KUTBUDDEEN SAHIB Vs. PERIYANAYAGA PADAYACHI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The short question for decision in this Civil Revision Petition is whether a Subordinate Judge, who is a presiding officer of an ordinary Sub-Court and not of a Court of Small Causes has, when exercising small cause powers, authority to act under Order 37, Civil Procedure Code. Order 37, Rule 1 declares that that order shall apply inter alia to any other Court to which Secs.532 to 537 of the Civil P. C. of 1882 have been already applied.

(2.) Under Section 538 of the Code of 1882, Secs.532 to 537 of that Code could be applied to any other Court having ordinary original civil jurisdiction to which the Local Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, apply them.

(3.) As a matter of fact, however, no such notification appears to have been issued under this Act. Under the previous Code, Act X of 1877, Secs.532 to 538, which correspond to Secs.532 to 538 of the Code of 1882, a notification was issued and published in the Fort St. George Gazette on 23 October, 1877, notifying that the sections applied to Dt. Courts and Courts of Subordinate Judges in the Presidency. Section 3 of the Code of 1882 lays down that any notification published in any enactment thereby repealed shall be deemed to have been published under that Code and that, wherein any notification passed prior to the date when that Code came into force reference is made to Act X of 1877, such reference shall, as far as is practicable, be read as applying to this Code or the corresponding part thereof.