Civil Law: CPC, Contract, Transfer of Property and Specific Relief
Civil Law in the MP Civil Judge examination tests the Code of Civil Procedure, the Indian Contract Act, the Transfer of Property Act, the Specific Relief Act, the Limitation Act and personal law. Questions are usually application-based: a fact pattern asks which court has jurisdiction, whether a suit is barred, or whether interim relief should issue.
Jurisdiction and bar
- Section 9 CPC: every suit of a civil nature is triable unless expressly or impliedly barred.
- Pecuniary jurisdiction under Section 15 depends on the value of the subject-matter, not on the relief actually granted.
- Section 11 CPC codifies res judicata: a later suit is barred where the former suit involved the same parties, the same subject-matter, a competent court and a final decision.
Interim relief
Order XXXIX Rules 1–2 requires three elements: a prima facie case, irreparable injury not compensable in damages, and balance of convenience. The court weighs all three; a strong prima facie case alone does not justify an injunction.
Worked example
A sues B to restrain demolition of a wall. A shows a registered sale deed and a pending suit; B shows a municipal demolition notice. The court finds A's title prima facie supported, but demolition loss is measurable in money and B's notice is statutory. Balance of convenience favours B, so the injunction is refused; A may claim damages. Reasoning: each element is independent and must be satisfied.
Traps
- Section 10 CPC (stay of suit) is not Section 11; the former concerns simultaneous proceedings.
- Order II Rule 2 bars a subsequent suit on a claim omitted from an earlier suit, not every related claim.
- Section 53A TPA is a defence, not a cause of action.
- An unregistered sale deed of immovable property above the statutory value is inadmissible under Section 54 TPA and Section 17 of the Registration Act.