The Madras City Civil Court Act, 1892 See Also the Madras City Civil Court Presidency Small Cause Court (Amendment) Act, 1916 Complete Act - Bare Act

An Act to establish an additional Civil Court for the City of Madras.

WHEREAS it is expedient to establish an additional Civil Court for the City of Madras; It is hereby enacted as follows:-

1.

Title " (1) This Act may be called THE MADRAS CITY CIVIL COURT ACT, 1982.

The word ˜and' and sub-S.(2) were repealed by the Repealing and Amending Act, 1914 (Central Act XVII of 1914), S.3 and Sch.II

2.

Definitions " In this Act, unless there is something repugnant in the subject or context,

1. "City Court" means the Court established under the next following section.

2. "City of Madras" means the area within the local limits for the time being of the ordinary original civil jurisdiction of the High Court.

3. "High Court" means the High court of Judicature at Madras; and

4. "Small Cause Court" means the Court of Small Causes of Madras.

3.

Constitution of the City Court - The Substituted by the Adaptation Order of 1950 [State Government] may, by notification in the Official Gazette, establish a Court, to be called the Madras City Civil Court, with jurisdiction to receive, try and dispose of all suits and other proceedings of a civil nature not exceeding two thousand five hundred rupees in value and arising within the City of Madras, except suits or proceedings which are cognizable-

(a) by the High Court as a Court of Admiralty or Vice-Admiralty or as a Colonial Court of Admiralty, or as a court having testamentary, intestate or matrimonial jurisdiction, or

(b) by the Court for the relief of insolvent debtors, or

(c) by the Small Cause Court.

Inserted by Section 2 of the Madras City Civil Court Amendment Act. 1934 (Madras Act I of 1935) [
3-A. Power of State Government to enhance the jurisdiction of the City Court -

Subject to the exceptions specified in section 3 the Substituted by the Adaption Order of 1950 [State Government] may, by notification in the Official Gazette, invest the City Court with jurisdiction to receive, try and dispose of all suits and other proceedings of a civil nature arising within the City of Madras and of such value not exceeding Substituted by Section 3 of ˜Tamil Nadu Act 28 of 1995 [ ten lakhs of rupees] as may be specified in the notification.]

(1) The City Court shall consist of a Principal Judge and such number of Additional or Assistant Judges as the State Government may from time to time appoint.

(2) Subject to the provision of section 15, each of the Judges may exercise all or any of the powers conferred on the Court by this Act or any other law for the time being in force.

(3) The principal Judge may from time to time make such arrangements as he may think fit for the distribution of the business of the Court among the various Judges thereof.]

5.

Judge of City Court to be Judge of Small Cause Court " (1) Every person appointed a Judge of the City Court shall be, by virtue of his office, a Judge of the Small cause Court with respect to cases cognizable by that Court.

(2) Every such Judge shall be liable to perform any duties of a Judge of the Small Cause which the Chief Justice of the High Court may require him to perform.

6.

(1) There shall be appointed to the City Court as many clerks, bailiffs and other Ministerial Officers as the Substituted by the Adaption Order of 1950 [ State ] Government may from time to time consider necessary.

(2) The clerks, bailiffs and other Ministerial officers so appointed shall exercise such powers and discharge such duties of a ministerial nature as Substituted by the Madras City Civil Court (Amendment) Act, 1955 (Madras Act X of 1955) [the Principal Judge may from time to time direct.]

All questions which arise in suits or other proceedings under this Act in the City Court shall be dealt with and determined according to the law for the time being administered by the High Court in the exercise of its ordinary original Civil Jurisdiction.

9.

Fees Chargeable for serving or executing process issued by the City Court, or served or executed under its direction or control, shall be such as the High Court may prescribe with the approval of the Substituted by the Adaption Order of 1950 [ State Government of Madras ] Omitted by the Decentralization Act, 1914 (Central Act IV of 1914)

11.

Appointment of Receivers " The powers conferred by Chapter XXXVI of the Code of Civil Procedure See now Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (Central Act V of 1908) on High Court and District Courts as to the appointment of Receivers, may be exercised by the City Court or any Judge thereof.

12.

When under section 13 of the Letters Patent for the High Court, dated the twenty-eighth day of December, 1865, or under section 25 of the Code of Civil Procedure the High Court has removed for trial by itself any suit from the City Court, fees on the scale for the time being in force in the High Court as a Court of ordinary original civil jurisdiction shall be payable in that court in respect of the suit and proceedings therein:

Provided that in the levy of any such fees which according to the practice of the Court are credited to the Government credit shall be given to the plaintiff in the suit for any fee which in the City Court he has already paid under the Court Fees Act, 1870 Repealed by Sec.87 of Tamil Nadu Court Fees and Suits Valuation Act XIV of 1955. On the plaint.

(1) An appeal shall lie to the High Court from any decree or order appealable under the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (Central Act V of 1908) in any suit or proceeding where the amount or value of the subject matter exceeds Substituted by Tamil Nadu Act 28 of 1995 [ three lakh of rupees] or where the decree or order appealed from was passed by the Principal Judge or an Additional Judge.

Substituted by Tamil Nadu Act 18 of 1971. (2) An appeal shall lie to the principal Judge from any decree or order appealable under the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (Central Act V of 1908) passed in any suit or proceedings.

(a) where the amount or value of subject " matter does not exceed five thousand rupees "

(i) be a Judge other than the Principal Judge before the 1^st July, 1955; or

(ii) by an Assistant Judge on or after the 1^st July, 1955; or

(b) where such amount or value does not exceed ten thousand rupees by an Assistant Judge, on or after the date of the commencement of the Madras City Civil Court (Amendment) Act, 1971.]

Substituted by the Tamil Nadu Act 41 of 1997 [(2-A) An appeal shall lie to the Principal Judge from any decree or order appealable under the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure 1908 (Central Act V of 1908), passed in any suit or proceeding by a judge other than the Principal Judge or an Additional Judge.

(a) before the 1^st day of December 1995, where the amount or value of the subject matter does not exceed one lakh of Rupees.

(b) on or after the 1^st day of December 1995 where the amount or value of the subject matter does not exceed three lakhs of Rupees; and

(c ) on or after the 1^st day of December 1995, except when the amount or value of the subject matter of the suit exceeds rupees three lakhs in which case appeal shall lie to the High Court.

(2-B) All appeals pending in the High Court on the date of publication of the Chennai City Civil Court (Amendment) Act, 1997 in the Tamil Nadu Government Gazette of which the amount or value or the subject matter of such appeals exceeds one lakh of rupees, but does not exceed three lakhs of rupees and which would be within the cognizance of the Chennai City Civil Court under the provisions of Principal Act, as amended by this Act, shall stand transferred to the Chennai City Civil Court.

(3) A second appeal shall lie to the High Court from any decree passed by the Principal or an Additional Judge in the exercise of his appellate jurisdiction on all or any of the grounds mentioned in section 100 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (Central Act V of 1908).

(4) Subject in other respects to the provisions of the Indian Limitation Act, 1908 (Central Act IX of 1908) the period of limitation for an appeal from a decree or order in any of the cases specified in sub-sections (1) and (3) shall be ninety days and in any of the cases specified in sub-section (2) shall be thirty days.

(5) The Principal Judge may from time to time transfer for disposal appeals preferred under sub-section (2) to any Additional Judge and may at any time withdraw such transferred appeals and dispose of them himself.]

Nothing to this Act contained shall affect the original civil jurisdiction of the High Court.

Provided that "

(1) if any suit or other proceeding is instituted in the High Court which in the opinion of the Judge who tries the same (whose opinion shall be final ) ought to have been instituted in the Civil Court no costs shall be allowed to a successful plaintiff and a successful defendant shall be allowed the costs Re-enacted by Section 2 of, and the First Schedule to the Madras Re-enacting (No.1) Act, 1948 (Madras Act VII of 1948) [at the maximum admissible under the Madras High Court-Fees Rules for suits set down for final disposal.]

(2) in any suit or other proceeding pending at any time in the High Court any Judge of such Court may at any stage thereof make an order transferring the same to the City Court if in his opinion such suit or proceeding is within the jurisdiction of that Court and should be tried therein;

(3) if any suit or other proceeding so transferred, the Court- Fees Act, 1870 Now Tamil Nadu Act XIV of 1955 shall apply, credit being given for any fees levied in the High Court.

The City Court shall use a seal of such form and dimensions as may be for the time being prescribed by the Substituted by the Adaption Order 1950 [State Government]

The Principal Judge shall at the commencement of each year draw up a list of holidays and vacations to be observed in the Court, and shall submit the same for the approval of Substituted by the Adaption Order of 1950 [ State Government]

(2) Such list, when it has received such approval, shall be published in the Official Gazette, and the said holidays and vacations shall be observed accordingly.