Before we look at the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (hereinafter referred to as the CPC) with reference to the jurisdiction of civil courts in India, it would be interesting to note the meaning of jurisdiction. The CPC does not define the term jurisdiction. In fact, none of the substantive or procedural laws seeks to define the term “jurisdiction”.
Black’s Law Dictionary defines “jurisdiction” as “A court’s power to decide a case or issue a decree.” [1]
The Calcutta High Court in a full bench judgment in Hirday Nath v. Ram Chandra [2] sought to explain the term jurisdiction. It stated “… jurisdiction may be defined to be the power of Court to hear and determine a cause, to adjudicate and exercise any judicial power in relation to it; in other words, by jurisdiction is meant the authority which a court has to decide matters presented in a formal way for its decision.”
It went on to clearly demarcate three categories of jurisdiction- subject matter jurisdiction, i.e. whether the particular court in question has the jurisdiction to deal with the subject matter in question; territorial jurisdiction, i.e. whether the court can decide upon matters within the territory or area where the cause of action arose; and pecuniary jurisdiction, i.e. whether the court can hear a suit of the value of the suit in question.
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