Section 83 — When aliens may sue
Can a foreigner use the Indian courts? Section 83 answers by status: an alien friend may sue as if an Indian citizen; an alien enemy may sue only if living in India with the Central Government’s permission — otherwise, or if abroad, he is barred.
How to read Section 83
Who MAY sue
Alien friends (subjects of a State at peace with India), and alien enemies living in India with Central-Government permission — they sue as if they were citizens of India.
Who may NOT
Alien enemies in India without such permission, or alien enemies residing in a foreign country — they cannot sue in any such court.
The deeming (Explanation)
A person in an enemy country who carries on business there without a Central-Government licence is treated as an alien enemy abroad — and so is barred.
The bare Act
1Alien enemies residing in India with the permission of the Central Government, and alien friends, may sue in any Court otherwise competent to try the suit, as if they were citizens of India, but alien enemies residing in India without such permission, or residing in a foreign country, shall not sue in any such Court.
1. Section 83 (with §§ 84–87 and the group heading) was substituted by Act 2 of 1951, s. 12 (w.e.f. 1-4-1951) for the former heading and sections — the post-Constitution recast of the provisions on suits by aliens and foreign States.
Key terms decoded
A subject of a foreign State that is at peace with India. He may sue freely, as if an Indian citizen.
A subject of a State at war with India (or a person treated as such by the Explanation). He may sue only if in India with permission.
The single condition on which an alien enemy residing in India is allowed access to the courts.
§ 83 does not confer jurisdiction — it only removes the bar of alienage where the court would anyway be competent.
The measure of the right: the permitted alien sues on the same footing as an Indian citizen.
An alien enemy abroad is barred outright — permission cannot cure residence outside India.
The status that makes a State’s subjects “alien enemies” for this section.
The Explanation’s fiction: trading in an enemy country without a Central-Government licence puts a person in the barred class, whatever his nationality.
The picture — who passes the gate
Access turns on status, not nationality alone: alien friends and permitted alien enemies pass the gate; alien enemies without permission, or abroad, do not — and the Explanation pulls enemy-country traders into the barred class.
Section 83, part by part
Connected provisions
Section 83 opens Part IV’s aliens & foreign-sovereigns group (§§ 83–87B): who may sue (§ 83), when a foreign State may sue (§ 84), suits against foreign Rulers, Ambassadors and Envoys (§§ 85–86), their style and the definitions (§§ 87–87B).