INTRODUCTION

The 163rd Law Commission report on “The Code of Civil Procedure (Amendment) Bill,1997” was
forwarded to Dr. M. Thambi Durai (then Honorable Minister of Law, Justice and Company Affairs) by
Justice B.P. Jeevan Reddy (then Chairman, Law Commission of India), 15th Law Commission of India, 1997
on 18th November of 1998. In the first phase, the commission proposed to express its dues on the various
amendments suggested by the Code of Civil Procedure (Amendment) Bill, 1997 which was introduced an
official bill in the Rajya Sabha. In the Second phase, the commission intends to take up the revision of the
code in its entirety since a comprehensive revision of the entire code would take comparatively longer time.

The Commission is for the opinion that certain changes recommended in the report need to be incorporated
in the Code of Civil Procedure (Amendment) Bill,1997. To attain the objective of speedy and effective
Justice. The Amendment bill Clause 2 proposed to make it obligatory as per Section 26 to make the plaintiff
file an affidavit in support of the facts stated in the plaint.

A very important idea was proposed by this report which proposed to insert section 89 enabling and/or
obliging the court to explore the possibility of alternate methods of dispute resolution like conciliation,
mediation, arbitration, etc. it proposed to substitute existing Section 100A, substitute Section 102.

OBJECTIVES

The main objective of this study is to analytically study the 163rd Law Commission report on the Civil
Procedure Code.

To fulfil the main objectives, the following objectives have been taken into consideration:-

1. To analyse the major amendments which have been done to a few important sections in Civil
Procedure Code by the 163rd Report.
2. To analyse the important clauses1 of the Amendment bill as specifically mentioned as important
clauses in the 163rd law Commission report on Civil Procedure Code.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The research questions that have been explored in order to achieve the research objectives are as follows:

1. What is the purpose of 163rd Law Commission report on Code of Civil Procedure (Amendment) Bill,
1997?

1
2.3 of Page 12 of 163rd Law Commission Report on The Civil Procedure Code (Amendment) Bill, 1997.
 2. What direct or indirect changes have been made to the Civil Procedure Code, 1908 because of the
163rd Law Commission of India Report?
3. What improvements have been made to the previous Law Commission Reports which led to
the formation of the 163rd Law Commission Report?

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The research methodology used in the research project is doctrinal in nature. Doctrinal research refers to a
theoretical study made from the bills, acts, articles, research papers and books written by different scholars
and authors. The present study is an outcome of an amalgamation of types of work: Methodologies for this
research study through qualitative data collected from publications of concerned authorities, available books,
research studies, articles on the related topic, keynote papers presented.

LITERATURE REVIEW

For the purpose of better understanding of the topic, multiple books and articles have been referred. The
major source being the 163rd Law Commission Report on Civil Procedure Code.2

 One of the important literature sources were the 4 recent law commission report before the 163rd
Report. 139th report on “Urgent need to amend the order XXI, Rule 92(2) of the Code of Civil
Procedure to remove any anomaly which nullifies the benevolent intention of the legislation and
occasions injustice to judgement- debtors sought to be benefited”
 140th report on “Need to amend Order V, rule 19A of the Code of Civil Procedure,1908, relating to
service of summons of registered post with a view to foreclosing likely injustice”
 144th report on “Conflicting Judicial Decisions pertaining to the code of civil procedure code, 1908”
 155th report on “Suggesting some amendments to code of civil procedure code (Act no. V of 1908)”

“Civil procedure and Limitation Act” by C.K. Takwani, Procedural laws suggest the method for
enforcing rights and duties. The Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 gives the law relating to the procedure of
courts of civil judicature. Takwani's Civil Procedure is an authority on the subject. It is well acclaimed as a
compact book written in a lucid style. The commentary explains the theoretical as well as practical aspects
of civil procedure. The author has taken care to ensure that the work continues to remain introductory in
nature and does not lose its character as a "Student Edition”. Civil Procedure by C.K. Takwani is an
authority on the subject. The commentary explains the theoretical as well as practical aspects of civil
procedure.

2
163rd Law Commission Report on Civil Procedure Code available at
http://lawcommissionofindia.nic.in/101-169/Report163.pdf
“The Principles of CPC and Law of limitation” by Dr. T. Padma and K.P.C. Rao, which on the whole
says the code of civil procedure is an adjective law or procedural law. It neither creates nor takes away any
right. It is intended to regulate the procedure to be followed by civil codes. It prescribes the practice,
procedure and machinery for the enforcement of rights and liabilities. The Civil Procedure Code was
amended by the Civil Procedure Code amendment act, 1999 and once again by the Civil Procedure Code
Amendment act 2002. Both these amendments came into force on 1st July, 2002.

CONCLUSION

The 163rd Law Commission report on “The Code of Civil Procedure (Amendment) Bill,1997” has been
implemented vastly and it is the reason for many changes to the Civil Procedure Code Amendment Bill. The
Questionnaire sent along with the Law Commission Report highlight all the reasons and indirectly gives
suggestions and answers to its questions by altering or amending the amendment bill. As the Government of
India requests its recommendations, the Commission undertook the exercise in two phases, he first one being
the commission to express its views on the various amendments suggested by the Code of Civil procedure
(Amendment) Bill and the second phase, to consider the provisions of the Code which have not been dealt
with in the Bill, but which may appear to be in need of revision in the interests of uniformity in the Civil
Procedure.