Report No. 100

5.2. Summary of recommendations.-

For convenience, we summarise below the recommendations made in this Report:-

(i) Section 80 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, which requires prior notice of intention to sue the Government or a public officer for an act done by the latter in his official capacity, should be repealed.1

(ii) Cognate provisions contained in other special enactments should also be repealed.2

(iii) There should be appointed at the Centre and in the States, a Litigation Ombudsman on the lines indicated in the Report, with the functions set out therein. Briefly, the scheme envisaged is that it should be open to a citizen to approach the Litigation Ombudsman and seek redress of a justiciable grievance against the Government. The citizen need not resort to litigation-litigation which could well have been avoided if the official machinery had been more energetic, more sympathetic and more imaginative. There should, however, be no legal obligation to resort to this procedure before instituting legal proceedings.3

(iv) The Limitation Act, 1963, should be amended by deleting the provision (Article 112) allowing to the Government a period of thirty years for all suits.4

1. Para. 2.15, supra.

2. Para. 2.16, supra.

3. Chapter 3, supra, particularly para. 3.4.

4. Para. 4.4, supra.

K.K. Mathew Chairman.

J.P. Chaturvedi Member.

Dr. M.B. Rao Member.

P.M. Bakshi Part-time Member.

Vepa P. Sarathi Part-time Member.

A.K. Srinivasamurthy Member-Secretary.

Dated: 8th May, 1984.