CIVIL PROCEDURE
CODE AS AMENDED ENFORCED
FROM TODAY
The Civil Procedure
(Amendment) Act, 1999 (Act No. 46 of 1999) and the Civil Procedure
(Amendment) Act, 2002 (Act No. 22 of 2002) comes into force with
effect from today. Two notifications, to this effect, under the
1999 and 2002 Acts respectively were issued earlier in the Gazette
of India.
The Chief Justice
of India, Shri Justice B.N. Kirpal, in his message to both the
Bench and the Bar all over the country has urged them to extend
their wholehearted cooperation in the implementation of the Civil
Procedure (Amendment) Act, 1999 and the Civil Procedure (Amendment)
Act, 2002 in order to ensure speedy justice to the people. He
was speaking at a function organized by the Bar Council of India
to felicitate him.
The two
amendments to the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, will bring a
sigh of relief to those who have been waiting for the outcome
of the civil cases pending for a long time or ages in the courts.
It also seeks to compress the time frame for disposal of all civil
cases within one year by setting a time limit for every stage
of litigation.
The
main features of the code of Civil Procedure (Amendment) Act,
1999 and the Code of Civil Procedure (Amendment) Act, 2002 include
measures taken to reduce delays at pre-trial stage in terms of
obligations of the plaintiff, the court are defendant.
The
2002 Amendment Act also modifies the 1999 Amendment Act following
a broad consensus arrived at after consultations with the Law
Commission of India, representatives of the Bar Council of India,
Bar Associations, Law Officers of the Union and others.
Besides restricting
adjournments to three times only, it seeks to abolish second appeal
in money suits where value does not exceed Rs. 25,000. Further,
the general power of the courts to extend the time prescribed
in the Code is restricted to 30 days now. Earlier, the court could
extend time without any limit. Besides, on the filing of revision
application against the orders of a sub-ordinate court, its records
shall not be called unless the High Court orders to do so specifically.
The
amendments also empower the courts to refer suits in appropriate
cases for conciliation and arbitration. This is intended to reduce
the bulk of litigation which otherwise increases the pendency
of cases in the Civil Courts.
