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CPC - Jurisdiction of The Courts

The document discusses the jurisdiction of courts in India. It explains that sections 15-20 of the Civil Procedure Code deal with the place/location for filing lawsuits. The jurisdiction of a court refers to its authority to adjudicate matters and exercise judicial power. A court's jurisdiction depends on the subject matter, monetary value, and local territorial limits. Lack of jurisdiction cannot be conferred by parties' consent and renders a court's decisions a nullity.

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202 views

CPC - Jurisdiction of The Courts

The document discusses the jurisdiction of courts in India. It explains that sections 15-20 of the Civil Procedure Code deal with the place/location for filing lawsuits. The jurisdiction of a court refers to its authority to adjudicate matters and exercise judicial power. A court's jurisdiction depends on the subject matter, monetary value, and local territorial limits. Lack of jurisdiction cannot be conferred by parties' consent and renders a court's decisions a nullity.

Uploaded by

gaurav singh
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Civil Procedure Code,

1908
Place of Suing-
Jurisdiction of Courts
Amit Pratap Singh
Assistant Professor in Business Laws
Place of Suing- Jurisdiction of Courts

• Sections 15 to 20 deal with place of suing.

• Section 15 provides that every suit shall be instituted in the Court of lowest
grade competent to try it.

• Section 16 provides for institution of the suit where subject matters are
situated.

• Section 17 provides that suit shall be instituted for immovable property


situate within the jurisdiction of different Courts.
Place of Suing- Jurisdiction of Courts

• Section 18 deals with the place of institution of a suit where local


limits of jurisdictions of Courts are uncertain.

• Section 19 provides for institution of suits for compensation for


wrongs to person or movable property.

• Section 20 provides for institution of the suits not covered by


earlier provisions where defendants reside or cause of action
arises.
JURISDICTION OF COURTS

• Jurisdiction of a Court means the power or the extent of the


authority of a Court to hear and determine a cause, to adjudicate
and exercise any judicial power in relation to it.

• The Jurisdiction of a Court means the extent of the authority of a


Court to administer justice prescribed with reference to the
subject matter, pecuniary value or local limits.
JURISDICTION OF COURTS

• The expression ‘jurisdiction’ does not mean the power to do or


order the act impugned, but generally it would import the
authority of the judicial officer to act in the matter as held in case
of Anwar Hussain V/s.Ajay Kumar AIR 1965, SC 1651.
• The court shall be competent to entertain the proceedings.
• The competency is legally termed as jurisdiction.
• The jurisdiction is of three kinds, namely, statutory, pecuniary
and territorial.
JURISDICTION OF COURTS

• Conferment of jurisdiction is a legislative function and it can


neither be conferred with the consent of the parties nor by a
superior court and if a court having no jurisdiction passes a decree
over the matter, it would amount to a nullity, as the matter by-
passes the correct route of jurisdiction.

• Such an issue can be raised even at a belated stage in execution.


• The finding of a court or Tribunal becomes irrelevant and
unenforceable/inexecutable once the forum is found to have no
jurisdiction.
JURISDICTION OF COURTS

• Acquiescence of parties cannot confer jurisdiction upon a court


and an erroneous interpretation equally should not be permitted
to perpetuate or perpetrate, defeating the legislative intention.

• The Court cannot derive jurisdiction apart from the Statute.


• No amount of waiver or consent can confer jurisdiction on the
Court if it inherently lacks it or if none exists.
JURISDICTION OF COURTS

• If the Court has no inherent jurisdiction, neither acquiescence


nor waiver nor estoppels can create its But if two or more Courts
have jurisdiction to try the suit, the parties may agree among
them that the suit should be brought in one of those Courts and
not in other, since there is no inherent lack of jurisdiction in
the Court.
JURISDICTION OF COURTS

• Kiran Sing V Chaman Paswan AIR 1954 SC


• “A defect of jurisdiction strikes at the very authority of the Court
to pass any decree, and such a defect cannot be cured even by
consent of parties.
JURISDICTION OF COURTS

• Smt. Nai Bahu v. Lala Ramnarayan & Ors., AIR 1978 SC 22

• A.R. Antuley v. R.S. Nayak, AIR 1988 SC 1531

• Vithal (P) Ltd. v. Union of India & Ors., AIR 2005 SC 1891
Lack of and illegal exercise of jurisdiction

• "A Court has jurisdiction to decide wrong as well as right. If it


decides wrong, the wronged party can only take the course
prescribed by law for setting matters right; and if that course is
not taken, the decision, however wrong, cannot be disturbed.”
Lord Hobhouse

• A decree passed in the inherent lack of jurisdiction, is a nullity,


and that nullity can be set up in any collateral proceeding.
Decision as to jurisdiction
•
• Bhatia Coop. Housing Society V D.C. Patel, AIR 1953 SC
• Whenever the jurisdiction of the Court is challenged, the Court
has inherent jurisdiction to decide the said question.

• Abdulla Vs Golappa, AIR 1985 S.C.


• The allegations made in plaint decide the forum and jurisdiction
does not depend upon the defence taken by the defendants in
the Written Statement.
Kinds of jurisdiction

• i. Territorial jurisdiction or Local jurisdiction: Each Court has


vested power to exercise jurisdiction within its own territorial
or local limits beyond which it cannot go.
• ii. Pecuniary jurisdiction: The term 'Pecuniary jurisdiction'
connotes the value of the subject matter of the suit.
• The High Courts and District Courts have no pecuniary limitation
but the other Courts have no such unlimited pecuniary
jurisdiction. The Court of Civil Judge (Jr. Div.) in the State of
Uttar Pradesh can entertain the suits where the value of the
subject matter does not exceed Rs. 25,000/-.
Kinds of jurisdiction

• iii. Jurisdiction as to subject matter of dispute: The different


Courts have power to decide different kinds of suit, like the
Family Courts have jurisdiction to decide the suits/disputes
relating to the matrimonial matters.

• iv. Original and appellate jurisdiction: In its original jurisdiction,


a Court entertains and adjudicates suits while in its appellate
jurisdiction a Court decides appeals.
Jurisdiction & Suit of Civil Nature

• Abdul Wahid Khan Vs Bhawani, AIR 1966 S.C.


• A litigant having a grievance of a civil nat.ure has a right to
institute a civil suit in a civil Court competent to hear and decide
the matter unless its cognizance is either expressly or impliedly
barred by any statute.

• It is a fundamental principle of English law that whenever


there is a right, there is a remedy. - Ubi jus ibi remidium
• According to S.9 - a Civil Court has jurisdiction to try a suit, when the
following two conditions are satisfied:

• i. the suit is of a Civil nature, and

• ii. the cognizance of such a suit is neither expressly nor impliedly


barred.
• The word "civil" has not been defined in the Code.

• The expression "Civil Nature" is wider than the expression "Civil


Proceedings".

• Thus a suit is of a civil nature if the private question therein relates


to the determination of a civil right and enforcement thereof.
•
• It is not the status of parties to the “suit, but the subject matter of it
which determines whether or not the suit is one of a civil nature.
• The expression is "suit of a civil nature will cover private rights and
obligations of a citizen.

• Political and religious questions are not covered by that expression."

• Explanation- 1 of S. 9 says that 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.
Jurisdiction & Suit

• '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.“

• The cognizance of a suit may be barred either expressly or


impliedly.
Suits expressly barred

• A suit is said to be "expressly barred" when it is barred by any


enactment for the time being in force by a competent Legislature,
while keeping itself within the field of legislation and without
contravening any provision of the constitution. -
– Umrao Singh V Bhagwan Singh, AIR 1956 SC
Suits expressly barred

• Every presumption should be made in favour of the jurisdiction


of the Civil Court and the provisions of the exclusion of the
jurisdiction of a Court must be strictly construed.
– Abdul V Bhawani AIR 1966 SC

• It is well settled that a civil court has inherent power to decide


its own jurisdiction
– Bhatia Coop. Housing Society V D. C. Patel, AIR 1953 SC
Suits impliedly barred
•
• A suit is said to be "impliedly barred" when it is barred by
general principle of law.

• Where an Act creates an obligation and enforces the performance


in a specified manner, that performance cannot be enforced in
any other manner, e.g., certain suits of a civil nature are barred
from the cognizance of a Civil Court on the grounds of public
policy.
– Premier Automobiles V K. S. Wadke, AIR 1975 SC
Suits impliedly barred

• Thus, no suit shall lie for recovery of costs incurred in Criminal


prosecution or for enforcement of a right upon a contract hit by
Section 23 of Indian Contract Act, 1872 or against any Judge for
acts done in the course of his duties.

• A Civil court has no jurisdiction to adjudicate upon disputes of


political nature.

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