Section 135 — Exemption from arrest under civil process
A safe passage to and from court. Judicial officers may not be arrested under civil process while going to, presiding in, or returning from their Court (1); and the parties, their agents and witnesses attending a tribunal are likewise exempt while going, attending and returning (2) — save for that tribunal’s own contempt process. But a judgment-debtor cannot use this to escape immediate execution or a committal hearing (3).
How to read Section 135
Judicial officers (1)
A Judge, Magistrate or other judicial officer is immune from arrest under civil process while going to, presiding in, or returning from his Court.
Court-goers (2)
The parties, their pleaders / mukhtars / agents and their witnesses (under summons) are exempt while going to, attending and returning from the tribunal — except its own contempt process.
The limit (3)
A judgment-debtor gets no exemption under (2) against an order for immediate execution, or when attending to show cause against committal to prison.
The bare Act
(1) No Judge, Magistrate or other judicial officer shall be liable to arrest under civil process while going to, presiding in, or returning from, his Court.
(2) Where any matter is pending before a tribunal having jurisdiction therein, or believing in good faith that it has such jurisdiction, the parties thereto, their pleaders, mukhtars, revenue-agents and recognized agents, and their witnesses acting in obedience to a summons, shall be exempt from arrest under civil process other than process issued by such tribunal for contempt of Court while going to or attending such tribunal for the purpose of such matter, and while returning from such tribunal.
(3) Nothing in sub-section (2) shall enable a judgment-debtor to claim exemption from arrest under an order for immediate execution or where such judgment-debtor attends to show cause why he should not be committed to prison in execution of a decree.
In short: those who keep the courts running — the judge on the bench and the people who must attend — are protected from civil arrest on their way to, at, and from court. Two things are carved out: the tribunal’s own contempt process, and a judgment-debtor facing immediate execution or a committal hearing.
→ The exemption is from arrest under civil process only, and only within the going–attending–returning window. It protects the functioning of courts, not the debtor who is the very target of execution — hence the § 135(3) limit.
Key terms decoded
Being taken into custody under a court’s civil process (e.g. an arrest warrant in execution). § 135 exempts certain people from this — not from criminal arrest.
The protected window for a judicial officer — the journey to court, the time on the bench, and the journey back.
(2) applies whether the tribunal actually has jurisdiction or honestly believes it does — a defect of jurisdiction does not destroy the attendee’s protection.
The classes of representative covered, alongside the parties themselves and their witnesses (when attending under a summons).
The one process the exemption does not cover: process the same tribunal issues for contempt of Court.
A JD cannot invoke (2) against an order for immediate execution, or when he attends to show cause why he should not be committed to prison in execution.
The picture — safe passage to court, with two exits
§ 135 protects the working of the courts — the bench and those who must come before it — from being waylaid by civil arrest. The two exits keep that protection honest: it cannot shield contempt of the very tribunal, nor a debtor from the execution he came to face.
Part by part — the three sub-sections
Sub-section (1) shields the judicial officer himself. The protection runs across the whole arc of his duty — the journey there, the sitting, and the journey back.
No Judge, Magistrate or other judicial officer shall be liable to arrest under civil process…
The protected person is a judicial officer — Judge, Magistrate, or other. The immunity is from civil arrest (not criminal).
…while going to, presiding in, or returning from, his Court.
Three moments, one continuous shield: travelling to court, sitting on the bench, and travelling back. So judicial duty cannot be obstructed by a civil arrest.
Sub-section (2) extends the shield to everyone the matter draws to the tribunal — even if the tribunal’s jurisdiction is doubtful, provided it acts in good faith. The single gap is the tribunal’s own contempt process.
…the parties thereto, their pleaders, mukhtars, revenue-agents and recognized agents, and their witnesses acting in obedience to a summons…
The parties, their representatives (pleaders, mukhtars, revenue-agents, recognized agents), and witnesses attending under a summons.
…before a tribunal having jurisdiction therein, or believing in good faith that it has such jurisdiction…
The protection does not fail merely because the tribunal lacked jurisdiction — a good-faith belief in jurisdiction is enough.
…while going to or attending such tribunal for the purpose of such matter, and while returning from such tribunal.
Same three-part window as (1): going to, attending, and returning from the tribunal for that matter.
…other than process issued by such tribunal for contempt of Court…
The exemption does not cover process the same tribunal issues for contempt — a court keeps power over those who defy it.
Sub-section (3) closes a loophole: the attendance-exemption cannot be turned into a refuge from execution. The judgment-debtor is the target of the process, not a protected attendee.
Nothing in sub-section (2) shall enable a judgment-debtor to claim exemption from arrest under an order for immediate execution…
Where the court has ordered immediate execution, (2) gives the JD no shelter from arrest.
…or where such judgment-debtor attends to show cause why he should not be committed to prison in execution of a decree.
Even the JD’s own attendance at the show-cause hearing on committal does not bring him within the exemption — that is the very proceeding against him.
How the three sub-sections flow
Protect the court’s working — but not the debtor it is enforcing against
Connected provisions
Section 135 is the heart of Part XI’s arrest-exemptions. It follows § 134 (which carries the arrest safeguards to every arrest) and is completed by § 135A (the special exemption for members of legislative bodies). Its limit in (3) reaches back into the Code’s execution machinery.