Historical Background of Code of Civil Procedure
Before 1859, there were Crown Courts in Presidency towns and Provincial Courts in Mofussil. The courts in Mofussil areas were governed by different systems of civil procedure based on various rules and regulations which were changed frequently to fit in the changing needs and circumstances.The Legislative Council of India to provide uniformity in regulating the civil procedure in India enacted the first code of civil procedure in 1859 which received the assent of the Governor-General on 23rd March 1859. However, the code could not serve the purpose due to its inapplicability to the Supreme Courts (Crown Courts under the Royal Charter) and the Sardar Diwani Adalats (Principal Courts under the Judicial Plan by the Governal General).
Thereafter, the Indian High Courts Act and the Supreme Court Act establishing High Courts in Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata were passed in the year 1861 and the Sardar Diwani Adalats were abolished. The code of 1859 was also made applicable to the High Courts, however, due to the irregularities of the code it was replaced by the Code of Civil Procedure, 1877 which was again amended in 1878 and 1879. Later, the code of 1877 was replaced by the Code of Civil Procedure 1882 which also lacked in overcoming the drawbacks of its predecessors and ultimately the present Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 was passed after removing all the defects of the previously enacted codes.
What are the powers of a civil court under the Code of Civil Procedure?
Courts duty to do justice in all cases, whether provided for or not, carries with it the necessary power to do justice in the absence of express provision. This power is referred to as the inherent powers of the court provided under Section 151 of the Civil Procedure Code. A civil court has vast powers and the law related to the same has been enumerated under section 148 to section 153A of the Civil Procedure Code.
- Section 148 clearly points out that the court has no application when the time has not been fixed or granted for doing a particular act that has not been prescribed or allowed by the court. This power of the court, being discretionary in nature cannot be claimed as a right. Section 148 provides that the court, may extend to a maximum period of 30 days, when a definite time period is fixed or granted by it, for doing an act.
- Section 149 deals with payment of court fees. The power of the court is discretionary and must be exercised only in the interest of justice. This section certifies the court to allow a party to make up for the deficiency of court fees payable on a plaint or a memorandum of an appeal etc., even after the expiry of the limitation period that is provided for the filing of a suit or an appeal etc.
- Section 150 of CPC relates to the ‘Transfer of businesses’, and provides thus: “when the business of any court is transferred to any other court, the transferee court will exercise the same power or discharge same duties conferred or imposed by CPC upon the transferring court”.
- Section 151 states that the inherent powers of the court can be used to secure the ends of justice under section 151 of the CPC. The scope of the exercise of these powers, under Section 151 of CPC can be illustrated by a few cases, such as-
1. The court may recall its orders and correct any mistakes;
2. An illegal order, or orders passed without a jurisdiction can be set-aside.
3. The court has the power to hold a trial ‘in camera’ or prohibit any publication of its proceedings. - Section 152, 153 and 153A of the Civil Procedure Code relates to the application of the inherent powers for effecting amendments of judgments, decrees, orders or other records.