Inherent Powers of Civil Court: Tools to meet the ends of Justice

PROJECT ON

INHERENT POWERS OF CIVIL COURT: TOOLS TO MEET THE

ENDS OF JUSTICE

SUBMITTED TO: Mr. Vishal Dixit

(FACULTY CPC)

SUBMITTED BY: Saurabh Das

Manikpuri
ROLL NO.: 143
SEMESTER: IX
‘A’

DATE OF SUBMISSION:
18-08-18

HIDAYATULLAH NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY, RAIPUR

 Inherent Powers of Civil Court: Tools to meet the ends of Justice

Acknowledgements
I, Saurabh Das Manikpuri, feel myself highly elated, as it gives me tremendous pleasure
to come out with the work on the topic “Inherent Powers of Civil Court : Tools to meet
the ends of Justice.”

First and foremost, I take this opportunity to thank Mr. vishal Dixit, Faculty, Banking
Law, Hidayatullah National Law University, Raipur for allotting me such topic to work
on. She has been very kind in providing inputs for this work, by way of his
lectures and suggestions.

I would also like to thank my dear colleagues and friends in the University, who have
helped me with ideas about this work. Last, but not the least I thank the
University Administration for equipping the University with such good library and
IT facilities, without which, no doubt this work would not have taken this shape in
correct time.

Saurabh Das Manikpuri

Semester - IX,
Batch - XIV
Roll no - 143

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 Inherent Powers of Civil Court: Tools to meet the ends of Justice

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgements............................................................................................................02
Table of Contents..............................................................................................................03
List of Abbreviations.........................................................................................................03
Objectives..........................................................................................................................04
Research Methodology......................................................................................................04
Introduction.......................................................................................................................05
Inherent Power…………………………………………………………………………………….06
Section 151 of CPC……………………………………………………………………................07
Judicial Interpretation……………………………………………………………………………09
Alternative for no other Remedy………………………………………………………09
No Power over the substantive right…………………………………………..……..09
Advance interest of Justice…………………………………………………………….10
Restoration of money suit……………………………………………………….……..10
Other Provisions dealing with Inherent Power of Court……………………………………11
Recent Judicial Deliberations……………………………………………………………….….12
Scope of Section 151……………………………………………………………………..……..15
Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………….17
Bibliography………………………………………………………………………………..…..18

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OBJECTIVES
The objectives of the work “Inherent Powers of Civil Court : Tools to meet the ends of
Justice ” are given below:-

1) To understand the Inherent Powers of Civil Court.

2) To study the circumstances under which such powers can be used.
3) To realize those powers as a tool to meet the ends of justices.
4) To gather the nature of the inherent powers saved under s.151 of the CPC
5) To check whether these inherent powers are absolute or not.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The current work focuses on Inherent Powers of Civil Court : Tools to meet the ends
of Justice The method adopted for this work was descriptive and analytical in nature .

Legal provisions (procedural and substantive laws), books, reports, journals and
other reference as guided by Faculty have been primarily helpful in giving this
work a firm structure. Websites, dictionaries and web articles have also been referred.

Footnotes have been provided wherever needed, either to acknowledge the source or to
point to a particular provision of law. Uniform Bluebook (19th ed.) citation format has
been followed for footnoting.

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Introduction
Law has always been an essential element of society. It was there even when men was
uncivilized and it is even today when we have entered into much sophisticated world. The
presence of law is made much known to us with the existence of courts. The Courts
existed when there was no written statue on the fundamental principle to do justice
and to peacefully settle the matter. They are not as old as law but law got a recognition
by courts only. They hold a very high position in society by virtue of its duty to do justice
between the parties. Every court is constituted for the purpose of administering justice
between the parties and, therefore must be deemed to possess all such powers as may be
necessary to do the right and to undo the wrong in the process of administering the
justice. The Code of Civil Procedure is a procedural or adjective law and the provisions
thereof must be liberally construed to advance the cause of justice and further its ends
since the basic function of the courts is to do justice rather than focusing on the
procedural part of the parties.

The Code of Civil Procedure acknowledges the powers along with limitations on the
courts but there are some powers which are vested in the court but not prescribed in the
code and those are the Inherent powers. The inherent powers of the court are in
addition to the powers specifically conferred by the code on the court. They are
complementary to those powers. The court is free to exercise them for the ends of the
justice or to prevent the abuse of the process of court. The reason is obvious. The
provisions of the court are not comprehensive for the simple reason that the legislature
is incapable of contemplating all the possible surroundings which may arise in future
litigations. Inherent powers come to the rescue in such unforeseen circumstances. They
can be exercised ex debito justitiae in the absence of provisions in the code. But those
need to be exercised with due care and not
arbitrary.

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Inherent Power
The expression ‘inherent’ means inbuilt, embedded, implicit or implied. The expression
‘inherent’ contemplates something latent though not directly expressed. Inherent powers
are powers, which are resident in all Courts. These powers spring not from legislation but
from the nature and the constitution of the tribunals or Courts themselves so as to enable
them to maintain their dignity, secure obedience to its process and rules, protect its
officers from indignity and wrong and to punish unseemly behavior. This power is
necessary for the orderly administration of the Court’s business.

The civil courts have inherent power to do all that is necessary to meet the ends of justice.
Therefore, it is a common practice for the clients to add a sweeping prayer in any petition
‘to pass such other orders necessary and expedient for the Court to meet the ends of
justice’ besides praying for something expressly sought’. Almost all the petitions contain
such an expression in view of the inherent power granted under Section 151 of the CPC.

The fundamental reason for the existence of a massive justice delivery system in India is
to provide justice in a just and equitable manner. However, it is humanly impossible to
contemplate every possible situation and legislate accordingly. Thus, to meet such
situations it is essential that the courts should be provided such inherent powers, which
can be exercised judiciously by courts when such situations arise within certain
obvious boundations. Raghubar Dayal, J., has affirmed this notion in Manohar Lal
v. Seth Hiralal1– every court is constituted to provide justice in accordance with the
law, and therefore, they must be deemed to possess, as a necessary corollary, all the
powers that may be necessary to do the right and undo the wrong in the course of
administration of justice. The CPC is adjective law thus keeping in mind that s.151 of the
CPC saves the inherent powers of the court the provisions of the CPC therefore must be
interpreted in
such a manner to meet the ends of justice and also to prevent the abuse of process of the

1
AIR 1962 SC 527

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court. The inherent powers of the courts are in addition to the powers specifically
conferred on the courts under the Code. They can be used ex debitio justitiae in the
absence of any express provision in the Code2. In Nawabganj Sugar Mills Ltd. v. Union
of India3 the learned court opined that the inherent power has its roots in necessity and its
breadth is co- extensive with the necessity. Justice C.K. Thakker has termed this inherent
power to be complementary to the powers conferred upon the court by the CPC and the
courts are free
to exercise them for the end of justice or to prevent the abuse of the processes of the
courts4.

2
Id
3
AIR 1976 SC 1152
4
Justice C.K. Thakker, Civil Procedure (4th Ed., Lucknow: Eastern Book Company, 2000), at 436

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Section 151 of CPC

Section 151 of the CPC reads:

“Nothing in this Code shall be deemed to limit or otherwise affect the inherent powers of
the Court to make such orders as may be necessary for the ends of justice or to prevent
abuse of the process of the Court ”.

Section 151 deals with saving of inherent powers of the Court and provides that nothing
in Civil Procedure Code shall be deemed to limit or otherwise affect the inherent power of
the court to make such orders as may be necessary for the ends of justice or to prevent
abuse of the process of the Court.

Section 151 delineates that the inherent power of the Court. It enables the Court to make
orders necessary

i) for the ends of justice or

ii) to Prevent of abuse of process of the Court and
iii) there is no limitation on such inherent power under the Code. But, Section 151 of
the Code has not created any new power but has preserved the power to act in the
ends of justice and to prevent abuse of the processes of the court, which the courts
had been exercising from before.

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Judicial Interpretations
Alternative for ‘No other remedy:
In the absence of any special circumstances which amount to abuse of the process of the
Court, it cannot grant a relief in exercise of its inherent power when the justice can be
served by another remedy is available to the party concerned provided by the Code .

No Powers over the Substantive Rights:

The inherent powers saved by s. 151 of the Code are not over the substantive rights which
any litigant possesses. Specific powers have to be conferred on the Courts for passing
such orders.

In Ram Chand and Sons Sugar Mills v. Kanhayalal5 : the SC held that the Court would
not exercise its inherent power under S.151 CPC if it was inconsistent with the powers
expressly or impliedly conferred by other provisions of Code. It had opined that the Court
had an undoubted power to make a suitable order to prevent the abuse of the process of
the Court.

The Apex Court in M/s Jaipur Mineral Development Syndicate v. The Commissioner
of I.T6, has maintained that the Courts had power under Section 151, in the absence of
any express or implied prohibition, to pass an order as may be necessary for the ends of
justice
or to prevent the abuse of the process of the Court.

5
Ram Chand and Sons Sugar Mills v. Kanhayalal [1961] 1 S.C.R. 884
6
M/s Jaipur Mineral Development Syndicate v. The Commissioner of I.T AIR 1977 SC 1348

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To Advance Interests of Justice:

In M/s. Ram Chand & Sons Sugar Mills Pvt. Ltd. Barabanki (U.P.) v.
Kanhayalal Bhargava7, the appellant contended that during the pendency of the
first suit, certain subsequent events had taken place due to which the first was not
fruitful and in law the said suit could not be kept pending and continued solely for the
purpose of continuing an interim order made in the said suit. While examining the
question the Supreme Court was to consider whether the court can take cognizance of a
subsequent event to decide whether the pending suit should be disposed or not. The
question arose was whether, a defendant could make an application under Section 151
CPC for dismissing the pending suit on the ground that the said suit has lost its cause of
action. The Court upheld the contention.

Restoration of Money Suit–

Bahadur Pradhani v. Gopal Patel8. In this case the plaint of a Money Suit was rejected
for non-payment of deficit court fee within the time granted by the court. The plaintiff
filed a petition under Section 151, C.P.C. for restoration of the suit in the ends of justice.
The court allowed the petition and the suit was restored to file. This Court examined the
scope of the inherent powers of the Court and expressed that the provisions of the Code
do not control the inherent powers of the court by limiting it or otherwise affecting it. It is
a power inherent in the court by virtue of its duties to do justice between the parties
before it.

When there is no scope for getting any relief:- It was held in the case of Manoharlal v.
Seth Hiralal9 that the provisions of the Code are not exhaustive as the legislature
is
incapable of contemplating all possible circumstances which may arise in future
litigation.

7
M/s. Ram Chand & Sons Sugar Mills Pvt. Ltd. Barabanki (U.P.) v. Kanhayalal Bhargava AIR 1966 SC
1899
8
Bahadur Pradhani v. Gopal Patel AIR 1964 Ori 134
9
Manoharlal v. Seth Hiralal 1962 AIR 527

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Other provisions dealing with Inherent Power of Court

Enlargement of Time: Section 148

Section 148 of CPC reads:

Enlargement of time:- Where any period is fixed or granted by the Court for the doing of
any act prescribed or allowed by this Code, the Court may, in its discretion, from time to
time, enlarge such period *[not exceeding thirty days in total], even though the period
originally fixed or granted may have expired.]

Section 148 provides that where any period is fixed or granted by the court for the doing
of any act, the court has the power to enlarge the period even if the original period fixed
has expired. Thus, if a court can in the exercise of jurisdiction grant time to do a thing,
the jurisdiction to grant time would include in its ambit the jurisdiction to extend the time
initially fixed by it. The power, though, is discretionary and thus the court should take
into account the conduct of the party who is praying for the extension and whether it will
serve the ends of justice10.

Payment of Court Fees: Section 149

Power to make up deficiency of Court-fees:- Where the whole or any part of any
fee prescribed for any document by the law for the time being in force relating to court-
fees has not been paid, the Court may, in its discretion, at any stage, allow the person, by
whom such fee is payable, to pay the whole or part, as the case may be, of such court-fee;
and upon such payment the document, in respect of which such fee is payable, shall have
the same force and effect as if such fee had been paid in the first instance.

S.149 empowers the court to allow a party to make up the deficiency of the court fees
payable on the plaint, memorandum of appeal etc. even after the expiry of the period of
limitation prescribed for the filing of such a suit. S.149 of the Code proviso to the rule
that
no document chargeable with the court fee can be filed in the court without the requisite

10
Johri Singh v. Sukh Pal Singh, (1989) 4 SCC 403

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payment being made, by allowing the deficiency to be made good within a period fixed
by it.

Amendment of Judgement, Decrees, Orders and other Records: Sec. 152, 153-153A

Section 152 of CPC reads:

Amendment of judgements, decrees or orders:- Clerical or arithmetical mistakes in

judgments, decrees or orders or errors arising therein from any accidental slip or
omission may at any time be corrected by the Court either of its own motion or on the
application of any of the parties.

Section 152 enacts that clerical or arithmetical mistakes in judgments, decrees or orders
arising from any accidental slip or omission may at any time be corrected by the Court
either of its own motion or on the application of any of the parties.11 The section is based
on two important principles:

(i) an act of court should not prejudice any party, i.e., actus curiae
neminem gravabit;
(ii) it is the duty of the courts to see that their records are true and represent the
correct state of affairs.

Section 153 of CPC reads:

General powers to amend:- The Court may at any time and on such terms as to costs or
otherwise as it may think fit, amend any defect or error in any proceeding in a suit, and
all necessary amendments shall be made of the purpose of determining the real question
or issue raised by or depending on such proceeding.

Section 153-A of CPC reads:

Power to amend decree or order where appeal is summarily dismissed:- Where an

Appellate Court dismisses an appeal under rule 11 of Order XLI, the power of the Court

11
Master Construction Co. v. State of Orissa, AIR 1966 SC 1165.

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to amend, under section 152, the decree or order appealed against may be exercised by
the Court which had passed the decree or order in the first instance, notwithstanding that
the dismissal of the appeal has the effect of confirming the decree or order, as the case
may be, passed by the Court of first instance.

Recent Judicial Deliberations.

In this section, the researcher has attempted to present two recent judgements dealing with
the issue of inherent power.

P.A. Ahmed Ibrahim v. Food Corporation of India12

In this case, the question of the limits of the inherent powers of the court came up before
the Supreme Court. In this case, the appellant contractor entered into an agreement with
the respondent corporation for the loading, unloading and the transportation of food
grains. The contract had an arbitration clause. The appellants filed a suit against the
respondents for recovery of certain sum of money. In response, the respondents filed an
application under S.20 of the Arbitration Act praying for the institution of arbitration
proceedings. The trial court dismissed this application on the ground that it did not
disclose any dispute referable to arbitration. The plaintiff then applied for the application
for arbitration to be converted into a plaint for the recovery of certain sum of money. The
trial court dismissed this appeal, against which the respondents appealed to the High
Court, which allowed the appeal under inherent powers of the court. Aggrieved by this
order the appellant came to the Supreme Court.

The court allowed the appeal. Justice Wadhwa opined that there was no scope for
exercising the inherent powers of the court, as it would have resulted in the nullifying of
the procedures prescribed by the Code. Moreover, as the application as barred by
limitation, here the court was doing through the exercise of inherent power that which it
was expressly barred by the law.

12
(1999) 7 SCC 39.

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Budhia Swain v. Gopinath Deb13In this case, the respondent, a deity had made an
application for settlement under Orissa Estates Abolition Act, 1951, which was granted by
the Estate Abolition collector. However a few residents of the villages in question
challenged the order on the ground that they were not served mandatory notice as
provided for in the statute. On this application the EA Collector reviewed his order and
declared the earlier order null and void. The respondent appealed against this order in the
High Court of Orissa stating that the EA Collector did not have any power to recall his
own order. The High Court allowed the appeal, and therefore the matter came in before
the Supreme Court.

Justice R.C. Lahoti, opined that a court has a power to recall its own order under its
inherent powers. The apex court held that the court has inherent powers to recall and set
aside an order

Obtained by fraud practiced upon the court,

When the court is misled by the parties, or
When the court itself commits a mistake, which prejudices a party.

13
(1999) 4 SCC 396.

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Scope of Section 151

In the very recent verdict Justice R.V. Raveendran, in K.K. Velusamy v. N. Palaanisamy
14
the Apex Court opined that Section 151 of the Code recognizes the discretionary power
inherent in every court as a necessary corollary for rendering justice in accordance with
law, to do what is ‘right’ and undo what is ‘wrong’, that is to do all things necessary to
secure the ends of justice and prevent abuse of its process. The Court summarized the
scope of Section 151 of the CPC as follows:

Not a substantive provision – Section 151 is not a substantive provision which creates or
confers any power or jurisdiction on courts. It merely recognizes the discretionary
power inherent in every court as a necessary corollary for rendering justice in
accordance with law, to do what is `right’ and undo what is `wrong’, that is, to do all
things necessary to secure the ends of justice and prevent abuse of its process.

co-extensive with circumstances -As the provisions of the Code are not exhaustive,
section 151 recognizes and confirms that if the Code does not expressly or impliedly
cover any particular procedural aspect, the inherent power can be used to deal with
such situation or aspect, if the ends of justice warrant it. The breadth of such power is
co-extensive with the need to exercise such power on the facts and circumstances.

Not to act inconsistent with the Code/Law- A Court has no power to do that which is
prohibited by law or the Code, by purported exercise of its inherent powers. If the
Code contains provisions dealing with a particular topic or aspect, and such provisions
either expressly or necessary implication exhaust the scope of the power of the court
or the jurisdiction that may exercised in relation to that matter, the inherent power
cannot be invoked in order to cut across the powers conferred by the Code or
a manner
inconsistent with such provisions. In other words the court cannot make use of the

14
(2011) 11 SCC 275

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special provisions of Section 151 of the Code, where the remedy or procedure
is provided in the Code.

Complementary power – The inherent powers of the court being complementary to the
powers specifically conferred, a court is free to exercise them for the purposes mentioned
in Section 151 of the Code when the matter is not covered by any specific provision in
the Code and the exercise of those powers would not in any way be in conflict with what
has been expressly provided in the Code or be against the intention of the Legislature.

Not a carte blanche- While exercising the inherent power, the court will be doubly
cautious, as there is no legislative guidance to deal with the procedural situation and the
exercise of power depends upon the discretion and wisdom of the court, and the facts and
circumstances of the case. The absence of an express provision in the code and
the recognition and saving of the inherent power of a court, should not however be
treated as a carte blanche to grant any relief.

Out of absolute necessity – The power under section 151 will have to be used with
circumspection and care, only where it is absolutely necessary, when there is no
provision in the Code governing the matter, when the bona fides of the applicant cannot
be doubted, when such exercise is to meet the ends of justice and to prevent abuse of
process of court.

The Court in the instant case finally ruled that in the interests of justice and to prevent
abuse of the process of court, the trial court ought to have considered whether it
was necessary to re-open the evidence and if so, in what manner and to what extent
further evidence should be permitted in exercise of its power under section 151 of the
Code. The court ought to have also considered whether it should straightway recall the
witnesses and permit the appellant to confront the said recorded evidence to the said
witnesses or whether it should first receive such evidence by requiring its proof of its
authenticity and only then
permit it to be confronted to the witnesses (PW1 and PW2).

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Conclusion
From the above analysis it may be understood that Section 151 CPC is not a substantive
provision. Section 151 CPC is also not an independent provision. In the matters with
which the CPC does not deal with, the Court will exercise its inherent power to meet the
ends of justice utilizing the hand maid residuary power of the Court. It confers very wide
power out of absolute necessity. It is not a carte blanche, but a complementary power. It
is a provision supplementary to all the other provisions in the Code. It is an enabling
provision but not to act inconsistent with the code/law. It can be utilized even when there
is no scope for getting any relief to meet the ends of justice. There could be a recall
judgment /order obtained by fraud. Stoppage of continuation of infructuous suit and
consolidation of suits to avoid duplication are inter alia made possible to prevent the
abuse of the process of the court. It is not meant to nullify or by pass any provisions of the
Code. It can never be utilized contrary to the specific provisions of law.

The Kolkata High Court opined that ‘Inherent power of the Court must be
exercised
sparingly in exceptional cases for securing the ends of justice and not in a routine
manner.’

The inherent powers saved by section 151 are to be used only as a tool to secure the ends
of justice or to prevent the abuse of the process of the court. The words “ends of justice”
& “abuse of the process of the court” have not defined in the CPC, however D.V. Chitaley
has set forth the following criteria to determine what constitutes the ends of justice:

It is in the ends of justice that an inquiry should be remedied and needless expense and
inconvenience to parties avoided.
It will not be in the ends of justice to exercise inherent powers if it would interfere with
the rights of third parties or cause mischief or injustice.
It will not be in the ends of justice to assist a party guilty of laches in consequence of
which new rights have arisen against him.16

However this criteria is not a rigid one and ultimately what would meet the ends of justice
would always depend on the facts and circumstances of each case and the requirements of
justice. Principles which regulate the exercise of inherent powers by a Court have been
highlighted in many cases particularly, the recent leading decision in K.K. Velusamy v.
N. Palaanisamy. The courts have been cautiously and diligently utilizing the inherent
power as a hand maid of justice.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
D.F. Mulla, The Civil Procedure Code (12th Ed., Bombay: N.M. Tripathi, 1990).

D.V. Chitaley et al., The Code of Civil Procedure, (8th Ed., Nagpur: The All India
Reporter Publications, 1971).

Justice C.K. Thakker, Civil Procedure (4th Ed. Lucknow: Eastern Book Company,
2000).-

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