The Civil Procedure (Amendment)
Act, 1999 (Act No. 46 of 1999) and the Civil Procedure (Amendment)
Act, 2002 (Act No. 22 of 2002) will come into force with effect
from July 1, 2002. Two notifications, to this effect, under the
1999 and 20002 Acts respectively have been issued in the Gazette
of India.
The two amendments to the
Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, will bring a sigh of relief to
whose 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 and the 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 litigations
which otherwise increases the pendency of cases in the Civil Courts.
