PLACE OF SUING UNDER CPC, 1908

Section 15-20 of civil procedure code, 1908 deals with Place of Suing. It basically says that  every suit must be instituted in the lowest court so that it could save the time of the courts. The  jurisdiction is fixed by the government. Place of suing is important because it has authority of  courts to decide cases according to their territorial jurisdiction  

There are three kinds of jurisdiction to determine the place of suing: 

• Pecuniary Jurisdiction 

• Territorial Jurisdiction 

• Subject Matter 

The above- mentioned jurisdictions are the prime factors to determine the place of suing. If the  important factors of jurisdiction (Pecuniary, Territorial, Subject matter) does not fulfill the  requirement of the jurisdiction then it will be considered as a lack of jurisdiction and when the  court has no jurisdiction, whatever the decisions will be taken it will become void. 

1. Pecuniary Jurisdiction 

Pecuniary literally means ‘related to money’. All courts have their pecuniary limits. Courts can  take only those cases which do not exceed their allotted pecuniary value. It means, the courts  cannot entertain the suit beyond its particular limit. For instance if the pecuniary jurisdiction of  the court is, till ₹1,00,00,000 - then it can't entertain a suit involving more money than that. Therefore, there is no pecuniary limit on High court and District court. 

2. Territorial Jurisdiction 

Every suit regard to recovery/partition/sale, mortgage or redemption/determination of any right  or claim/compensation for wrong to immovable property or for recovery of movable property  shall be instituted in the court within the local limits. For instance, Anil lives in Delhi and Sunil 

lives in Kolkata and Anil goes to Kolkata and publishes defamatory statement towards Sunil so  the plaintiff (Sunil) has a right to file a case in both Delhi and Kolkata. This is the basic principle  of law that the suit are generally filed in court of law within whose jurisdiction the whole or a  part of cause of action arose. Causes of action are the facts regard to claim, relief that gives the  plaintiff the right to bring a legal action. 

3. Subject Matter Jurisdiction 

It is the authority of a court to hear cases on a particular type of or cases related to any specific  subject matter. For example, juvenile courts are for below 18 years of age. Subject matter of any  case is very important as it conveys as to what matter and which matter comes into the  jurisdiction within the local limits of the jurisdiction. 

Cases 

• 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. 

• Shri Panch Nagar Parak vs Purushottam Das 

If there are no express provisions in any statute the court needs to look into purpose, scheme and  relevant provisions of the Act in order to determine implied exclusion of the jurisdiction of a  civil court. 

Conclusion 

The concept of the place of suing is very important as it helps to determine the jurisdiction of  each court. It helps to the plaintiff where to file a suit. It saves the time of the court in  determining the jurisdiction of the court.

-Isha Singh 

IMS Law College, Noida