S. 9 of Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 and its Legal Effect Explained by Supreme Court

S. 9 of Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 and its Legal Effect Explained by Supreme Court

Code of Civil Procedure has 158 sections. S.9 uses phrase "try all suits of a civil nature excepting suits of which their cognizance is either expressly or impliedly barred".

It is held in Unichem Laboratories Ltd v. Rani Devi [2017] GCtR 6576 (SC) that S.9 of the Code provides that the Courts shall have jurisdiction to try all suits of a "civil nature" excepting suits of which their cognizance is either expressly or impliedly barred. A suit filed to claim eviction from any accommodation is a suit of "civil nature" and, therefore, the Civil Court is competent to take cognizance of such suit unless its jurisdiction is expressly or impliedly barred by virtue of any special Enactment.

It is a settled principle of law that exclusion of jurisdiction of the Civil Court is not to be readily inferred and such exclusion is either be “explicitly expressed or clearly implied”. It is a principle by no means to be whittled down and has been referred to as a “fundamental rule”. As a necessary corollary of this rule, provisions excluding jurisdiction of Civil Courts are required to be construed strictly. In other words, it is trite rule of interpretation that existence of jurisdiction in Civil Courts to decide questions of civil nature is a general rule whereas the exclusion is an exception.