Representative suit procedure under Order I Rule 8: prior notice is not required before permission to sue is granted.

Order I Rule 8(1)(a) of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 does not require prior notice to other interested persons or defendants before permission is granted to sue in a representative capacity. The rule's text contains no express precondition of advance notice, and the structure of Rule 8 supports that reading because notice of the suit is separately required after permission or direction is made under Rule 8(2). Rule 8(3) also preserves protection for interested persons by allowing them to seek joinder later. Prior notice therefore cannot be implied in the absence of clear statutory language.

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Issues: Whether Order I Rule 8(1)(a) of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 requires prior notice to other interested persons or defendants before the court grants permission to sue in a representative capacity.

Analysis: The language of Order I Rule 8(1)(a) does not expressly require prior notice before permission is granted. That reading is reinforced by the structure of Rule 8 as a whole: clause (b) also permits the court to act without prior notice, while Rule 8(2) separately makes notice of the institution of the suit mandatory after permission or direction is given. Rule 8(3) further shows that interested persons are protected because they may later apply to be joined as parties. The omission of the word "But" from the substituted rule distinguishes the earlier Bombay view, which had construed the pre-amendment text as requiring prior notice.

Conclusion: Prior notice is not required before granting permission under Order I Rule 8(1)(a) of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the scheme of a representative-suit provision expressly provides for notice after permission is granted, prior notice cannot be implied in the absence of clear statutory language requiring it.

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