Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (CPC)
Small Cause Courts: Sections 7 and 8 with Orders L and LI
A Court of Small Causes exists to dispose of small money claims quickly, on a summary footing. Most of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 is built for contested title suits and would defeat that purpose. So the Code switches parts of itself off: Section 7 lists what does not extend to a Provincial Small Cause Court, Section 8 does the reverse for a Presidency Small Cause Court by naming the few provisions that do apply, and Orders L and LI do the same work for the First Schedule. These notes set out the scheme.
How much of the Code reaches each kind of court, and the consequence for appeals
1. Section 7: Provincial Small Cause Courts
§ Section 7 (in substance) The following provisions shall not extend to Courts constituted under the Provincial Small Cause Courts Act, 1887, or to Courts exercising the jurisdiction of a Court of Small Causes under that Act or a corresponding law, that is to say — (a) so much of the body of the Code as relates to — (i) suits excepted from the cognizance of a Court of Small Causes; (ii) the execution of decrees in such suits; and (iii) the execution of decrees against immovable property; and (b) the following sections, that is to say — Section 9; Sections 91 and 92; Sections 94 and 95 so far as they authorise or relate to (i) orders for the attachment of immovable property, (ii) injunctions, (iii) the appointment of a receiver of immovable property, or (iv) the interlocutory orders referred to in clause (e) of Section 94; and Sections 96 to 112 and 115. |
§ What the list tells you about the court • It is not a court for title or immovable property. The machinery for executing against immovable property, for attaching it, for appointing a receiver of it and for injunctions is all withdrawn. • Its jurisdiction does not come from Section 9. That section is expressly excluded, because the classes of suit a Small Cause Court may try are defined by its own Act and its Second Schedule of excepted suits. • It is not a forum for representative public litigation. Sections 91 and 92 are excluded. • And, most importantly, appeals and revision under the Code are excluded. Sections 96 to 112 and Section 115 do not extend to it. |
2. Section 8: Presidency Small Cause Courts
§ Section 8 (in substance) Save as provided in Sections 24, 38 to 41, 75 clauses (a), (b) and (c), 76, 77, 157 and 158, and by the Presidency Small Cause Courts Act, 1882, the provisions in the body of this Code shall not extend to any suit or proceeding in any Court of Small Causes established in the towns of Calcutta, Madras and Bombay. |
i. The drafting is the reverse of Section 7. Section 7 names what is excluded; Section 8 names the few provisions that are included and excludes the rest.
ii. What survives is a short list: transfer of suits under Section 24; execution and the transfer of decrees under Sections 38 to 41; the power to issue commissions under Section 75(a), (b) and (c) with Sections 76 and 77; and the saving provisions in Sections 157 and 158.
iii. Everything else comes from the Presidency Small Cause Courts Act, 1882, which is a self-contained procedural code for those courts.
3. Orders L and LI
§ What the two Orders do Sections 7 and 8 deal with the body of the Code. The First Schedule, containing the Orders and Rules, needs the same treatment, and Orders L and LI supply it. Order L lists the Rules that do not extend to a Provincial Court of Small Causes, and Order LI does the same for a Presidency Court of Small Causes. The excluded material follows the same logic as Sections 7 and 8, and includes the provisions on appeals, consistently with the exclusion of Sections 96 to 112, and the rules on recording evidence in full, since a Small Cause Court works on a brief memorandum of the substance of the evidence rather than a full deposition. The practical method is to read Section 7 or 8 for the body of the Code, and then Order L or LI for the Schedule. A provision survives only if neither excludes it. |
4. The Consequence That Matters Most
§ No appeal, and no revision under the Code Because Section 7 excludes Sections 96 to 112, there is no appeal under the Code from a decree of a Provincial Court of Small Causes. Because it also excludes Section 115, there is no revision under the Code either. The remedy is Section 25 of the Provincial Small Cause Courts Act, 1887, which allows the High Court, or the District Court where so empowered, to call for the record of a case decided by a Court of Small Causes and pass such order as it thinks fit, for the purpose of satisfying itself that the decree or order was according to law. And in a proper case, Article 227. The constitutional power of superintendence is not cut down by the exclusion of Section 115, since a statute cannot narrow a power conferred by the Constitution. |
5. The Two Kinds of Small Cause Court Compared
Basis | Provincial Small Cause Court | Presidency Small Cause Court |
|---|---|---|
Constituting Act | The Provincial Small Cause Courts Act, 1887 | The Presidency Small Cause Courts Act, 1882 |
Where | Outside the presidency towns | Calcutta, Madras and Bombay |
The Code's approach | Section 7 names what is EXCLUDED; the rest applies | Section 8 names what is INCLUDED; the rest does not apply |
Source of most procedure | The Code, minus the exclusions in Section 7 and Order L | The Act of 1882, with the few provisions saved by Section 8 and Order LI |
Appeal under the Code | None: Sections 96 to 112 excluded | None: the body of the Code does not extend, save as named |
Revision under the Code | None: Section 115 excluded | None, for the same reason |
The remedy against a decree | Section 25 of the Act of 1887, and Article 227 in a proper case | The remedies in the Act of 1882, and Article 227 in a proper case |
6. Landmark Points
- Section 7 excludes from Provincial Small Cause Courts the provisions relating to excepted suits, execution in such suits, and execution against immovable property.
- And the sections it names: Section 9, Sections 91 and 92, parts of Sections 94 and 95, and Sections 96 to 112 and 115.
- Section 8 takes the opposite approach for Presidency Small Cause Courts, excluding the body of the Code save as it names.
- The provisions saved by Section 8 are Sections 24, 38 to 41, 75(a) to (c), 76, 77, 157 and 158.
- Orders L and LI do for the First Schedule what Sections 7 and 8 do for the body of the Code.
- The consequence: no appeal and no revision under the Code from a Provincial Small Cause Court decree; the remedy is Section 25 of the Act of 1887, and Article 227 in a proper case.
7. Frequently Asked Questions
Why does the Code switch off so much for Small Cause Courts?
Because those courts exist to dispose of small money claims quickly and summarily. The machinery for title suits, immovable property and appeals is unsuited to that work, and applying it would defeat the purpose of creating the court.
Does Section 9 apply to a Provincial Small Cause Court?
No. Section 7 expressly excludes it. The classes of suit such a court may try are defined by the Provincial Small Cause Courts Act, 1887 and the suits excepted from its cognizance, rather than by the general rule in Section 9.
Is there an appeal from a Provincial Small Cause Court decree?
Not under the Code. Section 7 excludes Sections 96 to 112, so no appeal lies under the Code, and Section 115 is excluded too. The remedy is a revision under Section 25 of the Act of 1887, and in a proper case a petition under Article 227.
How does Section 8 differ from Section 7 in drafting?
Section 7 lists what does not extend to a Provincial Small Cause Court, so everything else applies. Section 8 provides that the body of the Code does not extend to a Presidency Small Cause Court save as it names, so only the listed provisions apply.
Which provisions are saved by Section 8?
Section 24 on transfer, Sections 38 to 41 on execution and the transfer of decrees, Section 75 clauses (a), (b) and (c) with Sections 76 and 77 on commissions and letters of request, and Sections 157 and 158.
What do Orders L and LI do?
They do for the First Schedule what Sections 7 and 8 do for the body of the Code: they list the Rules that do not extend to a Provincial and to a Presidency Court of Small Causes respectively, including the provisions on appeals and on recording evidence in full.
Does Article 227 apply to a Small Cause Court?
Yes. The exclusion of Section 115 is a statutory exclusion and cannot narrow the High Court's constitutional power of superintendence over all courts and tribunals within its territory, though that power is exercised sparingly.
8. Related Topics in This CPC Series
- Pecuniary Jurisdiction: Section 6
- Jurisdiction of Civil Courts: Section 9, Types and Section 21
- Revision under Section 115
- Revision under Section 115 and Article 227 Distinguished