Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (CPC)
Exemptions and Language: Sections 132 to 137
The Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 compels attendance and permits arrest, and it then carves out exceptions. Sections 132 and 133 exempt certain persons from personal appearance; Sections 135 and 135A exempt others from arrest under civil process; Section 134 applies the arrest safeguards to everyone arrested under the Code; Section 136 deals with arrest or attachment outside the district; and Section 137 fixes the language of subordinate courts. These notes cover each, and keep the two kinds of exemption apart.
Who is exempt from personal appearance, who from arrest, and the limit in Section 135(3)
1. Exemption from Personal Appearance
§ Section 132, CPC 1908 (1) Women who, according to the customs and manners of the country, ought not to be compelled to appear in public, shall be exempt from personal appearance in Court. (2) Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to exempt such women from arrest in execution of civil process in any case in which the arrest of women is not prohibited by this Code. |
§ Three points • The exemption is from appearance, not from the proceeding. The party remains bound by the suit and may be examined on commission under Order XXVI, so her evidence is still taken. • Sub-section (2) keeps the two exemptions apart. Exemption from appearance does not carry exemption from arrest, though Section 56 separately forbids the arrest or detention of a woman in execution of a decree for money. • It applies of its own force where the condition is satisfied, and does not depend on an order of the court. |
§ Section 133: other persons exempt from personal appearance The section lists the persons entitled to exemption from personal appearance in Court, namely the President of India, the Vice-President, the Speaker of the House of the People, the Ministers of the Union, the Judges of the Supreme Court, the Governors of States and the administrators of Union territories, the Speakers of State Legislative Assemblies, the Chairmen of State Legislative Councils, the Ministers of States, the Judges of the High Courts, and the persons to whom Section 87B applies. Where such a person claims the privilege and it is consequently necessary to examine him by commission, he pays the costs of the commission unless the party requiring his evidence pays them. The rationale is the public duty attaching to the office, not any personal privilege in the holder. The evidence is still available to the court, through a commission. |
2. Exemption from Arrest
§ Section 135 (in substance) (1) No Judge, Magistrate or other judicial officer shall be liable to arrest under civil process while going to, presiding in, or returning from, his Court. (2) Where any matter is pending before a tribunal having jurisdiction, or believing in good faith that it has jurisdiction, the parties to it, their pleaders, mukhtars, revenue agents and recognised agents, and their witnesses acting in obedience to a summons, shall be exempt from arrest under civil process other than process issued by that tribunal for contempt of court, while going to or attending the tribunal for the purpose of the matter and while returning from it. (3) Nothing in sub-section (2) shall enable a judgment-debtor to claim exemption from arrest under an order for immediate execution, or where he attends to show cause why he should not be committed to prison in execution of a decree. |
§ Section 135A: members of legislative bodies A member of Parliament or of a State Legislature shall not be liable to arrest or detention in prison under civil process — during the continuance of a meeting of the Chamber or of a committee of which he is a member; during the continuance of a joint sitting; and during the forty days before and after such meeting or sitting. The protection is from civil process only. It does not touch arrest in a criminal matter, and it is directed at ensuring that the member is free to attend to legislative business. |
3. Sections 134 and 136
Section | What it provides |
|---|---|
Section 134 | The provisions of SECTIONS 55, 57 AND 59 shall apply, so far as may be, to ALL PERSONS ARRESTED UNDER THIS CODE. So the manner of arrest, the subsistence allowance and the release on ground of illness protect every person arrested under the Code, not only a judgment-debtor in execution |
Section 136 | Where an application is made that a person shall be ARRESTED or that property shall be ATTACHED under any provision of the Code not relating to the execution of decrees, and the person or property is OUTSIDE THE LOCAL LIMITS of the court's jurisdiction, the court may, in its discretion, issue an order to the DISTRICT COURT within whose limits the person or property is found, and that court shall then proceed as if the application had been made to it |
4. Section 137: The Language of Subordinate Courts
§ Section 137 (in substance) (1) The language which, on the commencement of this Code, is the language of any Court subordinate to a High Court shall continue to be the language of such subordinate Court until the State Government otherwise directs. (2) The State Government may declare what shall be the language of any such Court, and in what character applications to and proceedings in such Courts shall be written. (3) Where this Code requires or allows anything other than the recording of evidence to be done in writing in any such Court, such writing may be in English; but if any party or his pleader is unacquainted with English, a translation into the language of the Court shall, at his request, be supplied to him, and the Court shall make such order as it thinks fit as to the costs of the translation. |
i. The exception for evidence is deliberate. Sub-section (3) permits English for everything other than the recording of evidence, because a witness's words should be recorded in the language of the court.
ii. The right to a translation is on request, and the costs are dealt with as the court thinks fit.
iii. Section 138 sits alongside it, empowering the High Court to direct, by notification, that evidence in appealable cases before a specified Judge be taken down in English.
5. Landmark Points
- Section 132(1). Women who according to the customs and manners of the country ought not to be compelled to appear in public are exempt from personal appearance.
- Section 132(2). That exemption does not extend to arrest in execution where the arrest of women is not otherwise prohibited.
- Section 133. A list of high constitutional and judicial office-holders exempt from personal appearance, with the costs of a commission ordinarily on the person claiming the privilege.
- Section 134. Sections 55, 57 and 59 apply to all persons arrested under the Code.
- Section 135. Judicial officers, and parties, pleaders and witnesses going to, attending and returning from a tribunal, are exempt from arrest under civil process.
- Section 135(3). A judgment-debtor cannot use that exemption against an order for immediate execution or when attending to show cause.
- Section 135A. Members of Parliament and State Legislatures are exempt during a meeting or sitting and for forty days before and after.
- Section 137. The language of a subordinate court continues until the State Government directs otherwise; English is permitted except for the recording of evidence.
6. Frequently Asked Questions
Who is exempt from personal appearance in court?
Under Section 132, women who according to the customs and manners of the country ought not to be compelled to appear in public; and under Section 133, the President, Vice-President, Speakers and Chairmen of legislatures, Ministers of the Union and of States, Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts, Governors and administrators, and persons to whom Section 87B applies.
Does exemption from appearance mean the evidence is lost?
No. The person may be examined on commission under Order XXVI, so the evidence is still taken. Under Section 133 the costs of the commission are ordinarily borne by the person claiming the privilege, unless the party requiring his evidence pays them.
Who is exempt from arrest under civil process?
Under Section 135, judicial officers while going to, presiding in or returning from their court, and parties, their pleaders and agents, and witnesses obeying a summons, while going to, attending and returning from a tribunal; and under Section 135A, members of Parliament and State Legislatures during a meeting or sitting and for forty days before and after.
Can a judgment-debtor rely on the Section 135 exemption?
Not against an order for immediate execution, nor where he attends to show cause why he should not be committed to prison in execution. Sub-section (3) says so expressly, so the protection meant for parties and witnesses does not shield the person the process is aimed at.
What does Section 134 add?
It applies Sections 55, 57 and 59, on the manner of arrest, the subsistence allowance and release on the ground of illness, to all persons arrested under the Code, and not only to a judgment-debtor arrested in execution.
What happens if the person to be arrested is outside the district?
Under Section 136, where the application does not relate to the execution of a decree and the person or property is outside the court's local limits, the court may issue an order to the District Court within whose limits he or it is found, and that court proceeds as if the application had been made to it.
May proceedings be written in English in a subordinate court?
Yes, for anything other than the recording of evidence, under Section 137(3). But a party or pleader unacquainted with English is entitled on request to a translation into the language of the court, and the court makes such order as it thinks fit about the costs.
7. Related Topics in This CPC Series
- Arrest and Detention in Civil Prison
- Arrest Before Judgment and Arrest in Execution Distinguished
- Commissions: Sections 75 to 78 and Order XXVI
- Suits Involving Foreign States: Sections 83 to 87B