Special Case –

Section 90 -
Order XXXVI
Ramakash G.S.
Section 90 – Friendly Suit
 Power to state case for opinion of Court – Where
any persons agree in writing to state a case for the
opinion of the Court, then the Court shall try and
determine the same in the manner prescribed.
Nature and Scope
A friendly suit is a suit where the parties do not
approach a court by presentation of a plaint as is
done in ordinary civil litigation. They are,
however, interested in the decision of any question
of fact or of law.
 For the said purpose, they enter into an agreement
in writing stating such question in the form of a
case for the purpose of obtaining the opinion of the
Court (O XXXVI R 1).
Subject Matter of the Case/Opinion
(O XXXVI R 1)
The parties enter into an agreement in writing stating such question
in the form of a case for the opinion of the court, and providing that,
upon the finding of the court with respect to such question: 
 a sum of money, fixed by the parties or to be determined by the
court, shall be paid by one of the parties to the other of them; or
 some property, movable or immovable, specified in the
agreement, shall be delivered by one of the parties to the other of
them; or
 one or more of the parties shall do, or restrain from doing, some
other particular act specified in the agreement.
Format of the Case
 (O XXXVI R 1(2)) – Every case stated under this rule
shall be divided into consecutively numbered
paragraphs, and shall concisely state such facts and
specify such documents as may be necessary to enable
the Court to decide the question raised thereby.
 (O XXXVI R 2) – Where the agreement is for the
delivery of any property, or for the doing, or the
refraining from doing, any particular act, the estimated
value of the property to be delivered, or to which the act
specified has reference, shall be stated in the agreement.
Procedure
 (O XXXVI R 3): (1)Agreement to be filed and registered as a suit:
The agreement, if framed in accordance with the rules hereinbefore
contained, may be filed with an application in the Court which
would have jurisdiction to entertain a suit, the amount or value of
the subject-matter of which is the same as the amount or value of
the subject-matter of the agreement.
 (2) The application, when so filed, shall be numbered and registered
as a suit between one or more of the parties claiming to be
interested as plaintiff or plaintiffs, and the other or the others of
them as defendant or defendants; and notice shall be given to all the
parties to the agreement, other than the party or parties by whom the
application was presented.
Rule 4: Parties to be subject to Court’s
jurisdiction
 Where the agreement has been filed, the parties to
it shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the Court
and shall be bound by the statements contained
therein.
Rule 5: Hearing and Disposal of the
Case
 (1) The case shall be set down for hearing as a suit instituted
in the ordinary manner, and the provisions of this Code shall
apply to such suit so far as the same are applicable.
 (2) Where the Court is satisfied, after examination of the
parties, or after taking such evidence as it thinks fit— (a) that
the agreement was duly executed by them, (b) that they have
a bona fide interest in the question stated therein, and (c) that
the same is fit to be decided, it shall proceed to pronounce
judgment thereon, in the same way as in an ordinary suit, and
upon the judgment so pronounced a decree shall follow.
Rule 6 - Appeal
 No appeal shall lie from a decree passed under rule
5.
 Since a decree passed in a friendly suit is in the
nature of compromise decree.
Compromise Decree
 Order XXIII Rule 3: "Compromise of suit: Where it is proved
to the satisfaction of the court that a suit has been adjusted
wholly or in part by any lawful agreement or compromise, in
writing and signed by the parties or where the defendant
satisfies the plaintiff in respect of the whole or any part of the
subject-matter of the suit, the Court shall order such
agreement, compromise or satisfaction to be recorded and
shall pass a decree in accordance therewith so far as it relates
to the parties to the suit, whether or not "the subject-matter of
the agreement, compromise or satisfaction is the same as the
subject matter of the suit."
Nature and Effect of a Compromise
Decree
 Subba Rao v. Jagannadha AIR 1967 SC 591 - A
compromise decree is not a decision of the Court,
nor can it be said that a decision of the Court was
implicit in it. It is the acceptance by the Court of
something to which the parties agreed. Such a
decree cannot operate as res judicata.
 Ganganand Singh and Ors. v. Rameshwar Singh
Bahadur and Anr. AIR 1927 Pat 271 - A consent
decree (Compromise decree) does not stand on a
higher footing than a contract between the parties.
The Court always has the jurisdiction to set aside a
consent decree upon any ground which will
invalidate an agreement between the parties. In the
absence of any such ground, the consent decree is
binding on the parties.