History of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908

India’s first attempt at a single, uniform code of civil procedure. It did not extend to the Supreme Courts or the Sudder courts, so its reach was uneven — but it set the template for a codified civil practice.

Replaced the 1859 Code, reorganising and expanding the procedural rules in the light of two decades of experience and the new High Courts set up after 1861.

Gathered the many amendments to the 1877 Code into a single working statute — the immediate predecessor of the present Code.

Passed on 21 March 1908 and in force from 1 January 1909. Its great innovation was structural: a rigid body of sections (the substantive procedure, amendable only by the legislature) separated from a flexible First Schedule of Orders and Rules that the High Courts may adapt. This is the Code in force today.

A wide-ranging reform aimed at cutting delay and securing fair trials — changes to service of summons, pleadings and restitution, and measures to discourage frivolous litigation, following the Law Commission’s recommendations.

The most significant modern overhaul: s.89 was recast to channel disputes into ADR (arbitration, conciliation, judicial settlement / Lok Adalat and mediation); a 90-day limit for the written statement was introduced; adjournments were capped at three (Order XVII); and second appeals were confined to a substantial question of law.

The CPC governs the procedure of every civil court in India. For high-value commercial disputes it now works alongside the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, which grafts a faster, case-managed track onto the Code’s framework.