Civil Law and Procedure
Civil Law and Procedure tests both substantive civil statutes and the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, which governs a suit from institution through execution. The paper rewards candidates who can trace a plaint to a decree and spot where procedure alters substantive rights.
Suit architecture
- A suit is instituted under Order 4 CPC by presenting a plaint (Order 7) with cause title, valuation and court-fee.
- Section 9 confers jurisdiction over civil suits unless expressly or impliedly barred; section 15 requires a suit concerning immovable property to be filed where the property is situate; section 20 turns on defendants' residence or cause of action.
- Section 10 (res sub judice) bars trial of a suit already pending; section 11 (res judicata) bars a fresh suit on a cause of action finally decided by a competent court.
- Issues are framed under Order 14; a decree under section 2(2) follows the judgment, and orders are defined in section 2(14). Appeals lie under section 96, review under section 114, revision under section 115.
Substantive anchors
- Indian Contract Act, 1872: sections 10, 23 and 56.
- Transfer of Property Act, 1882: sections 54, 58 and 60 (mortgage and redemption).
- Specific Relief Act, 1963: sections 10, 14 and 16; Limitation Act, 1963: Article 54 and section 5.
Worked example
A agrees to sell land to B, B pays earnest money, A refuses to execute the sale deed, and B sues after five years. Issue: maintainability. Section 16(c) requires B to plead and prove continuous readiness and willingness; Article 54 gives three years from the date fixed for performance or refusal; section 14 bars relief where the contract is determinable. Reasoning: delay of five years after refusal, unexplained, makes the suit time-barred, and section 20 discretion cannot revive a dead claim.
Traps
- Confusing res sub judice with res judicata, or treating rejection of a plaint as a decree without noting Order 7 Rule 11 appeals.
- Forgetting that an order appealable under Order 43 is not a decree.
- Allowing amendment under Order 6 Rule 17 to introduce a fresh cause of action after limitation.