KSLU Solved Question Papers
Civil Procedure Code and Limitation Act
Previous Year Question Paper with Solution
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 9
2015 Dec Examination
munotes.in
Mumbai
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 9 Civil Procedure Code and Limitation Act 2015 Dec Question Paper with Solutions
First published on munotes.in on 21 October 2026.
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The question paper reproduced here is the paper as set by Karnataka State Law University at the 2015 Dec examination.
Contents
The questions below are the paper as Karnataka State Law University set it at the 2015 Dec examination, in the order it was set.
MarksPage
MarksPage
The Paper as Set
The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2015 Dec examination, reproduced as Karnataka State Law University set them, in the order it set them. Long reading passages are shortened to their first and last lines and our summary; the original paper prints them in full. Only the answers are ours. See the original question paper.
Duration 3 hours · Total marks 100 · 13 questions answered
How to use this volume
Solve the paper first, under exam conditions and against the clock. Then read the answers here and mark your own. Reading a solution before attempting the question feels productive and teaches very little, because recognising an answer is not the same as being able to write one.
Q1Discuss the rules in C.P.C. relating to transfer of suits.[16]
Answer
For full marks, cover: why the Code allows a suit to be moved; the four sections in turn: section 22 (the defendant's application where two or more courts are competent), section 23 (the court that hears it), section 24 (the general power of the High Court and the District Court to transfer, withdraw and retransfer, with sub-sections (2) to (5)), section 25 (the Supreme Court, between States, substituted in 1976); how the courts use the power (Kulwinder Kaur, Sumita Singh); the limit across High Courts (Durgesh Sharma); matrimonial transfers and video hearings (Krishna Veni Nagam, Santhini); powers outside the Code (Article 139A); a table.
Why the Code lets a suit be moved
Sections 15 to 20 of the Code of Civil Procedure 1908 decide where a suit may be filed. Often more than one court is competent. The plaintiff then picks the court, and he picks the one that suits him. The defendant may live far away. The witnesses and documents may be elsewhere. A connected suit may be pending in another court. A party may fear, on real grounds, that he will not get a fair trial.
Sections 22 to 25 meet these problems. They let a suit, and in some cases an appeal or other proceeding, be moved to another competent court. They do not change the rules on where a suit may be filed. They only decide which of the competent courts should try it.
Section 22: the defendant's application
Section 22 applies "Where a suit may be instituted in any one of two or more Courts and is instituted in one of such Courts". It has these parts:
- Who may apply. "any defendant". The plaintiff made the choice of court, so he cannot use this section.
- Notice. The defendant must apply "after notice to the other parties".
- Time. He must apply "at the earliest possible opportunity". Where issues are settled, he must apply "at or before such settlement". A defendant who waits until the trial is under way loses this right.
- The decision. The court hears the objections of the other parties. It then decides "in which of the several Courts having jurisdiction the suit shall proceed".
The section works only between courts that each have jurisdiction. It covers suits only, not appeals.
Section 23: which court hears the application
Section 23 names the court to which a section 22 application goes:
- Sub-section (1). If the competent courts are subordinate to the same appellate court, the application goes to that appellate court.
- Sub-section (2). If they are subordinate to different appellate courts but to the same High Court, it goes to that High Court.
- Sub-section (3). If they are subordinate to different High Courts, it goes to the High Court of the area where the suit was brought.
Section 23 only names the forum. It does not itself give a power to send a case anywhere.
Section 24: the general power of transfer and withdrawal
Section 24 is the provision used most in practice. Under section 24(1), the High Court or the District Court may act in either of two ways:
- on the application of any party, after notice and after hearing those who wish to be heard; or
- "of its own motion without such notice".
It may do so "at any stage". There are two kinds of order:
- Transfer (clause (a)). It may transfer a suit, appeal or other proceeding pending before itself to any subordinate court competent to try it.
- Withdrawal (clause (b)). It may withdraw a suit, appeal or other proceeding pending in a subordinate court. It may then try it itself, transfer it to another competent subordinate court, or retransfer it to the court from which it was withdrawn.
The other sub-sections complete the power:
- Section 24(2). The court that is to try the case may retry it, or proceed from the point at which it was transferred or withdrawn. This is subject to any special directions in the order of transfer.
- Section 24(3). Courts of Additional and Assistant Judges are deemed subordinate to the District Court. "Proceeding" includes execution of a decree or order.
- Section 24(4). A court trying a suit transferred from a Court of Small Causes is deemed a Court of Small Causes for that suit.
- Section 24(5). Inserted in 1976, it says a suit or proceeding "may be transferred under this section from a Court which has no jurisdiction to try it". So a case filed in the wrong court can be moved to a competent one under section 24.
The power is wide, but it reaches only courts subordinate to the court using it. A District Court cannot move a case to a court in another district.
Section 25: the Supreme Court, between States
The present section 25 was substituted by the Amendment Act of 1976, with effect from 1 February 1977. Its parts are:
- The power. The Supreme Court acts on a party's application, after notice and hearing. It may "at any stage" transfer a suit, appeal or other proceeding. The transfer is from a High Court or other civil court in one State to one in another State.
- The test. It must be "satisfied that an order under this section is expedient for the ends of justice".
- Form. The application is made by a motion supported by an affidavit (section 25(2)).
- Effect. The receiving court may retry the case or proceed from the stage reached, subject to special directions (section 25(3)).
- Costs. A frivolous or vexatious application may be dismissed with compensation of up to two thousand rupees to the opposing party (section 25(4)).
- Law applied. The receiving court applies the law that the original court ought to have applied (section 25(5)).
How the courts use the power
The Code gives no list of grounds. The courts look at convenience and the ends of justice.
In Kulwinder Kaur v. Kandi Friends Education Trust, (2008) 3 SCC 659, the Supreme Court dealt with a transfer of suits under section 24. It held on 11 January 2008 that the power is comprehensive. It may be used at any stage, on application or by the court itself. The court weighs the balance of convenience, the convenience of the parties and witnesses, and any reasonable fear of not getting justice. Mere convenience of one party is not enough.
In Sumita Singh v. Kumar Sanjay, (2001) 10 SCC 41, a husband started matrimonial proceedings at Ara in Bihar. His wife lived and worked in Delhi, about 1,100 km away. She applied under section 25. On 26 February 2001 the Supreme Court held that, since the husband had chosen the forum, the wife's convenience had to be preferred. The case was sent to the District Judge, Delhi.
No High Court can move a case into another State
In Durgesh Sharma v. Jayshree, (2008) 9 SCC 648, a husband filed for divorce in the Family Court at Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh. The wife lived at Malegaon in Maharashtra. She applied to the Madhya Pradesh High Court under section 23, and it moved the case to Malegaon. The Supreme Court set that order aside on 26 September 2008. It held that sections 22 to 25 are a complete scheme. Section 23 names the forum but gives no power to cross a State boundary. Where the courts are under different High Courts, only the Supreme Court can transfer, under section 25.
Matrimonial transfers and hearings by video
Most section 25 petitions are filed by wives in matrimonial cases. In Krishna Veni Nagam v. Harish Nagam, (2017) 4 SCC 150, a husband's divorce petition was pending in the Family Court at Jabalpur. The wife lived in Hyderabad with a young daughter. On 9 March 2017 the Supreme Court transferred the case to Hyderabad, as it had been pending for years. It also suggested that such cases could be heard by video conferencing, so that routine transfers would be needed less often.
That suggestion was narrowed later. In Santhini v. Vijaya Venketesh, AIR 2017 SC 5745, a three-judge bench decided on 9 October 2017, by majority, that a transfer petition cannot be decided by directing a video hearing. A Family Court may allow video conferencing only after settlement efforts fail, and where both parties apply or consent. So in a contested matrimonial case, transfer under section 25 remains the remedy.
Powers outside the Code
The Constitution adds two related powers. Under Article 139A, the Supreme Court may withdraw to itself cases raising the same substantial questions of law of general importance. Article 139A(2) also lets it transfer any case pending in one High Court to another High Court, for the ends of justice. These sit beside section 25. They do not replace it.
The four sections compared
| Point | Section 22 | Section 23 | Section 24 | Section 25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nature | Right to apply | Names the forum | General power | Inter-State power |
| Who moves | A defendant | (forum for section 22) | Any party, or the court itself | A party |
| Decided by | Court named in section 23 | Appellate court or High Court | High Court or District Court | Supreme Court |
| Time | Earliest opportunity, before issues | Same as section 22 | At any stage | At any stage |
| Point | Section 22 | Section 23 | Section 24 | Section 25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Covers | Suits | Suits | Suits, appeals, other proceedings | Suits, appeals, other proceedings |
| Notice | Required | Required | Not needed if own motion | Required, with affidavit |
Conclusion. The Code keeps the plaintiff's choice of court but lets it be corrected. A defendant may object early under section 22, before the court named in section 23. Under section 24, the High Court and the District Court may transfer, withdraw or retransfer any case at any stage. They may act of their own motion, and even move a case from a court without jurisdiction. Only the Supreme Court may move a case from one State to another, under section 25, as Durgesh Sharma holds. The test is always the ends of justice and the balance of convenience, not a party's wish, as Kulwinder Kaur and Sumita Singh show.
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