Report No. 27
Appendix II
Notes on Clauses
Section 1 (Extent)
(i) It is understood that before enacting Act 2 of 1951, which amended the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, it was specifically suggested to the State Governments that the Code may be made applicable to the whole of India except Jammu & Kashmir and Manipur, the former because of legislative incapacity and the latter because of the Part C States (Laws) Act, 1950, (now the Union Territories Laws Act, 1950). As a result of the replies received, it was found that the only areas to which the Code need not extend were the State of Jammu and Kashmir, the Union territory of Manipur, the tribal Areas in the State of Assam and the Scheduled Areas in the State of Madras. In answer to a further query as to whether there were any "former Scheduled Districts" or "present Scheduled Areas" in the State of which the Code should not extend, the reply of the Government of Madras was:-
"The Laccadive Islands (including Minicoy), the Amindivi Islands and the East Godavari, West Godavari and Visakhapatnam agencies are the Scheduled areas within Madras State and the Code of Civil Procedure is not in force in the Laccadive Islands (including Minicoy) while sections 36 to 43 (including Order XXXIV of the First Schedule and sections 36 to 43 and 48 (including Order XXXIV) are in force in the East Godavari, West Godavari and Visakhapatnam agencies. The intention is that the present position may continue.".
(ii) Whatever the earlier history with regard to Scheduled Districts may be, it is clear that after Act 2 of 1951 the question whether the Code did or did not extend to Scheduled Districts is hardly relevant. Apart from the Tribal Areas in Assam and the State of Jammu & Kashmir and the Union territory of Manipur, the only areas to which the Code was not intended to extend were the Scheduled Areas in Madras, which by the Scheduled Areas (Part A States) Order, 1950, (Gazette of India, Extraordinary, 1950, p. 670) comprised the Laccadive Islands (including Minicoy) and Amindivi Islands, East Godavari, West Godavari and Visakhapatnam agencies.
(iii) Section 1(3) of the Code as amended by Act 2 of 1951 therefore continued the existing position with regard to these Islands. It may be recalled in this connection, that section 3 of the Laccadive and Minicoy Islands Regulation, 1912, provided that notwithstanding anything in any enactment now in force (that is on 22nd January, 1912) that Regulation and the .enactments mentioned in section 3 (which did not include the Code of Civil Procedure) were to be the only enactments in force in the islands. Amindivi Islands were not included within the scope of the Regulation.
(iv) After the formation of Andhra State, the proviso to section 1(3) underwent a modification, so that the Amindivi Islands were shown as being in the State of Madras and the Agencies were shown as being in the State of Andhra Pradesh.
(v) After the passing of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, the proviso underwent a further modification, as Amindivi Islands had ceased to be a part of the Madras State. But necessary amendments were not carried out in section 1(3) (b). As there are no Scheduled Areas in the State of Madras at present, sub-clause (b) apps f rs to be meaningless and the proviso therefore does not fit in. Hence this opportunity hA been taken of recasting subsection (3).
(vi) Incidentally, it may be added that the Administrator of the Laccadive, Minicoy and Amindivi Islands has, in his suggestion relating to the Civil Procedure Code sent to the Commission, suggested that sections 36 to 43 should, for uniformity, extend also to Laccadive and Minicoy Islands. (At present, they extend only to Amindivi Islands). This has been accepted, and Order XXXIV also proposed to be extended to those Islands.
(vii) It may also be added, that from the 1st January, 1957, the Code extends to Manipur also.
(viii) Reference to section 48 has been omitted from the proviso, as section 48 is now omitted from the Code; see section 28, Limitation Act, 1963.
Section 2(2) "decree"
Regarding the definition of "decree" a recommendation has been made in an earlier Report of the Law Commission1 for regarding awards in Land Acquisition proceedings as decrees. It suggested an amendment of the Land Acquisition Act for this purpose. This is a matter to be considered when final action for revising the Land Acquisition Act is taken.
2. The question whether an order rejecting a memorandum of appeal on the grounds of deficit in court-fees should be treated as a decree, has been considered. It would not, however, be convenient to insert a provision on the subject in the definition of "decree", as there is no specific provision in the body of the Code or in the rules relating to rejection of a memorandum of appeal (except Order XLI, rule 3 dealing with rejection on the ground of certain formal defects).
1. 3rd Report (Limitation Act), para. 151.
Section 2(17)(b)
The words "All-India Service" have been substituted, in conformity with the Constitution and present usage.
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