Special Suits
- Suits by Indigent Persons:
When a suit is filed before a competent civil court, the party has to pay the prescribed court fee. If the suit is filed without the prescribed court fee, the suit is liable to be rejected.
In some cases, the plaintiff may not be able to pay the prescribed court fee due to poverty, etc. In such circumstances, to help such persons to protect their rights, the Civil Procedure Code, 1908 has provisions under Order XXXIII to provide an exemption from the court fee. An Indigent person is the one who is poor and cannot afford to pay the court fee. This kind of suits are also called as “Pauper Suits”.
- Inter-Pleader Suits:
In fact, “Inter-pleader Suits” is not defined in the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908. ‘Inter-plead’ generally means to litigate with each other to find a solution concerning a third party.
In “Inter-pleader” suits, the dispute is not between the plaintiff and defendants. In fact, the plaintiff in such suits has no interest in the subject matter of the dispute. The dispute is between the defendants and they inter-plead against each other. [16]
For Example: ‘X’ is having lawful possession of a Gold Chain in which he has no interest. ‘Y’ and ‘Z’ are independently claiming the Gold Chain. ‘Y’ is claiming that he is the rightful owner of the Gold Chain and ‘Z’ claims the same. In such circumstances ‘X’ sues ‘Y’ and ‘Z’ to find out the decision of the court as to the ownership of the Gold Chain. In such suits, defendants ‘Y’ and ‘Z’ will adversely claim and litigate. Plaintiff ‘X’ will be silent and be the spectator in such disputes. Hence the real dispute lies between the defendants in the “Inter-pleader” suits.
In “Inter-pleader” suits, the plaintiff must be in lawful possession of a property belonging to some other person. The property may be movable or immovable, and the plaintiff must not have any interest in the property. There shall be two or more claimants for the property and the plaintiff must be ready to hand over the property to the right claimant based on the decision of the court.