.webp "Suit-against-government")
Introduction
Section 79 - Suit by or Against the Government
Section 79 provides Whenever a suit is instituted by or against the government, the name of the defendant or plaintiff as the case may be, will be as follows-
(i) If the suit is instituted by or against the central government, then - Union of India.
(ii) If the suit is instituted by or against the state government, then - State Name. For ex – K.D. Gaur v. State of Haryana.
Section 80 – Notice
(1) Section 80(1) provides that a two-month prior notice shall be given to the concerned government or public officer before the institution of the suit. It means, if we want to file a suit against the government or any public officer, we must serve a notice to the concerned government or public officer. After the expiration of two months, suit can be instituted. Otherwise, suit will be dismissed.
Section 80 further provides provisions relating to whom notice is to be served –
(i) If the suit is to be instituted against the central government, then notice shall be sent to the Secretary of the Government.
(ii) If the suit is to be instituted against the Railway department, then the notice shall be sent to the general manager of that railway department.
(iii) If the suit is to be instituted against the government of Jammu and Kashmir, then notice shall be sent to the Chief Secretary of the Government or any other person as appointed by the government.
(iv) If the suit is to be instituted against any other state government, then the notice shall be sent to the secretary of that government or collector of the district.
(v) If that suit is to be instituted against a public officer, then the notice must be delivered to him personally or at his office. The notice shall contain the following particulars-
(a) Name of the plaintiff.
(b) Address of the plaintiff.
(c) Cause of action.
(d) Relief claimed.
(2) Sub-section 2 of Section 80 is an exception to sub-section 1. It allows the plaintiff to institute the suit against the government or public officer without serving a notice, but the leave of the court must be obtained. There must be the urgent need for immediate relief, but the court cannot grant any type of relief without hearing the other side.
If the court is satisfied that there is no urgent need for relief, shall return the plaint and order to follow the rules prescribed in subsection 1 of section 80.
(3) subsection three of section 80 provides that no suit can be dismissed if there is some defect in the notice, but the notice must convey the following information –
(a) Name and address of the plaintiff.
(b) Cause of action and relief claimed.
(c) Notice has been sent to the correct address.
Case Laws
(i) State of Punjab v. Geeta Iron & Brass Works
In this case, the court said that the provisions of notice contained in section 80 are intended to alert the government or public officer to negotiate a just settlement.
(ii) Ghanshyam Das v. Dominion of India, 1984
The Supreme Court said that the provisions of section 80 must be strictly construed and failure to serve notice shall result in the dismissal of the suit.
Form of Notice
A notice under section 80 need not be in a particular form, but the notice must comply with the requirements of section 80.
Appeal of Order
No appeal lies against the order passed under section 80 of CPC.
Revision of Order
An order passed under section 80 of CPC is revisable under Section 115 of the Code.
Section 81 - Exemption from Arrest and Personal Appearance
Section 81 provides exemption to the public Officer from arrest and personal appearance if the act purporting to be done by him in his official capacity. But in the case of execution of the decree, this rule is not applicable. The court can also exempt the public officer from personal appearance in the case when the public officer cannot absent himself from duty.
Section 82 – Execution of Decree
Section 82 provides that no order of execution can be passed unless the decree passed against the government or public officer remains unsatisfied for the period of three months.