Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (CPC)
Interpleader Suit and Ordinary Suit Distinguished
In an ordinary suit the plaintiff wants something. In an interpleader suit under Section 88 and Order XXXV of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 he wants nothing at all: he holds money or property, two people claim it, and he asks the court to decide whom he must pay, and to let him go. The contest is not between him and the defendants but between the defendants. Almost every difference between the two follows from that inversion. These notes set them out side by side.
Where the contest actually runs in each kind of suit
1. The Inversion
§ What the plaintiff is doing in each In an ordinary suit, the plaintiff asserts a right of his own, claims relief against the defendant, and prosecutes the suit to judgment. The defendant resists. The contest runs across, from plaintiff to defendant. In an interpleader suit, the plaintiff asserts no right at all. He is a stakeholder: he holds the thing, claims no interest in it other than for charges or costs, and is ready to pay or deliver it to whoever is entitled. The contest runs between the defendants, who claim adversely to one another. What he seeks is stated in Section 88 itself: a decision as to the person to whom the payment or delivery shall be made, and an indemnity for himself. |
2. The Five Conditions of Section 88
§ All must be satisfied • A debt, sum of money or other property, movable or immovable, held by the plaintiff. • Two or more persons claiming it adversely to one another, that is, claims to the same thing that are mutually exclusive. • The plaintiff claiming no interest in it, other than for charges or costs. • Readiness to pay or deliver it to the rightful claimant, shown by willingness to place it in the court's custody under Order XXXV Rule 2. • No pending suit in which the rights of all parties can properly be decided, by force of the proviso to Section 88. |
3. The Two Compared
Basis | Ordinary suit | Interpleader suit |
|---|---|---|
The plaintiff's interest | He asserts a right of his own and claims relief | He claims NO INTEREST, other than for charges or costs |
Where the contest runs | Between the plaintiff and the defendant | Between the DEFENDANTS, who claim adversely to one another |
The relief sought | The substantive relief claimed in the plaint | A decision as to whom payment or delivery should be made, and an indemnity |
What the plaint must state | The ordinary requirements of Order VII Rule 1 | In addition: no interest in the subject matter, the claims of the defendants severally, and NO COLLUSION: Order XXXV Rule 1 |
The subject matter | Stays where it is | Rule 2: the plaintiff may be required to pay the money into court or place the property in its custody before obtaining any order |
Who leaves the suit | Nobody; the plaintiff prosecutes it to judgment | Rule 4: the plaintiff may be DISCHARGED at the first hearing, with his costs, and dismissed from the suit |
A bar on institution | None comparable; Section 10 may require a stay | The proviso to Section 88: no interpleader suit where a pending suit can decide the rights of all parties |
Who cannot bring it | Anyone with a cause of action may sue | Rule 5: an agent against his principal, and a tenant against his landlord, to compel an interpleader with persons not claiming through them |
Costs | Follow the event under Section 35 | Rule 6: the court may secure the original plaintiff's costs by a charge on the thing claimed |
4. Why the Remedy Exists
§ The three risks it removes Paying the wrong claimant. Payment to a person not entitled is no discharge, so a stakeholder who guesses wrong pays twice. Being sued by both. Without the remedy he must wait to be sued, defend against each claimant separately, and may face inconsistent decrees in different courts. Holding indefinitely. He cannot keep the property forever; charges accrue, goods deteriorate, and his exposure continues. The answer. He deposits the thing in court, obtains a discharge with his costs, and steps out, leaving the claimants to litigate a dispute that was always theirs. |
5. Landmark Points
- Section 88. Five conditions: property in the plaintiff's hands; two or more adverse claimants; no interest in him other than charges or costs; readiness to pay or deliver; and no pending suit in which the rights of all parties can properly be decided.
- Order XXXV Rule 1. The plaint must state the absence of interest, the claims of the defendants, and the absence of collusion.
- Order XXXV Rule 2. The plaintiff may be required to pay the money into court or place the property in its custody before any order.
- Order XXXV Rule 4. At the first hearing the court may declare him discharged, award him his costs and dismiss him, leaving the claimants to fight on.
- Order XXXV Rule 5. An agent may not sue his principal, nor a tenant his landlord, to compel an interpleader with persons not claiming through them.
- The essential inversion. In an ordinary suit the plaintiff wants relief; in an interpleader suit he wants only to be let go.
6. Frequently Asked Questions
How does an interpleader suit differ from an ordinary suit?
In an ordinary suit the plaintiff asserts a right of his own against the defendant. In an interpleader suit he asserts no right at all: he holds the property, claims no interest in it other than for charges or costs, and the contest runs between the defendants.
What does the plaintiff actually ask for?
A decision as to the person to whom the payment or delivery should be made, and an indemnity for himself, under Section 88. He does not seek the property, and he does not seek relief against either claimant.
What must an interpleader plaint contain that an ordinary plaint need not?
Under Order XXXV Rule 1: that the plaintiff claims no interest in the subject matter other than for charges or costs; the claims made by the defendants severally; and that there is no collusion between the plaintiff and any of the defendants.
Does the plaintiff have to hand over the property?
He may be required to. Under Order XXXV Rule 2, where the thing claimed is capable of being paid into court or placed in its custody, the plaintiff may be required to do so before he is entitled to any order in the suit.
Does the plaintiff stay in the suit?
Usually not. Under Rule 4 the court may at the first hearing declare him discharged from all liability, award him his costs and dismiss him from the suit, which then continues between the defendants alone.
Who cannot bring an interpleader suit?
An agent against his principal, and a tenant against his landlord, to compel an interpleader with persons not claiming through them, under Rule 5; a person who claims an interest in the subject matter himself; and a person acting in collusion with a claimant.
7. Related Topics in This CPC Series
- Interpleader Suits: Section 88 and Order XXXV
- Order XXIV: Payment into Court by the Defendant
- Parties to Suits under Order I: Joinder and Necessary Parties
- Res Sub Judice: Stay of Suit under Section 10