
lJuri
sdi
cti
on.A
ref
erencecanbemadeonl ywhent hereisaquestionoflaworv al
i
dit
yofanyActor
Ordi
nanceorofanypr ov i
sionoftheActisi
nvolvedandcanbesoughtonl yinapendingsui
t,
appeal,
orotherpr oceedings.Secti
on115dealswi threvi
sion.ItempowerstheHighCourt
tocallf
ortherecor dofanycasedeci dedbyacour tsubordinatetoit
.

Condi
ti
ons

Wher eanymat t
eri
nvolvi
ngasubst anti
alquestionoflawisr eferr
edbythesubordi
nat
e
courttotheHighCourtforitsopi
nionupont hatmatteriti
sknownasar efer
ence.
AccordingtoSecti
on113, anycourtcanreferthecaset otheHi ghCour
tfori
tsopini
onand
theHighCourtmayt henmakeanor derasitdeemsf itsubjecttocer
tai
nconditi
onsand
l
imit
at i
ons.

Rule1Or derXLVIforthepurposeofref
erencepr ovi
descert
aincondit
ionsandl
imitat
ions
thatareneededtobesat i
sfi
edf ort
heHighCour ttoenter
tai
ntherefer
encefrom t
he
subordinat
ecourt.Theseconditi
onsaregivenbelow:

 Ther
eshoul
dbeapendi
ngsui
torappeal
wher
ethedecr
eei
snotsubj
ectt
oappeal
.
  Ther
emustbeaquest
ionofl
aworusagehav
ingt
hef
orceofl
aw.

 TheCour
tthati
str
yingt
hesui
torappeal
orexecut
ingt
hedecr
eemustent
ert
ain
r
easonabl
edoubtont
hatquest
ionofl
aw.

Asperprovi
sotoSect
ion113,t
hequesti
onoflawinvol
vesquesti
onsrelat
ingt
othe
val
i
dit
y/prov
isi
onsofanyAct,
Ordi
nance,orRegul
ati
onorotherquest
ions.

Whomayappl
y?

Asubordi
nat
ecour
tmayref
ert
hecasewit
hitsownopini
ononthepoi
ntt
oHi
ghCour
t
ei
theroni
tsownmoti
onor;
ontheappl
i
cat
ionofanyofthepar
ti
es.

I
nManagerMet roRailwayvsM/ S.B.C.L.Secur
ePremisesitwasruledthatSect
ion113i
s
notaprovisionthatenabl
est heHighCour tt
otakeref
erencesuomot oortoordera
ref
erence.Itisaprovi
sionthatenablesthesubordi
nat
ecour tt
oreferthecasetotheHi
gh
Court.

Poweranddut
yofr
efer
ri
ngcour
t

Toent er
tainthedoubtonthequesti
onofl nBanar
aw.I siYadavvsKri
shnaChandr
aDass,
it
washel dthatasubordi
natecourtmayref
eracasetotheHighCourtwhenther
eis
reasonabledoubtregar
dingtheconst
it
uti
onalv
ali
dit
yofanAct .

Poweranddut
yoft
heHi
ghCour
t

 Tomakeanyor
derasi
tthi
nksf
itt
owhent
hecasei
sref
err
edt
oitbyt
he
subor
dinat
ecour
t.

 Answerorr
efuset
oanswert
hequest
ioni
nacaseandsendt
hecasebackt
othe
r
efer
ri
ngcour
tfordi
sposi
ngi
t.

 Toquasht
hecaser
efer
redt
oit
.

Ar
ti
cle228andSect
ion113

InRanadebChoudhur ivsLandAcquisit
ionJudge, t
hecour tobser
ved,Sect
ion113ofthe
Civi
lProcedureCodeisast at
utoryprovi
sionwhereasAr t
icle228isaconstit
uti
onal
provi
sion.Secti
on113doesnotr elat
etot heint
erpret
ati
onoft heconsti
tut
ionalpr
ovi
sions
buttothequestionofthevali
dit
yofanAct .Bot
hSection113andAr ti
cle228mayr el
atetoa
commoncasebutar enotcoextensive.
Itwashel dinRamaSundar iDev iv.I
nduBhusanBoset hatunderSection113thecourt
,
subj ectt ocer t
ainconditi
ons, maystat eandref
ert hecasetotheHighCour tf
orit
sopini
on
andt hepr ovisotothissectionspecifical
lymentionsthecaser el
ati
ngt ot
hevali
dit
yofan
Act .Wher easunderAr t
icle228, i
ftheHi ghCourtissati
sfi
edthatacasei spendi
ngina
subor dinatecourtthatinvolvesthedet ermi
nati
onoft hesubstanti
alquesti
onoflawforthe
i
nt erpr etati
onoft heConst i
tuti
on.TheHi ghCourtshallwithdr
awt hecaseandeither
disposeoft hecaseitselfordeterminet hequestionoflawandr et
urnthecasetothecourt
from whi cht hecasehasbeenwi t
hdrawn.

Pr
ocedur
eathear
ing

Thef
oll
owi
ngpr
ocedur
ehast
obef
oll
owedatt
het
imeofhear
ing:

 AsperRul
e1,
thecour
ttr
yingt
hesui
torappeal
orexecut
ingt
hedecr
eeei
theroni
ts
ownoronanappl icat
ionoft
hepar
ti
eswilldrawupthestatementoffactsandpoint
ofdoubtofthecaseandpassadecreeorordercont
ingentuponthehighcourton
thepoi
ntsrefer
red.

 Af
terhear
ingt
hepar
ti
est
heHi
ghCour
twi
l
ldeci
det
hepoi
ntssor
efer
red.Acopyof
t
hejudgmentalongwi
ththesi
gnat
ureoft
her
egi
str
arwi
l
lbet
ransmi
tt
edt
othe
r
efer
ri
ngcourtasperRul
e3.

 Ther
efer
ri
ngcour
tonr
ecei
vi
ngt
hecopywi
l
lpr
oceedi
nconf
ir
mat
ionwi
tht
heHi
gh
Cour
t’
sdeci
siont
odi
sposeoft
hecase.

 TheHi
ghCour
thasbeenv
est
edwi
tht
hepowerunderRul
e5t
omakesuchor
der
s
andtoamend,al
ter
,cancel
,setasi
deanydecr
eeoror
dert
her
efer
ri
ngcour
thas
passedormade.

AsperRul
e7,Incaset
hequest
ionari
sesastothej
uri
sdict
ionofsmal
lcausescour
t,a
recor
dwit
hthestat
ement
softhereasonsf
ordoubtwi
llbesubmitt
edt
ot heHighCour
t.

Cost
s

Rule4ofOrderXLVItal
ksaboutthecost
sofreferencet
otheHighCourt
.Itsayst
hati
fany
costi
sconsequentuponarefer
enceforthedecisi
onoftheHi
ghCourt,
itshall
bedeemed
tobethecostsi
nthecase.

Rev
iew(
Sect
ion114;
Order47)

OrderXLVIIi
ntheCodeofCivi
lProcedur
e,1908( CPC)toget
herwi
thSect
ion114oft heAct,
provi
destheproceduref
orRevi
ew.Secti
on114mer el
yproducest
hecondit
ionsnecessar
y
fort
hefil
ingtheappli
cat
ionf
orReviewtothe‘court
’bywhichdecr
eeororder,soughtt
obe
revi
ewedundertheappl
icat
ion,waspassedormade.Whi
l
eOr derXLVI
Ial
ongwit
hthe
samecondit
ionsasenumeratedinthesect
ion,
lay
sdowngroundsforRev
iewandother
procedur
alr
ulesgover
ningthesame.

I
nordert
ounder
standthel
egal
procedur
e,TwoPr
imar
yAspect
soft
heconceptneedt
obe
bor
neinthemi
nd,whichar
easfol
lows–

“SameCour t
”–Rul e1oft
heOrderspeci
fi
call
ypr
ovi
dethatappl
icat
ionf
orRevi
ewofthe
decreeororderhastobemadetotheverysamecour
twhichpassedsuchdecr
eeormade
suchorder.

“Court
”–Thet erm hasnotbeendefinedintheCPC, buti
mpl i
edlyi
nter
pr et
edas“ AnyCour t
havi
ngt hej
uri
sdicti
ontot ryt
hesui
tsofaci vi
lnature”[
i]
,nowsuchci vi
ljuri
sdicti
onmaybe
suchasconferredupont hecour
tsbyt heCPCi t
self
, orupontheTr i
bunalsbyt hespecial
stat
ues,orupont heSupremeCourtandHi ghCour t
sundert heirci
vi
lappellat
ej ur
isdi
cti
on[i
i
],
bytheConstit
utionofIndia.

Revi
ewJurisdi
cti
onfortheSupremeCour t–TheApexCour t,t
heref
orealsofal
lswit
hinthe
meaningoftheter
m“ Court”whi
leheari
nganysui tofaciv
ilnatur
e.Ithoweverhasbeen
separ
atel
yempower edwiththerevi
ewj ur
isdi
cti
onunderArticl
e137oft heConsti
tut
ion,but
fort
hecasesotherthanthatofciv
ilandcrimi
nal,si
nceforsuchcases, i
tisbei
nggoverned
bytheCPCandCr iminal
ProcedureCodeonl y
[i
ii
].

Revi
ewJurisdi
cti
onfortheHighCour
ts–Apar
tfr
om t
hepowerconfer
reduponi
tasa“Ci
vi
l
Court
”undertheCPC,ithasbeenhel
dbyt
heApexCourti
nthecaseofShi
vdeoSi
nghv
.
Stat
eofPunjab[
iv]:

“I
tissuff
ici
entt
osayt hatther
ei snot
hinginArt
icl
e226oftheConst
ituti
ontoprecludea
HighCourtfr
om exerci
singthepowerofr evi
ewwhichinher
esi
neveryCourtofplenary
j
urisdi
cti
ontopreventmiscarr
iageofjust
iceort
ocorrectgr
aveandpalpabl
eerr
or s
commi t
tedbyit
.”

ORDERXLVI
I

CONDI
TIONSFORAPPLI
CABI
LITY

Anappli
cat
ionforRev
iewmaybef
il
edbyanyper
son,
ifsuchper
sonper
cei
vehi
msel
fas
aggr
iev
edby [
v]–

“Adecr
eeororderwhichhasbeenpassedormade,byanyci
vi
lcourt,
Andf
rom suchdecr
ee
oror
der,anappeal
isall
owed,Butnoappeal
hasbeenfil
edyet
,attheti
meoff
il
ingofthe
Revi
ewappli
cati
on”,
Howev eronce, t
her evi
ewappl icati
oni sfi
ledt hereafter,
therei
snol egalbaronfil
ingofan
appealfrom suchdecr eeoror der.Ifappeal issopr eferr
edanddeci dedbyt hespeaki
ng
orderi.
e.onmer i
ts,beforetheRev iewappl icati
on,thent heReviewappl i
cationcannotbe
conti
nuedwi th[vi
].Andv iceversai.e.wher ereviewappl i
cati
onishear danddecidedbefore
theappealthenappeal becomesl iabletobedi smissed.So, wherebot harepending,
whicheverisdecidedf i
rst ,
wil
lbesai dt ohav esuper sededtheor i
ginaldecreeororder,
operati
onall
yt her
efore,suchor igi
nal decreeoror dernol ongerstandsandhencet heother
pendingproceedingwi llbeestopped.

Alt
hough, ifappealorevenSpecialLeavePeti
ti
on(SLP)ispreferr
ed,whet herbeforet
he
i
nsti
t uti
onofRev ieworafteri
t,buti
snotheardandget sdismissedfort hereasonbeing
l
egallyincompet entorduetothe“appli
cati
onofLawofLi mitati
on”[v
ii
],suchdismissaldoes
notcr eat
eanyl egalobst
ructi
onforthefil
i
ngofRev i
eworpr oceedingthereof,i
fthedecisi
on
i
sot herwisecompet enttogetrevi
ewedont hegroundsprovidedintheOr der[
vii
i]
.

Or
,“adecr
eeororderhasbeenpassedormade,
byanyci
vi
lcour
tAnd,
from suchdecr
eeor
or
der,
noappeali
sallowed”
,

Thi
spointofappl
icat
ionpr
ovi
destheopport
uni
tytoanaggri
evedper
son,i
npr
esenceofa
l
egalpr
ohibi
ti
ononf i
li
ngofanappeal
,togethi
scaserehear
donanyofthegr
oundsasset
outi
ntheOrder.

Sincet hi
sconditi
onbeingNon-Appeal able,i
sonewhi chi scondit
ionpr ecedentforthe
Rev i
sionaswel l
[i
x],andsotheconf usi
onmayar i
sef oral aymani fhei saggri
evedbya
decr eeororder,t
hatwhichofther ecourseav ai
lable,shoul dbeopt ed.Toconsidertheissue,
i
thast obeunderstoodthatRev i
ewi swiderinscopet hanRev i
sion, si
nceRev i
sioncanbe
doneonl yont hegroundsofjur
isdicti
onal orprocedur al err
orbyt heHi ghCourt,whil
e,as
al
r eadydiscussedthatRevi
ewcanbedoneonl ybyt hesamecour tandgroundsf orReview,
asexpl ai
nedbelowi nthi
sarti
cle,aremuchwi derthanmer elyj
urisdicti
onalorprocedural
error.

I
nf act,i
tmaytechnical
l
ybesai dthat,
ifadecr
eeororder
,isel
i
gibletogetr
evi
sedundert
he
“Revisi
on”t
henitismechanicall
yeligi
blet
ogetrevi
ewedunderthe“Revi
ew”aswell
,
provi
dedsuchdecr eeoror
deri sNon-Appeal
abl
e,butsoi
snottheotherwayround,
dueto
theveryspeci
fi
cscopeofRev ision.

Or
,“adeci
siononar
efer
encef
rom acour
tofasmal
lcause”
.

Where,r
eferencehasbeenmadebyacourtofasmal lcause,t
otheHighCour
tunderOr
der
XLVI,
thedecisionoft
heHighCourt
,onsuchref
erenceisbindi
ng,butper
sonaggr
iev
edby
suchdeci
sionmayappl yf
orrev
iewofsuchdeci
sion.

WHOCANFI
LEA“
REVI
EW”
“Anypersonwhoconsi derhi
mselfaggri
eved”iswhatt
heruleprovi
des, anditbeingl
egall
y
cleari
nterms,ontheface,gi
vestheint
erpret
ationt
hatpersonfi
li
ngar eviewneednot
necessaril
ybeapartytothesuit
,rat
hermaybeonewhosi mplyderivesalegiti
mateinter
est
i
nt hesuitoraccor
dingtohim,suchint
eresthasbeenadversel
yaffectedbyt hedeci
sionof
suchsuit.Andther
eforeanysuchpersonwouldhav el
ocusstanditof i
l
ear eview.

Supr
emeCour
ti hecaseofUni
nt onofI
ndi
av.Nar
eshkumarBadr
ikumarJagad&or
s.[
x],
hel
d:

“Evenat hi
rdpart
ytot hepr
oceedi
ngs,i
fheconsider
shi msel
fanaggri
evedperson,may
takerecoursetotheremedyofrevi
ewpeti
tion.Thequint
essenceist
hatthepersonshoul
d
beaggr i
evedbythejudgmentandorderpassedbythisCourtinsomerespect
”.

GROUNDSFORREVI
EW:

Rev
iewcanbef
il
ed,
ift
her
eis[
xi]
:

“Discover
yofNewandI mport
antmatt
erorevi
dence,which,af
tertheexer
ciseofdue
dil
igencewasnotwithi
ntheknowl
edgeofthepersonseekingrevi
eworcoul dnotbe
producedbyhim atanyti
mewhenthedecreewaspassedoror dermade”,

Discoveryofanynewmat terorevidencenecessari
lyhast obeani mpor tantorrelev
antas
sucht otheext entthathadi tbeenbr oughtonrecordatanyt imewhent hedecreewas
passedoror dermade, itwouldhav eani mpactandmi ghthav eal t
eredt hedecision[
xii]
.
Mor eover,absenceofsuchi mpor t
antmat t
erorevi
denceonr ecordatt het i
meofdeci sion,
mustnotbet heresultofnegligentat t
it
udeoftheconcernedper sonandt her
eforesuch
personappl yingforRev i
ewi srequiredbyl awtostr
ict
lyprovet hatsuchmat t
erorev i
dence
wasnotwi thinhisknowl edgeorcoul dnotbeadduced,evenaf terexercisingduedi l
igence
andunl esssuchpr oofi sgiven,applicati
onshall
notbegr anted[xii
i]
.

Cour
tmayt akesubsequenteventsi
ntoconsider
ati
onwhilerevi
ewingadeci
sion[
xiv
],
howevert
hef actthatt
hequesti
onoflawonwhi chdecisi
on,soughtber
evi
ewed,isbased
hasbeenreversedormodifi
edsubsequentl
ybythehigherauthori
tyi
nanyot
hercase,would
notmakeitanewandi mpor
tantmatter
,torevi
ewthedecisi
on[xv]
.

Il
lust r
ation–“AsuedBf orasum ofmoneyal legedtobedueunderanagr eementand
obt ainedthedecreeforthesame,againstwhichB, subsequentl
yfil
edanappeal i
nthePr i
vy
Counci l
,andwhiletheappealwaspending,Aobt ai
nedanot herdecr
eeagainstBont he
strengt hoftheformerdecree,f
oranothersum ofmoneyal l
egedbyhimtohav ebecome
dueundert hesameagr eementandlaterPrivyCouncilrev
ersedthefor
merdecr eeinthe
appeal ,onthebasisofwhi chBappli
edtot hecourtwhichhadpassedt heseconddecr ee,
fort heRev i
ewont hegroundofthedecisionofPr i
vyCouncilandsowasaccept edandhel d
byt hecour ttobeanewandi mport
antmat ter”[
xvi
].
Or
,“somemi
stakeorer
rorappar
entont
hef
aceoft
her
ecor
d”,

Themi st
akeorer r
orshouldbesuch,whichisveryobvi
ousandv isibl
eitsel
fonthefaceofi
t,
andthereforeanyerr
orfoundoutfrom t
hejudgmentaf t
eralongr easoningandlawbased
anal
ysis,cannotbesaidtobeoneapparentont hefaceofrecor
d, asagr oundforr
evi
ew.
However, suchmist
akeorerrorcanbeoffactandaswel lasoflaw.

Il
l
ustrat
ions–“ Non- consi
derat
ionoftheveryobv i
ousappl i
cati
onofpar ti
cularlaw,suchas
l
awofl i
mi tat
ionorpar ti
cul
arprovi
siontothefactsofthecase, set
tingasideoft heexpar t
e
decreewithoutbeingsat i
sfi
edoftheanyoft heconditi
onsl ai
ddowni nOrder9Rul e13,
appli
cati
onofr eli
giouslawwhichhasnotbeenl egal
l
yr ecognized,
wr onginterpret
ati
onofa
sett
ledlegali
ssue, whereacommi ssionwasi ssuedtoexami neawi tnessinacount ry
wherenor ecipr
ocal arr
angementexists,
havebeenhel dt obeaner rorapparentont heface
ofrecor
d” [
xvi
i].

Or
,“anyot
hersuf
fi
cientr
eason”
.

Before1922, t
heappl icati
onoft het erm“ Suff
ici
entreason”wasunr estri
ctedand
unregulated,fi
nall
yint hatyearapr i
nci pl
ecamet obel ai
ddownbyt hePr i
v yCouncil i
nthe
caseofChhaj j
uRam V.Neki [
xv i
ii]
,whi chcanbesummar izedast hat“thethirdground
ment i
oned, isnodoubtgi vi
ngwi descopet othegr oundsf orr
eview, butatthesamet ime
that“suffi
cientreason”hast obeatl eastanalogous(ejusdem gener i
s)toei t
heroft heother
twogr oundsandt hemer ereasont hatdecr eewaspassedoror dermadeoner roneous
groundt hatcourtfailedt oappr eciatet heimportantmat t
erorev i
dence, woul dnotmakeany
goodgr oundf orreview, andt herefor einsuchcases, theappealandnotr eview,isthe
remedyt ogetsucher roneousdecr eeoror dercorrected”[
xix]
.

Il
lustrations–Failuretoadher etolegalprovi
sionwhi chr equiredthecour tt
oacti na
particularmannerwoul dfal
lwithi
nt hemeani ngof“ Suff
icientReason”asanal ogoustot
he
“ErrorAppar entont heFaceoft heRecor d”[
xx].Orderofthedi smissal ofasuitduet o
defaul toftheplai
nt i
ff,
cannotber eviewedont hegr oundofmi sapprehensionoft he
counsel assuffi
cientreason,butiforderwasoni t
sf aceill
egal t
hensuchor dermaybe
reviewedont hegr oundaserroroft helawappar entont hef aceofther ecord.

RESTRI
CTI
ONS

Theorderunderi
tsRul
e9excl
udest
wof
oll
owi
ngki
ndsofappl
i
cat
ion,
from t
he
consi
derat
ion–

“Anordermadeont
heappli
cat
ionf
orar
evi
ew”
e.gr
antorr
eject
ionoft
heappl
i
cat
ion,
eit
her
casecannotber
evi
ewed.

“Decr
eepassedorordermadeonrevi
ew”e.wher
eappl
i
cationi
sgr
anted,caseisr
e-hear
d
andthedecr
eeororderwhichi
spassedormadeonmer i
tsoft
hecase,super
sedi
ngt he
or
igi
nal
one,
cannotbef
urt
hersoughtt
ober
evi
ewedf
ort
hesecondt
ime.

Rev
isi
on(
Sect
ion115)

Meani
ng

Revisi
onmeanstogot hroughsomet hi
ngcareful
ly
,thor
oughlyanddil
igently.Casescanbe
rev
isedbytheHighCourtasi tpossessesr ev
isi
onalj
uri
sdict
ionasdefinedunderSection
115oft heCodeofCiv
ilProcedure.TheHi ghCourthastheri
ghttorevi
secasesdeci dedby
subordi
natecour
tstoensuredel i
veryofjusti
ceandmaintenanceoffairness.

Nat
ure,
ScopeandObj
ect

Thepr imaryobjecti
v eofar evi
sional authorityoftheHi ghCour tempower edbySect ion115
i
st oensur et
hatnosubor dinatecour tactsar bit
raril
y,il
legall
y ,
capr i
ciously,ir
regularl
yor
exceedsi t
sjuri
sdiction;andal lowst heHi ghCour ttoguar anteethedel iveryofj usti
cewhile
ensuringthatthepr oceedi ngsareconduct edi naccor dancewi t
ht heruleofl awand
fur
theranceoff ai
rness.I tmustbenot edt hatthej udgesofsubor dinatecour tshav ethe
absoluteauthorit
yt odeci deoncases.Theydonotcommi tany“juri
sdictional err
or”even
whent heywr ongfull
yorext ra-
judi
ciallydeci deacase.TheHi ghCour thast hepowert o
revi
set hesejuri
sdictionaler r
orscommi ttedbysubor dinat ecourts.Thispr ovidesan
opportunityt
oanyaggr i
evedpar tytor ectifyanon- appeal ableorderbyasubor dinatecourt
.

TheHi
ghCour
tcanr
evi
seanycasebyasubor
dinat
ecour
tinwhi
chnoappeal
li
eswhen:

 Thesubor
dinat
ecour
thasexer
cisedj
uri
sdi
cti
onnotv
est
edi
nitbyl
aw.

 Thesubor
dinat
ecour
thasf
ail
edt
oexer
cisej
uri
sdi
cti
onv
est
edi
nitbyl
aw.

 Thesubor
dinat
ecour
texer
cisesi
tsj
uri
sdi
cti
oni
l
legal
l
yorwi
thmat
eri
ali
rr
egul
ari
ty
ori
nbreachofsomeprovi
sionoft
hel
aworbycommitt
ingsomeerr
orsofpr
ocedur
e
i
nthecourseofthet
ri
alwhi
chmayhaveaf
fect
edtheul
timat
edeci
sion.

Whomayf
il
e?

Theappl icati
onf orrevisi
oncanbef i
ledbyanyaggrievedpart
yoncet hecaseisdeci
ded,
providedt hatthereisnoappeal agai
nstthecasepresentl
y.TheHighCour tmaythendeci
de
torev i
set hecasei fthepr opercauseisdiscov
eredsuchasext r
a-j
udici
alacti
vi
tyori
ll
egal
ander roneouspr ocedur epracti
sedbyt hesubordi
natecourt
.TheHi ghCourtmayalso
exerciserev i
sionaljuri
sdicti
onsuomot oundertheCodeofCivilPr
ocedure.

I
nthecaseofS.
Mut
huNar
ayananV.Paul
rajNai
cker
,2018,
ther
evi
sionpet
it
ioni
s
di
smissedandtheorderpassedprevi
ousl
yisconf
ir
medast
her
evi
sionpet
it
ionerhasno
ri
ghtt
ochall
engetheexecutabi
li
tyofthedecr
ee.

Condi
ti
onsf
orRev
isi
on

Thecondi
ti
onswhent heHighCourtcanexerciseitsrevi
sional
jur
isdi
cti
oni
slaiddownin
Sect
ion115oftheCodeofCi v
ilPr
ocedure.All
t heseconditi
onsmustbemetf ort
heHigh
Cour
ttoexerci
seit
srevisi
onalj
uri
sdi
cti
on.Thesear easfoll
ows:

Pr
ecedent
s

Thecasemusthav eal readybeendeci dedandj udgementdecl aredbyt hesubor dinatecourt

.
Acasecannotber ev isedi fithasnotbeendeci dedi nthef i
rstpl aceandnoj udgementi s
given.Theexpr ession“ casedeci ded”wasnotdef inedi ntheCPC, 1908.Thi sgav erisetoa
numberofconf li
cti
ngdeci sionsont hequest ionofwhet herthesai dexpr essionincludedan
i
nt erl
ocut or yorderal so.Thi sconf l
ictwasr esol vedint hecaseofMaj orS.S.KhannaV.Br i
g.
F.J.Di l
lon, 1963whi chdecl aredt hatSection115appl iesev ent ointerlocutoryorders.Itwas
obser vedbyShahJ. ,“Theexpr ession‘case’ isawor dofcompr ehensi veimpor t
; i
tincludes
civilproceedi ngsot hert hansui ts,andi snotr estri
ctedbyany t
hingcont ai
nedi nSect ion115
tot heent i
r etyofthepr oceedi ngsi naci vi
l cour t
.Toi nterprettheexpr ession“case”asan
ent i
re proceedi ngonl yandnotapar tofthepr oceedi ngwoul dbet oimposeanunwar r
ant
ed
restrict
ionont heexer ciseofpower sofsuper intendenceandmayr esultincertaincasesin
deny ingrel i
eftot heaggr i
evedl i
t i
gantwher eitismostneededandmayr esulti
nt he
‘
per petrationofgr ossi njustice.”

I hecaseofBal
nt devdasShi
vl
alV.Fi
lmistanDi
str
ibut
ors(I
ndia)(P)Ltd.
,1969,theSupreme
Courthel
dthatacasemaybesaidtohavebeendecidedifthecourtadj
udicat
esf ort
he
pur
poseofthesuitsomeri
ghtorobl
igati
onofthepart
iesincontrov
ersy.Ever
yorderinthe
sui
tcannotberecor
dedasacasedecided.

Anexpl anat
ionwasaddedt oSect i
on115byt heAmendmentActof1976, onthe
recommendat ionoftheJointCommi t
teeofParliament.Thi
smakesi tcl
earthatthe
expression,“
casedecided”incl
udesanyordermade, oranyorderdecidi
nganissue,int
he
courseofasui toranyotherproceedi
ng.Thus,“anycasewhichhasbeendeci ded”means
eachdeci si
onwhichterminatesapartofthecont r
over
syinvol
vingthequest
ionof
j
ur i
sdi
ction.

Noappeal
li
es

Theremustnotbeanyappeal l
yingagai
nstthecasedeci dedbythesubor di
natecour
t.The
HighCour tcannotr evi
seacasei fther
eisapre-exist
ingappealagainstthecaseasthe
revi
sioninterfereswit
ht heappealandv i
ce-
versa.Therevisi
oncanonl ybefil
edoncethe
appeal i
sdismi ssed.Thewor d“appeal
”incl
udesbot hthefir
stappealandsecondappeal.
Therefore,therevisi
oncanonl yli
ewhent heappeal i
sdismissedordoesnotl i
e.
Jur
isdi
cti
onal
err
or

Therevi
sional
jur
isdi
cti
oncanbeappl
i
edbyt
heHi
ghCour
twhent
hesubor
dinat
ecour
t
appear
stohav e:

 Act
edi
nexcessofj
uri
sdi
cti
onv
est
edi
nitbyl
aw,
or

 Fai
l
edt
oexer
ciset
hej
uri
sdi
cti
onv
est
edi
nitbyl
aw,
or

 Di
spl
ayedmat
eri
ali
rr
egul
ari
tyandexer
cisedi
tspoweri
l
legal
l
yori
nbr
eachoft
he
pr
ovi
sionsofl
aw.

Subor
dinat
ecour
t

TheHi ghCour tcannotexer ci

serev i
sional j
urisdicti
onunlessacasei sdecidedbyacour t
whichissubor dinatetot heHi ghCour t.Onlyacour tofcivi
ljudicatureisconsider edandt hi
s
doesnoti ncludeanyper sonact i
nginanadmi nistrat
ivecapacity.Asagener al r
ule,whereit
i
spr ovidedt hatamat tershoul dbedeci dedbyapar ti
cul
arcour t,thepresidingof fi
cerof
suchcour twi l
l actasacour t.Butwher eitispr ov i
dedthatapar t
icularjudgeshoul ddecide
amat ter,t
hepr ovisi
onsoft hestatutewi l
lhav et obeconsider edf ordeterminingwhet her
thejudici
al offi
ceract sasacour torasaper sonadesi gnata.Ther evi
sionbytheHi ghCourt
i
smai nlydonet orecti
fyt hejuri
sdict
ional orpr oceduralerr
orscausedbysubor dinatecourt
s
i
nt hecour seofpr oceedingsi nanycasewhenanappl i
cati
oni sf i
ledbyanaggr ievedparty.

Al
ter
nat
iver
emedy

Thepowerofr ev i
sionalj
urisdi
ctionandi tsappli
cationli
esunderthediscreti
onoft heHigh
Courtandcannotbecl ai
medasar i
ghtbyanyaggr ievedpar
ty.Sever
al f
actorsare
consideredbeforetheauthor i
tyofrevisi
onaljuri
sdicti
onisexerci
sed.Ifthereisthe
presenceofanef fi
caciousoral ter
nater emedyav ail
abletotheaggri
evedpar t
y,thecourt
maynotexer ciseit
sr evi
sionaljuri
sdi
ct i
onandi nsteadsuggestthealt
ernateremedyand
rel
ieftotheaggrievedparty.Thisisdonet opr eventthemisuseofrevisi
onal j
uri
sdict
ionand
makei tappl
icableonlyincaseswher enecessar y.

Li
mit
ati
onsonr
evi
sional
jur
isdi
cti
on

Arti
cle131oft heScheduleofLimitationActprovidesalimitat
ionperi
odof90daysfor
fi
li
ngt herevi
sionundertheCodeofCi vi
lProcedurefrom thedateofdecr
eeororderor
sentencesoughttober evised.Thus,theli
mitati
onper i
odprescribedf
orfi
l
ingtherevi
sion
againsttheimpugnedor deris90day s.Theapplicati
onforrevi
sionmustbefil
edwiththe
HighCour twit
hintheli
mi t
ationperi
od.

I
nthecaseofSal
ekhChandV.DeepakShar
ma2015,
Dur
ingt
hependencyoft
her
evi
sion
peti
ti
on,anappli
cat
ionwasfi
ledunderSecti
on5oftheLimit
ationActbyt her
evi
sioni
st.But
i
twasdecl ar
edbytheCourtt
hatArticl
e131oftheSchedul
eofLimitat
ionActstat
edthat
thel
imitat
ionper
iodtof
il
eforrevi
sionis90day
s.Thus,therev
isi
onpet i
ti
onwasnotbar r
ed
byli
mitati
onandall
owedtoproceed.

I
nt hecaseofSamudralaNagabhushanam V.VenkanaRaghav ayy
,1966,theCourtdecided
thatthepeti
ti
onforr
ev i
sioni
nthi
sparticul
arcasewasgovernedunderSection22oft he
Andhr aPr
adeshBuil
dingsContr
olAct,1960andnotRole41-A(2)oftheAppell
ateSide
RulesoftheHighCourtofAndhraPradesh.Thus,t
herev
isi
oni snotbarr
edbyl i
mitat
ion.

Suomot
oexer
ciseofpower

Thet erm‘suomot o’meansoni t

sownmot i
onorsel f
-deci
sion.Thejudiciaryhast hepower
tor evisecasessuomot o.Thismeanst hatt hesmal lcourthastheauthor it
yt omakei ts
owndeci siont oexer cisethepowerofr evisi
onandt akesthedeci si
ontor ev iseanycaseon
i
tsownaccor d,i.e.withoutanyappli
cat ionfiledbyanyaggr i
evedparty.Thesol edeci
sion
ast ot heexer ciseoft hepowerofr evisionr estswi ththecourtandtheaggr iev edpart
yis
notent i
tl
edt or eceiveit.Thejudi
ciar
yt akesupamat teronitsownongr oundsofbl atant
violationoft hel aw,tomai ntai
npublicor der, topreventthegrossconst i
tutional v
iol
ati
on,t
o
remedygr av einjustice.Thisassumest hepubl icatlargeasoneoft hepar t
ies.Usual l
y,an
ami cuscur iaeisappoi ntedinsuchmat t er
st oassi stthecourt.Agreatamountofpubl i
c
i
nt erestrestsi nsuomot oexerci
seofr ev i
sional power sbytheHighCour t.

I
nthecaseofChi manbhaiG.PatelV.D.Y.Col
l
ector
,1999, i
twasstat
edbytheCourtthata
Deput
yCollect
ororAssist
antCollect
orcannotexer
cisethepowersofrev
isi
onsuomot o.
Ther
efore,
theorderwassetasideast her
ewasnoj uri
sdict
ioni
ntheexer
ciseofr
evisi
onal
powers.

I
nter
locut
oryOr
der
s

TheI nt
erlocutoryorderwhichisof t
encall
edi nt
eri
m orderi
sadeci si
onoft hecourtgi
ven
duri
ngt hepr oceedi
ngsandbef or
et hefi
nali
tyofacaset oensur ethattheinter
estofeit
her
partyisnothar medduet oordur ingtheprocessofjusti
ce.Itsettl
essubordinatei
ssues
rel
atedt othemai nsubjectduet otheti
me- sensi
ti
venatureoft hoseissues.Secti
on94of
PartVIoft heCodeofCi vilProcedureli
ststhe‘SupplementalProceedings’whichment i
ons
howt hecour tcanissueinter
locutoryorderstopreventt
heendsofj usti
cef r
om being
defeated.Thecour tcan:

 I
ssueawar
rantf
ort
hear
restoft
hedef
endantori
fhef
ail
stocompl
ywi
thanyor
der
f
orsecur
it
y,commi
thi
mtot
heci
vi
lpr
ison.

 Di
rectt
hedef
endantt
opr
oduceanypr
oper
tybel
ongi
ngt
ohi
m andf
urni
shi
tas
secur
it
ybypl
aci
ngi
tatt
hedi
sposal
oft
heCour
t.
  Gr
antt
empor
aryi
njunct
ionandcommi
tagui
l
typer
sont
oaci
vi
lpr
isoni
ncaseof
di
sobedi
ence,
andor
derhi
spr
oper
tyt
obeat
tachedandsol
d.

 Appoi
ntar
ecei
verofanypr
oper
tyandenf
orcet
heper
for
manceofhi
sdut
iesby
at
tachi
ngandsel
l
inghi
spr
oper
ty.

 Makeanysuchi
nter
locut
oryor
der
sasmayappearbef
oret
heCour
ttobej
ustand
conv
eni
ent
.

Af
ewexampl
esofi
nter
locut
oryor
der
sar
easf
oll
ows:

 Appoi
ntmentofaCommi
ssi
onert
oconductsear
chandsei
zur
e.

 Tempor
aryI
njunct
ions.

 Appoi
nti
ngaCour
tRecei
vert
ocol
l
ectanypay
ment
sorr
ent
.

 Assi
gnsecur
it
ytomai
ntai
nacause.

I
nthecasedi scussedinSub-
Commi t
teeonJudici
alAccountabil
ityV.UnionOfI
ndia,
1991,
i
twasheldt hattheSupremeCour twil
lref
rai
nfrom passinganyinter
locutor
yor
derwhich
hasthepotenti
al t
oandmayint er
ferewithorhasanef f
ectofpre-j
udgementonany
del
icat
eissueont hemai l
matter.

Deat
hofAppl
i
cant

Thedeat hofanappli
cantdoesnotabatet heproceedi
ngsoftheapplicati
onofrevi
sionas
revi
sionisnotgover
nedunderOr der22oft heCodeofCivi
lProcedure.Oncetheapplicat
ion
forrevi
sioni
sfil
ed,t
heproceedingsshallconti
nuedespit
ethedeathoft heappl
icantand
theordershal
lbegiventothelegalrepr
esentati
veoftheappl
icant.

Pr
ocedur
eofRev
isi
on

Revisi
onal j
uri
sdict
ionoftheHighCour tcanbeexer ci
sedsuomot otoensur ethedel
iveryof
j
ustice.Theauthorit
ytoreviseacaseofj ur
isdi
cti
onal er
rorofsubordinat
ecour tsl
ieswith
theHighCour tandcannotbedemandedasar ightbyanyaggr i
evedpar t
y.Thisbri
ngsust o
thesecondmet hodwhichinvol
v esanappl i
cati
onf i
ledbytheaggr i
evedpartyforrevi
sion.
Thismer el
ybringsthejuri
sdict
ionalerrorofthesubordinatecourttotheattenti
onofthe
HighCour twhichmayt hendecidet orevisethecase.Theappl i
cati
onmayal sobedeniedif
theHighCour tfeel
sthatsubstantialj
usticehasbeendone.

Oncet
heHi
ghCour
tini
ti
atest
hepr
oceedi
ngs,
thecasei
srev
isedt
oensur
ejur
isdi
cti
oni
s
notexceededbythesubor di
natecourt
.Butnochangescanbemadewi thregar
dstoany
decisi
onofthesubordinatecourtev
enifunlawful
,aslongast
hedecisi
onlieswithi
nit
s
j
urisdi
cti
on.Aft
eradeci si
onhasbeenmadeandi ftherei
sext
ra-
jur
isdi
cti
onalacti
onbythe
subordi
natecourt
,iti
sr ect
if
iedandthereasonsarerecor
ded.

Recor
dingofReasons

Ther easonsforthedismissal
ofacaseorchangestobeappli
edincaseofextra-
j
urisdict
ionalact
ivi
tybyasubor di
nat
ecourtar
etobefil
edforr
ecord.Therecordi
ngof
reasonsisdonet oensurethecourtcanshowcauseorprov
ethebasisofitsdeci
sionf
or
changesmadeorr efusal
tomakeanychangewi t
hregardstot
hejuri
sdict
ionofthe
subor di
natecourt
s.