Suits of Civil Nature: Section 9
Suits of Civil Nature: Section 9
Suits of Civil Nature: Section 9
Definition
The Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 is a procedural law related to the
administration of civil proceedings in India.
The Code is divided into two parts: the first part contains 158 sections
and the second part contains the First Schedule, which has 51 Orders
and Rules. The sections provide provisions related to general principles
of jurisdiction whereas the Orders and Rules prescribe procedures and
methods that govern civil proceedings in India.
Here in both phrases, “property right” and “right to the office” deserves
more clarification. “Property right” means and includes movable,
immovable, intellectual, inheritable property and property that arise out of
any contract, agreement, litigation, or out of any other civil rights. As
opposed to, “right to the office” means a right to hold a position and
exercise the power of that position. It could be a job post, a religious, or any
secular post.
Section 9
Provisions relating to “suits of civil nature” have been laid down in section 9
of CPC. It reads “Court shall have the jurisdiction to try all suits of civil
nature except those of which their cognizance is expressly or impliedly
barred.”
In the landmark case, Shankar Narayan Potti v K Sreedevi, (1998) 3 SCC
751 the apex court held that ”it is obvious that in all type of civil dispute civil
courts have inherited jurisdiction as per section 9 of the CPC unless a part
of Jurisdiction is carved out from such jurisdiction, expressly or by
necessary implication by any statutory provision conferred on any other
tribunal or authority.”
Res Judicata
In the case of Res Judicata, a matter once decided cannot be raised
again, either in the same court or in a different court. This is why it is
also called ‘claim preclusion’ as it precludes or prohibits any further
claims after the final judgment. It is a common-law practice meant to
bar re-litigation of cases between the same parties in the court.
The doctrine of Res Judicata come from the full maxim ‘Res judicata
pro veritate accipitur’. The concept of Res Judicata evolved from the
English Common Law system and was derived from the overriding
concept of judicial economy, consistency, and finality. From the
common law, it got included in the Code of Civil Procedure, which
was later as a whole adopted by the Indian legal system.
“No Court to proceed with the trial of any suit in which the matter in
issue, is also directly and substantially in issue. In a previously
instituted suit between the same parties, or between parties under
whom they or any of them claim, litigating under the same title,
where such suit is pending in same or any other Court, in India,
Having jurisdiction to grant the relief claimed. Explanation: The
pendency of a suit in a Foreign Court doesn’t preclude the Courts in
India from, trying a suit founded on the same cause of action.”
Conditions or essentials
Foreign Judgement
A foreign judgment is defined under section 2 (6) of the CPC as a
judgment of a foreign court. A foreign court, under section 2(5) of CPC,
means a court situated outside India and not established or continued by
the authority of the Central Government.
Place of Suing
There are three kinds of jurisdiction to determine the place of
suing:-
● Territorial jurisdictions
● Pecuniary jurisdictions
● Subject matter jurisdiction
Whenever the suit is brought before the court the first question
is to determine is whether the court has jurisdiction to deal
with the matter. If the court has all these (territorial, pecuniary,
or subject matter jurisdiction then only the court has the power
to deal with the case. In this case, if the court does not have
any of the above mentioned factors then it will be considered
as lack of jurisdiction or the irregular exercise of jurisdiction.
when the court that does not have jurisdiction decide the case
and give a decision then such decision will be considered void
or voidable depending upon the different circumstances.
It is divided into:-
When the suit is filed for the relief or compensation for wrong
caused to immovable property held by a defendant or any
other person on the behalf of a defendant where the relief can
be obtained through his attendance then suits may be
instituted in a court within whose local jurisdiction:-
Ans:- 2)
Parties to Suit
In a civil suit, the presence of both the plaintiff, who files the suit and the defendant,
who issued it, is necessary. In each case there are two categories; the first one is the
necessary party and the other is a proper party. A necessary party is one whose
presence is indispensable to the constitution of the suit, against whom relief is
sought and without whom no effective order can be passed. A proper party is one in
whose absence an effective order can be passed, but whose presence is necessary
for a complete and final decision on the question involved in the proceeding.
(1) Every suit shall include the whole of the claim which the plaintiff is
entitled to make in respect of the cause of action, but a plaintiff may
relinquish any portion of his claim to bring the suit within the jurisdiction
of any Court.
(3) Omission to sue for one of several reliefs- A person entitled to more
than one relief in respect of the same cause of action may sue for all or
any of such reliefs; but if he omits, except with the leave of the Court, to
sue for all such reliefs, he shall not afterwards sue for any relief so
omitted.
Explanation- For this rule, an obligation and collateral security for its
performance and successive claims arising under the same obligation
shall be deemed respectively to constitute but one cause of action.
PLEADING
“Pleading is defined in Order VI Rule 1 of the CPC” Pleadings are statements in
writing delivered by each party alternatively to his opponent stating what his
contention will be at the trial and giving all such details as his opponents need to
now an order to prepare his case or answer. In the words of Jacob “Pleadings do not
only define the issues between the parties for the final decision of the court at the
trial, but they also manifest and exert their importance throughout the whole process
of the litigation. Pleading are those materials or essentials or essential facts which
are necessary to be averred to put forward a cause or to establish a defence in a
judicial proceeding. It is the backbone of the suit upon which the entire edifice of the
suits rests. It includes allegations and counter-allegations made by one party and
denied by the other.
Objects of pleading:-
1) To define the issues involved between two parties.
2) To provide an opportunity to the opposite party or another side to meet up the
particular allegation raised against him or her and.
3) To enable the court to adjudicate the real issues involved between two parties.
PLAINT
Plaint is defined in Order 7 of CPC. Plaint is a statement of claim filed by the plaintiff
wherein it states the material facts upon which he relies in support of his case and
claims and relief he desires.
The object of the plaint is to acquaint the court and the opposite party (i.e the
defendant) with the case of the plaintiff “Plaint is the backbone of the suit”. The real
nature of the suit has to be gathered from the plant as a whole upon the facts based
on which the claim was founded.
Formal Portion:-
(i) Date of the cause of action
(ii) Statements of facts about jurisdiction.
(iii) Statement as to the valuation of the suit.
(iv) Statement as to minority or insanity of a party.
(v) Statement as to plaintiff representative character.
(vi) Statement as to grounds of exemption from limitation law.
(3) Relief claimed.
(4) Signature and verification.
WRITTEN STATEMENT
“Written Statement is defined in Order 8 of CPC”, the Written statement is the
statement or defence of the defendant by which he either admits the claims of the
plaintiff or denies the allegations or averments made by the plaintiff in his plaint.
According to Sub Rule 1 of Order VIII Rule 1, the defendant must file his written
statement within 30 days from the date of service of summons on him. But where
the defendant fails to file the written statement within the said period of 30 days, the
court for reasons to be recorded in writing may extend the period up to 90 days. The
court in his discretion would have the power to allow the defendant to file a written
statement even after the expiry of 90 days.
Set-Off
Set-off is related to debts. It is the reciprocal claim made by the
defendant. Set-off can be used only under the suit for the recovery of
money. This can be better under an example. Suppose, A files a suit
against B claiming that the latter is Rs.20,000 due to him. Now, B also
has a claim against A that he is Rs.10,000 in debt to the former, i.e., A is
Rs.10,000 in debt of B. Here, both are mutually indebted to each other,
and they both have to pay off the debts due to each other. Instead of
filing a fresh suit altogether, B files a set-off claim along with the written
statement in response to the plaint filed by A.
Set-off is dealt with under Order VIII Rule 6, and it says that such written
statement along with a set-off should be considered by the Court as
much as plaint because it too has a subject matter that is in dispute.
However, certain conditions have to be met for filing a set-off by the
defendant. They are:
● The suit initiated must be for the recovery of money. So, set-off can
be filed only in money suits.
● The defendant must claim only the amount that he has already lent
to the plaintiff. The defendant cannot claim the money he has not
already lent. It means the money should be ascertained.
● The ascertained money should be legally recoverable by the
defendant from the plaintiff. It should not be barred by any laws of
limitation.
● The recoverable money by the defendant should be defendant or
defendants if there are many, and in the same way, it should be
recovered from the plaintiff or plaintiffs if there are many.
● The set-off should be filed only in the court which has financial
jurisdiction.
Counter-Claim
Counter-claim is dealt with under Order VIII Rules 6-A to 6-G of the
Code of Civil Procedure, 1908. It is a claim which is separate and
independent from that of the plaintiff. It is also cross-claim but does not
necessarily arise out of the same cause of action contained in the plaint.
Unlike set-off, a counter-claim need not be mandatorily related to the
recovery of money. It could be regarding any civil disputes.
● The counter-claim is treated on par with the plaint, and the plaintiff
should file a written statement in response to the counter-claim.
The court can pronounce the final judgement both on the original
claim and the counter-claim.
● For the defendant, the counter-claim can be filed by the defendant
against the plaintiff. In some instances, he can claim from
co-defendants along with the plaintiffs. But a counter-claim solely
to claim from the co-defendants is not entertained by the courts.
● The counter-claim should be filed only when the subject matter is
not barred by the Limitation Act.
Interpleader Suits
Ans:- 3)
Discovery
Under Civil Procedure Code, 1908 discovery basically means a pre-trial
procedural aspect wherein each party is allowed to obtain evidence from the
opposite party or parties. In other words, we can say that it is a formal
process wherein the parties get a chance to exchange information regarding
the witnesses and evidence which will be presented before the court during
the trial.
Nature
The scope of this section is determined by the extent of discovery that can be
made by the party with the intervention of the court. The information which
is obtained during the discovery is not needed to be admissible in court. As
per the requirement, parties can obtain an order from the court for the
discovery of required facts/ documents from the opposite party to
understand the purpose of the case. Thereby, the scope or extensibility of
applying this section depends upon the nature of the case and material which
is asked by the other party. So it is the discretion of the court to decide
whether the application is covered as per the scope provided to the section
under the code or not.
Objective
The objective of the interrogatories are:-
1. To determine the nature of the case when it is not clear from the
suit filed.
2. To make own case stronger by making the other party do
admissions.
3. To destroy the case of the opponent.
Summons
A summons is a written notice served on a person under the authority of the
court to appear personally before the court. Summons in Civil Procedure
Code, 1908 (hereinafter referred to as “CPC”) are served on the defendants
and witnesses. Defendants are summoned to intimate the suit filed against
them. Whereas the witnesses are summoned to demand evidence or to
produce documents or both.
Issue of Summons
When a suit has been duly instituted, a summons may be issued to the defendant to
appear and answer the claim and to file the writ statement of his defence, if any,
within thirty days from the date of service summons on that defendant;
Provided that no such summons shall be issued when a defendant has appeal at the
presentation of the plaint and admitted the plaintiff's claim :
Provided further that where the defendant fails to file the written statement wit! the
said period of thirty days, he shall be allowed to file the same on such other days as
may be specified by the Court for reasons to be recorded in writing, but we shall not
be later than ninety days from the date of service of summons.
(2) A defendant to whom a summons has been issued under sub-rule (1) m appear?
(a) in person, or
(b) by a pleader duly instructed and able to answer all material questions relating to
the suit, or
(c) by a pleader accompanied by some person able to answer all such questions
(3) Every such summons shall be signed by the Judge or such officer as appoints
and shall be sealed with the seal of the Court.
1. Sub-rule (1) was substituted by Act No. 46 of 1999, section 15 and now further
substituted Act No. 22 of 2002, section 6 (w.e.f. 1-7-2002).
Appearance of parties
The word “appearance” under civil cases has a well-known meaning. It
means the appearance of the party to the suit before a court of law. The
appearance can be by the party in person or through his advocate or any
person along with the advocate of the party.
The mere presence of the party before the court of law is not what the word
“Appearance” under the Order IX of the CPC,1908 means. But the word
“appearance” under CPC means the appearance made by the pleader who
can answer all the material questions which are relevant to the judicial
proceedings in question before the court of law in a duly prescribed and
recognized manner and on the date allotted by the court to each party unless
the court has adjourned the proceedings of the case to some other day.
According to Rule 2 of Order IX, the failure on the part of the plaintiff to
submit any processing fee determined by the court of law on any stipulated
date. Then such a failure would result in the dismissal of the suit by the
court. However, no such dismissal to the case can be made where the
defendant in person or through his agent attend the proceedings of the court
and answers all the material questions possessed by the court.
(2) A party desirous of obtaining any summons for the attendance of any
person shall file in Court an application stating therein the purpose for
which the witness is proposed to be summoned.
(3) The Court may, for reasons to be recorded, permit a party to call,
whether by summoning through Court or otherwise, any witness, other than
those whose names appear in the list referred to in sub-rule (1), if such part
shows sufficient cause for the omission to mention the name of such
witness in the said list.
(4) Subject to the provisions of sub-rule (2), summonses referred to in this
rule may be obtained by the parties on an application to the Court or such
officer as may be appointed by the Court in this behalf.
Execution of Decree
The term “execution” is not defined in the CPC. The term “execution” means
implementing or enforcing or giving effect to an order or a judgment passed
by the court of justice. In simple words “execution” means the process of
enforcing or giving effect to the decree or judgment of the court, by
compelling the judgment-debtor to carry out the mandate of the decree or
order and enable the decree-holder to recover the thing granted to him by
judgment.