CPC Important Q-A for examination purpose PDF

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Note –1 Following Q-A are repeated questions from 2015 -2020 of CPC ( KSLU). Green Shaded Questions are most frequently asked and Yellow Shaded is also important but less priority All the Answers are in detail, you can shorten it as per your preference. What is Suit and stages of Civil Suit? The Civ...

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Note – 1.The Following Q-A are repeated questions from 2015 -2020 of CPC ( KSLU). 2. Green Shaded Questions are most frequently asked and Yellow Shaded is also important but less priority 3. All the Answers are in detail, you can shorten it as per your preference.

1) What is Suit and stages of Civil Suit ?

The Civil Suit is basically a dispute which arises between two people or two organizations wherein a subject for dispute is limited to monetary transaction and dispute related to immovable property. The Civil Suit, if it is personal in nature than it is governed under Civil Procedure Code and if it is related to business transaction then Commercial Court Act also plays a great role to set out the procedure. The Parties in the Civil Suit are addressed as Plaintiff and Defendant. Broadly, a civil suit passes through the following five stages Institution of a Civil Suit (Plaint, Written Statement, Replication, etc.) Framing of issues. Summoning and attendance of witnesses. Hearing of Suit and Examination of Witness. Decree/Order and the Judgment.

STAGES OF CIVIL SUIT There are total 16 stages in a Civil Suit which are mentioned herein below:-

1. Plaint The document in which the fact of the case is mentioned that document is known as Plaint in legal world. The entire Civil Suit is based on Plaint and the Plaint is starting point or the starting stage for all the Civil Suit. Order VII deals with the contents of Plaint and some of the points mentioned under Order VII is mentioned herein below:-

Particulars Name of the Court Details of the Party Facts of the Dispute involved between the party Relief Sort Jurisdiction The Documents on which the party is relying upon.

2. Summons After a Plaint is filed the Court may either accept the Plaint or they may reject the Plaint if the Plaint is accepted the Court may call the Party i.e. Defendant against whom the dispute is filed and Court calls party by issuing Summon. Defendant to whom the summons is issued may appear in person or through the legal representative. If the Summons are addressed within the jurisdiction of the Court than the same is addressed under Section 27 of the Code and if the Defendant doesn’t reside in the jurisdiction of the Court but the same resides in the same Country than the Summons are addressed under Section 28 of the Code but if the Defendant is residing outside the Country than the Summons are addressed under Section 29 of the Code. The Summons is also addressed when Plaintiff or Defendants want to produce a witness in the Court, the procedure relating for calling for witness is mentioned under Section 31 of the Code. The procedure for the Service of Summons is mentioned under Order V of the Code. 3. Appearance of the Party The Party to whom summon is addressed needs to be present before the concerned court and if the person failed to appear before the concerned Court than as per Order V rule 20 an Ex-parte order is passed by the Concerned Court. If both parties are not present on the concerned date than the court after giving due chance, then they may dismiss the matter. 4. Interlocutory Proceeding Everyone knows that Suit is a Long process as it has many steps before passing Judgment so before starting the stages of Suit sometime the Court has to intervene in the matter to maintain the position as it prevailed. Such Intervention is known as “STATUS QUO”. The Plaintiff can ask for Status Quo order by filing Notice of Motion in

the City Civil Court or by filling Interim Application in respective High Court. Following intervention matter are entertain by the Civil Court:-

Temporary Injunction (order 39) Appointment of Court Receiver (order 40) Appointment of Court Commissioner(order 26) Arrest and Attachment before Judgment (order 38) 5. Written Statement In the simple language Written Statement is a Document in which the Defendant mentions his/her side of facts of the case and mentions his defense to the Plaint. Order VIII of the code deal with Written Statement. Before Amendment in 2002, there was no limitation period for filing the Written Statement but after the amendment, it is mandatory to file Written Statement within 90 days, after the limitation period is expired it is at the discretion of the Court whether to accept the Written Statement. Under this discretion, the Court will give additional days to file Written Statement but those days won’t exceed 90 days.

6. Examination of Party After the Written Statement is filed the Court may ask the parties whether they admit the allegation or they deny the allegations pressed by the Plaintiff and such acceptance or denial should be recorded. 7. Framing of Issues The Court after the Suit is filed and after the Written Statement is filed by the Defendant then the Court may ask the parties to produce Draft Issues and after examining the draft issues the Court may frame Final issues. Order XIV of code deal with Framing of Issues. 8. List of Document relied by the Party After the Framing of Issue, the Court will ask the Parties to submit a List of Documents on which they are relying upon. The parties submit the list in the form of Affidavit. 9. Discovery and Inspection

After the Document is produced in the Court the Party can apply for inspection of Document. Order XI of the code deals with the Discovery and Inspection of documents. After taking leave from the court the parties can Inspect the Document. 10. Admission and Denial of Document After the Party has ascertained the Document they may either Admit the Document or they may deny the Document. The Admission and Denial of the Documents are dealt under Order XII of the code. 11. Production of Documents After the List of Document is relied upon by the Party and after Admission and denial of the Document, the next stage is to produce the Document in the Court. The Party has to submit all original documents in the concerned court. Order XIII of code deals with the production of the Documents. 12. Hearing and Cross Examination of the Witness (Order XVIII) After the Production of Document, the next stage of a civil suit is hearing of suits and examination of witnesses commence. The first right to begin is of the plaintiff. The plaintiff has to submit the evidence that was earlier marked if any evidence was not marked earlier then it will not be considered by the court. And the defendant’s advocate will cross-examine the plaintiff and also to the witnesses who are from the plaintiff’s side. And the defendant also presents his side of the story supported by his witnesses and evidence from his side and the plaintiff advocate also cross-examined the defendant. 13. Argument As soon as the stage of the hearing of suits and examination of witnesses is over then the suit is kept for the next stage i.e. argument. Once the evidence has been submitted and cross-examination is conducted by both parties, then both sides are allowed to present a summary of the case and evidence to the judge in the final session. 14. Judgment After the concerned court has heard the matter the Court will pass Judgment/Decree. The provision related to Judgment and Decree is in Section 33 read with Order XX of the Code. 15. Appeal, Review and Revision After the Judgment is pronounced and if the concerned party are not satisfied with the Judgment/Decree passed than they can either apply for Review (Section 114 read with

Order XLVII) within Thirty Days from the date of pronouncement of Judgment/Decree or the aggrieved party can apply for Revision (Section 115) to the higher court within thirty days of pronouncement of Judgment, or the aggrieved party can also go for an Appeal (section 96 to 110 along with Order XLI to XLV) to the Higher Court within 60 or 90 days from the pronouncement of the Judgment/ Decree. 16. Execution of the Decree In this stage, decree-holder compels the judgment-debtor to out the mandate of the decree or decree or order as the case may be. It is the process by which a decree-holder recovers the fruits of the judgment. The execution is complete when judgment creditor or decree-holder gets money or other thing awarded to him by judgment, decree, or order.

2. Discuss the provision of CPC relating to Place of Suing?

The jurisdiction was defined in the case of Hirday Nath vs Ram Chandra. The High Court of Calcutta stated that jurisdiction may be defined as judicial power of Court to hear and determine the cause and adjudicate upon it. Jurisdiction is decided mainly on the basis of:

Pecuniary value



Local limits of Court



The subject matter of Court

In the case of Bar Council of West Bengal vs A. Austin The High Court of Calcutta states that when the statute which bars the jurisdiction does not provide an alternative remedy then the jurisdiction of the civil court cannot be excluded. In the case of Balawwa vs Hasanabi If a part of the suit is excluded from the jurisdiction of civil court then it is not necessary that the entire suit cannot be instituted in the civil court.

Place of suing Sec 15 to 21-A deals with the place of suing in which sec 15 deals with pecuniary jurisdiction Sec 16 to 18 deals with the forum of suing for immovable property sec 19 for movable sec 20 is a residuary section 21 talks about the waiving of defects while 21 -A talks about the bar to challenge the decree passed in former suit.

Pecuiniary Jurisdiction: Sec 15 deals with the pecuniary jurisdiction of the court which claims that the suit have to be filed within lower competent court, In short that suit didn't have to be filed directly into the higher court if it can be dealt with district or any other small cause courts, Let us take an example to understand it in a proper way if the valuation in the suit by plaintiff is 5000 & it can be dealt by the small cause courts than there is no need to file that case in the higher court as it will delay the proceedings of the suit that may be dealt in place of it, the pecuniary jurisdiction of the court have to be deal on the basis of the valuation by plaintiff not on the basis of ultimate decree, it did not means that court cannot interfere as court have the power to return under & over value plaint.

Territorial Jurisdiction For territorial jurisdiction suits may be divided into: Immovable (16-18) Movable (19)

Immovable property: Sec 16 classified certain types of suit for which forum of filing suit is the place where property is situated the classification of them are: for the recovery of immovable property with or without rent or profits for the partition of immovable property, for foreclosure, sale or redemption in the case of a mortgage of or charge upon immovable property,

for the determination of any other right to or interest in immovable property, for compensation for wrong to immovable property, for the recovery of movable property actually under distraint or attachment, shall be instituted in the Court within the local limits of whose jurisdiction the property is situate. what if the property falls within the local limits of two courts sec 17 deals with the same & makes it easy for plaintiff to file a plaint in any forum where property or part of property is situated, Sec18 talks about the jurisdiction of the court when it is uncertain, in that case it will be filed in any court by satisfying the court about its jurisdiction to deal with the case, if the court satisfied than its decree passed in a suit will take affect as any normal decree passed by the court. Movable property: The movable property is based on the principle mobilia sequuntur personam which means that personal property of a person have to be treated in a same way as the person, a suit for the wrong to person movable property have to be instituted at the option of the plaintiff either at the place where wrong is committed or at the place where defendant is residing.

Forum shopping: Forum shopping is one of the important topic in CPC in which supreme court barred the plaintiff to file a suit in a place or in a forum which have no jurisdiction to deal with the plaint which was filed by the plaintiff in order to manoeuvering the suit, Let us take an example to understand it in a better way if the wrong was done at delhi the suit for the same cant be filed at any other state or place.

Objection as to proceedings: Objection as to suit & proceeding was defined under sec 21 of CPC, The objection to the suit may be classified into different types which are as following: Territorial: Which means that suit of the CPC have to be filed with in the place at which the wrong was committed not outside the limits of the court.

Pecuniary: Pecuniary jurisdiction was related to the valuation of the suit every court have the different pecuinary limits it is important to file a case at the place which have the power to deal with the certain limits of suit. Subject-Matter Jurisdiction Different courts are empowered to decide different types of suits. Certain courts have no jurisdiction to entertain certain kinds of suits. For example, the Court of Civil Judge (Junior Division) cannot pass a decree in suits for testamentary succession, divorce cases, probate proceedings, insolvency matters, etc. This is known as subject matter jurisdiction, where only if a court has jurisdiction over a certain class of cases can a case from such a class be approached. Subject matter jurisdiction has been excessively gaining popularity with the recent trend of the Tribunal System. Under the tribunal system, the administrative establishes quasi-judicial bodies that have expertise in the given subject matter. E.g.-Company Law related cases generally is tried by the Company Law Tribunal in the first instance and the judiciary is approached in an appellate stage.

Objections as to Jurisdiction: S.21 This section states that a judgment passed by a court with no jurisdiction is an irregular judgment. The objection regarding judgment is to be brought by the parties in the instance itself. If the error in the jurisdiction is related to the subject matter and irrespective of whether it is objected before the court in the first instance or not, the judgment can be considered null and void, and such an issue can be raised in an appellate or revisional level as well. However, if the error in jurisdiction arises because of a pecuniary or territorial error and is not brought before the court in the first instance, the judgment is held to be irregular but no objection relating to jurisdiction can be raised in an appellate or revisional stage.

In the case of Karan Singh vs Chaman Paswan When the court commits an error in entertaining the suit with regard to pecuniary or territorial jurisdiction then the decision given by such court will not be void but will be considered as the illegal exercise of jurisdiction. Bars on a suit to set aside a decree on objection as to the place of suing (Section 21A) No suit shall be brought up challenging the validity of decree passed in a former suit between the same parties or between the parties litigating under the same title on any ground based on an objection as to a place of suing.

3. Discuss the provision relating to Institution of Suit? Suit: Meaning The term ‘suit’ has not been defined in the CPC, 1908. Generally, it is understood as a proceeding that commences upon the presentation of a plaint in a civil court. A plaint is a statement in writing of a cause of action in which the relief claimed is set out in detail. The Black’s Law Dictionary defines a suit as the proceeding initiated by a party or parties against another in the court of law.

Ordinarily, there appears a minute difference between the suits filed under the CPC, 1908 and the other suits filed under various legislative enactments. The suit filed under CPC, 1908 has a particular format and it is a civil proceeding instituted by presenting a plaint whereas in other suits e.g. matrimonial are generally instituted by presentation of a petition by either party to the suit.

Provisions regarding institution of a suit are specified under Section 26 and Orders I, II, IV, VI, VII.

Essentials of a Suit There are four essentials of a suit which are explained as follows:

Parties (Order I) In a suit, there must be at least two parties i.e. the plaintiff and the defendant. There is no bar as to the maximum numbers of plaintiffs or defendants. There are two categories of parties viz. necessary party and proper party. The significance of the necessary party in a suit is that the presence of such a party is vital to the constitution of the suit and the relief is sought against such party and without such party, no effective order can be passed. A proper party is one in whose absence an effective order can be passed, nonetheless whose presence is necessary for a complete and final decision on the question involved in the proceeding.

Subject Matter There must be a subject matter i.e. a set of facts which have to be proved to enable the plaintiff to get the relief claimed by him. It includes the course of action. The subject-

matter can be movable as well as immovable property and the details regarding the same has to be given in the plaint by the plaintiff for a successful filing of his plaint and getting the relief claimed in the plaint.

Cause of Action (Order II, Rules 3, 6 and 7) It contains a set of facts or circumstances that the plaintiff is required to prove before he can succeed. It serves as the foundation of the suit. It includes all the essential facts which constitutes the right of a plaintiff and its alleged infringement and thus it is an antecedent to the filing or institution of any suit. The facts must be mentioned in clear and unambiguous terms. A person is a party to the suit if there lies a cause of action against him. It is important to note that every plaint must disclose a cause of action or some act done by the defendant else the Court is under a duty to reject such a plaint as per Order 7, Rule 11.

Relief claimed by the plaintiff Relief is a remedy in legal sense for wrong accrued to the plaintiff. No court will give relief unless it is specifically claimed by the parties to the suit. There are two types of reliefs: Specific and Alternative.

Institution of a Suit under CPC, 1908 There are various stages of a suit viz. institution of suit or commencement of suit, service of summons, written statements, first hearing and framing of issues, production of evidence and final hearing, arguments, judgment, preparation of a decree and its execution. The focus of this article is to deal with the first stage i.e. Institution of a suit. The institution of a suit consists of the following steps:

Filing of a plaint It is noteworthy that the term plaint is not defined under CPC, 1908. According to the dictionary meaning, plaint is a statement in writing on grounds of complaint made to a court of law and asking for redress of the grievance. Order VII deals with the format of a plaint and contains various rules.

Pleadings are defined as pleadings as “a plaint or a written statement” in Order VI Rule I of the CPC, 1908. Plaint is the first step to initiate the filing of a suit. The document

containing various facts and circumstances regarding the Plaintiff’s grievance is filed by the plaintiff after hiring a counsel and such a document is called a plaint.

Amendment of Proceedings The Court may, at any stage of the proceedings, allow either party to alter or amend its pleadings in such manner and on such terms as may be just (Rule 17 of Order VI of CPC, 1908), and all such amendments shall be made when it is necessary for determination of real question in controversy or is just and proper or is necessary in the interest of justice.

Place of suing The place of suing plays a major role in a suit as it directly deals with the authority of a court to pass a decree. Choosing a court depends upon the contents of plaint one is filing. It refers to...