Original Side procedure prevails over general CPC amendment where special High Court rules are preserved by Section 129 and the Letters Patent

The amended Order VIII Rule 1 of the Code of Civil Procedure does not override the special procedural regime governing suits on the Original Side of Chartered High Courts. Section 129, read with the Letters Patent, preserves the High Court's power to regulate original civil jurisdiction through its own rules, and the general Code amendment cannot displace that special framework absent a clear legislative intention. Historical legislative development and a consistent line of High Court decisions supported this settled position, and stare decisis reinforced continued application of the Original Side Rules.

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Issues: Whether the amended Order VIII Rule 1 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 applies to suits on the Original Side of the High Court, or whether such suits continue to be governed by the High Court Original Side Rules preserved by Section 129 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 and the Letters Patent.

Analysis: The statutory scheme and historical development of civil procedure for Chartered High Courts showed a consistent legislative distinction between ordinary civil courts and proceedings on the Original Side of Chartered High Courts. Section 129 began with a non obstante clause and expressly empowered the High Courts to regulate their own procedure in original civil jurisdiction, subject to the Letters Patent and not to the general procedure of the Code. The historical materials, including the evolution of the earlier Codes and the Letters Patent, supported the view that the Original Side procedure was intended to remain a special procedure. The Court also accepted that a long line of High Court decisions had uniformly treated the Original Side Rules as continuing to govern such proceedings, and held that the principle of stare decisis reinforced that settled position. The amendments to the Code did not evince any intention to displace this special regime, and the general amendment to Order VIII Rule 1 could not override the special procedural framework saved by Section 129 and the Letters Patent.

Conclusion: The amended Order VIII Rule 1 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 does not displace the Original Side Rules of the High Court in suits on the Original Side; the special original-side procedure continues to prevail, and the challenge to the impugned order fails.

Final Conclusion: The appeal was rejected on the footing that the High Court correctly applied the special original-side procedural regime instead of the general amendment to the Code.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a special procedural regime for the Original Side of a Chartered High Court is expressly preserved by the Code and the Letters Patent, a later general amendment to the Code does not override that special procedure in the absence of a specific exclusion.

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