Symbiosis Law School, Pune

Analysis of the jurisdiction of Courts under

CPC

Code of Civil Procedure-I

Submitted By-

ADITYA LADHA

PRN: 16010125019

4th Year BA LLB (Hons.),

Symbiosis Law School, Pune

CPC-I Page 1
Contents

ABSTRACT ...............................................................................................................3

INTRODUCTION .....................................................................................................4

GENERAL BASIS OF CLASSIFICATION .............................................................4

Jurisdiction over subject matter ..............................................................................5

Territorial Jurisdiction ............................................................................................5

Pecuniary Jurisdiction .............................................................................................5

Original or Appellate Jurisdiction ..........................................................................5

PROVISIONS UNDER CODE OF CIVIL PROCEDURE.......................................6

Suit of Civil Nature .................................................................................................6

Cognizance not barred ............................................................................................7

ANALYSIS: ...............................................................................................................7

CPC-I Page 2
 Analyse and explain the scope of jurisdiction of civil court generally and specially as per the
Code of Civil Procedure, 1908

ABSTRACT
The Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 at the very outset in its Preamble defines the extent and
applicability of the Code. The Code is said to extend to the whole of India, except

a) The State of Jammu and Kashmir

b) The State of Nagaland and the Tribal Areas
It also extends to the Amindivi Islands and the East Godavari and Vishakhapatnam Agencies in
the State of Andhra Pradesh and the Union Territory of Lakshadweep. By the Amendment Act of
1976, the application of the provisions of Code has been Schedule Areas also1.

“Ubi jus ibi remedium”

The phrase mentioned above means that where there is a right, there is a remedy. Whenever a
person’s right is infringed or encroached upon, he/she has the right to approach the Court so that
the justice can be done. The Latin phrase is well placed in the Indian legal system and is well
followed by the Courts as well. However, in order to proceed in the procedure of imparting
justice, the Court has to see that whether it has the authority to adjudicate or not. This authority
of the Court to adjudicate is known as the jurisdiction of the Court. Every Court has its own
jurisdiction.

Generally speaking, the Civil Courts have plenary powers to try all suits, which involve
determination of any civil right. Only two things are required to give the jurisdiction:

1. The dispute must of civil nature

2. its cognizance must not be barred by another statute either expressly or by necessary
implication ouster of Civil Court’s jurisdiction cannot be readily inferred from and the
provisions of ouster have to be strictly construed2

Through this assignment, the student is trying to analyze the jurisdiction of civil courts and the
basis on which the jurisdiction of these Courts is determined.

1
5 Takwani C.K. Civil Procedure Code, with Limitation Act, 1963. Eastern Book Company 7, (2014)
2
Nandanvan v. Municipal Council, (1994) 1 Bom CR 679

CPC-I Page 3
Keywords: Jurisdiction, Code of Civil procedure, Classification, Pecuniary, Territorial,
Appellate, Section 9 of CPC

INTRODUCTION
The word jurisdiction is of actually made up of two Latin words, “Juris” and “Dicta”, which
means law and speech respectively. Thus, the word jurisdiction, in its literal sense mean, “I
speak by law.” There is no definition of jurisdiction given in the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908.
The Black’s Law Dictionary defines jurisdiction as “A court’s power to decide a case or issue a
decree.” Thus, in order to decide upon a case or issue a decree, a Court has to see whether the
particular case falls within its jurisdiction or not. It is thus, the power to hear and determine a
cause and adjudicate or exercise any judicial function in relation to it.

The meaning of the word, is however, clearly explained in the case of Hriday Nath v. Ram
Chandra3. It has been said in this judgment that;

“…..jurisdiction may be defined to be the power of the Court to hear and determine a
cause, to adjudicate and exercise any judicial power in relation to it; in other words,
by jurisdiction is meant the authority which a Court has to decide matters that are
litigated before it or to take cognizance of matters presented in a formal way for its
decision.”

Thus, a conclusive meaning of jurisdiction, which can be derived from above, is that it is the
power of the Court, vested in it by the respective statute, to hear upon the cases and adjudicate
the same. No Court can hear or adjudicate the cases beyond its jurisdiction.

GENERAL BASIS OF CLASSIFICATION

Under the Code of Civil Procedure, jurisdictions of the Civil Courts can be divided upon various
circumstances, such as the subject matter, or the pecuniary interest, or the territorial limits, etc. In
order to be tried by the Civil Court, the suit must be of Civil Nature. Any suit, which is not
criminal in nature, could be classified as a civil action.4 Thus, the jurisdiction of the Civil Courts
can be classified in following categories:

3
AIR 1921 Cal 34
4
Haridas Roy v. State of West Bengal, (1987) 1 Cal LJ 247

CPC-I Page 4
 1. Jurisdiction over Subject matter
2. Territorial jurisdiction
3. Pecuniary Jurisdiction
4. Original or appellate jurisdiction

Jurisdiction over subject matter

There are Civil Courts established to try suits or cases of particular nature. The Courts have been
divided on the basis of various subject matter based upon which they can allow a suit. Thus,
certain courts are barred from entertaining suits of particular classes by the statute. Thus, the
District Forums set up under the Consumer Protection Act are allowed to take up just Consumer
related matters, that too, civil in nature. The Consumer Forums are not allowed to take up
criminal matters.

Territorial Jurisdiction
Every Court has its own territorial limits, which are fixed by the government. The territory
within which the Court can exercise its power is said to be the territorial jurisdiction of the Court.
The Courts are not allowed to exercise their powers beyond the said territorial jurisdiction. Thus,
the District Court of Jaipur, for example, will have the jurisdiction to try matters arising within
the territorial boundaries of the district of Jaipur only, and not beyond that.

Pecuniary Jurisdiction
The literal meaning of the word pecuniary is “related to money.” The pecuniary jurisdiction, as it
suggests, sets the pecuniary limits of the Court to decide upon a case or to adjudicate a particular
suit. Every Court or tribunal is deemed to have a pecuniary limit, beyond which it cannot
adjudicate the matter or try the suit. Throughout India, there is a large no. of Civil Courts, which
have been assigned with different grades to hear or adjudicate the matters or appeals of different
amounts or value.

Original or Appellate Jurisdiction

Original Jurisdiction refers to the authority or power of the Court to take up and try the case or
suit at first instance itself. In case of Original Jurisdiction, the Court entertains Original Suits. It
is different from the appellate jurisdiction in the sense that in the latter one, the Court rehear or
review an already decided matter or case. The Allahabad High Court has limited original

CPC-I Page 5
jurisdiction. As far as matrimonial matters, testamentary, probate and company matters are
concerned, the Allahabad High Court has original jurisdiction.
When the aggrieved party appeals against the judgment given by the Lower Court in other
Court, such Court is said to be appellate and its jurisdiction to entertain such an appeal is called
appellate jurisdiction. In case of appellate jurisdiction, the Courts entertain appeals. It gives the
power to the Court to rehear or review case or a suit, which has already been decided by the
competent Lower Court.

PROVISIONS UNDER CODE OF CIVIL PROCEDURE

Section 9 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 says as follows:
“9. Courts to try all civil suits unless barred— The Courts shall (subject to the
provisions herein contained) have jurisdiction to try all suits of a civil nature
excepting suits of which their cognizance is either expressly or impliedly barred.
[Explanation I].—A suit in which the right to property or to an office is contested is a
suit of a civil nature, notwithstanding that such right may depend entirely on the
decision of questions as to religious rites or ceremonies.
[Explanation II]. For the purposes of this section, it is immaterial whether or not any
fees are attached to the office referred to in Explanation I or whether or not such
office is attached to a particular place.”5
Therefore, the two main ingredients that come out of Section 9 of the Code of Civil Procedure,
are:
1. The dispute must of civil nature
2. its cognizance must not be barred by another statute either expressly or by necessary
implication ouster of Civil Court’s jurisdiction cannot be readily inferred from and the
provisions of ouster have to be strictly construed.6

Suit of Civil Nature

The Code of Civil Procedure does not contain the definition of word “Civil Nature”. Therefore,
the ordinary meaning is taken while dealing with the cases under this Code. Thus, “of civil
nature” means anything dealing with private citizen’s rights and remedies.

5
Section 9 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908
6
Nandanvan v. Municipal Council, (1994) 1 Bom CR 679

CPC-I Page 6
Cognizance not barred
It is also pertinent to know that in order to determine the jurisdiction of the Court, it also has to
be seen that any other statute does not bar the Court to try or hear the cases. Other than this, if a
statute provides an exclusive jurisdiction to any Court, all other Court’s jurisdiction on matters
under that Statute will be impliedly barred. The jurisdiction of the Court should be expressly
provided in the clear language of any statute.7

ANALYSIS:
It has been clearly held in the case of Secretary of State v. Mask & Co.8 that the it is a common
principle that the statute must never be liberally interpreted but should be strictly adhered 9 and
the jurisdiction of the court must be inferred directly from the bare statute and not from any
random source.

It is the inherent right of every individual to bring a suit of Civil Nature, under this Code, unless
it has been barred by the Statute.10

Jurisdiction of the Court over a particular subject matter of a particular controversy if the Court
has authority to hear and decide causes of a class to which the particular controversy belongs. 11It
was also held in the Chandrakant Tukaram Case12 that a “lengthy, time taking procedure cannot
be the basis of arguments or questioning the veracity or jurisdiction of the Civil Courts.”

Thus, from the abovementioned points, it is clear that though, every person has an inherent right
vested in him, to approach the Court, in case his/her rights are infringed, however, the Court can
only decide or hear upon that particular matter if it has the any of the abovementioned
Jurisdiction vested in it. There has been various precedents as well as the provisions, which helps
in deciding the jurisdiction of the Court, so as the Justice can be done to the person, whose rights
have been encroached upon.

7
Secretary of State v. Mask and Company, AIR 1966 SC 15
8
Id.
9
Abdul Waheed Khan v. Bhawani, AIR 1976 SC 18
10
Gangabai v. Vijaykumar, AIR 1974 SC 1126
11
Pankaj Bhargava v. Mahendranath, 1991 (1) SCC 556
12
ChandrakantTukaram v. Municipal Corporation of Ahmedabad, AIR 1966 SC 1718 (1719)

CPC-I Page 7