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IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
G. GIRISH
Sailaja Alias Shailaja D/o Sankari Amma – Appellant
Versus
A. Durairaj S/o Angappa Mudhaliyar – Respondent
| Table of Content |
|---|
| 1. permission to sue as an indigent person. (Para 1 , 2) |
| 2. grounds for denying application to sue as indigent. (Para 3 , 5) |
| 3. arguments on compliance with procedural requirements. (Para 6 , 7 , 8) |
| 4. nature of property transfers and implications on indigency. (Para 9 , 10) |
| 5. final decision and dismissal of appeal. (Para 11) |
JUDGMENT :
G. GIRISH, J.
1. The plaintiff in O.S.No.69 of 2015 of the First Additional Sub Court, Thiruvananthapuram, has filed this appeal against the order dated 22.12.2023 of the said court, rejecting I.A.No.1315 of 2017 filed under Order XXXIII of the Code of Civil Procedure, seeking permission to sue as an indigent person.
2. The suit was originally filed before the Vacation Court, Thiruvananthapuram on 08.05.2015 for realisation of an amount of Rs.4.3 Crores from the respondent. Though the second relief prayed for in the said suit was to permit the plaintiff (appellant herein) to sue as an indigent person, there was no petition submitted by the plaintiff in ‘forma pauperis’ as required under Order XXXIII Rule 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure. The Vacation Court, Thiruvananthapuram admitted the above suit to files without any order under Order XX
Adherence to procedural requirements under Order XXXIII of the Code is essential for a plaintiff to be permitted to sue as an indigent person, including full disclosure of property and proper applica....
Practice and Procedure – Indigent person - Where the provisions in Order XXXIII of Code were interpreted to hold that suppression of real facts would entail in disallowing the prayer of the applicant....
An indigent appellant is not liable for court fees unless permission to proceed as an indigent is granted by the court after a proper inquiry.
A litigant seeking to sue as an indigent person must disclose all assets; non-disclosure warrants dismissal of the application to prevent fraudulent claims.
Suppression of assets by a plaintiff seeking to sue as an indigent person indicates capacity to pay court fees, justifying rejection of the application.
The requirement for a property schedule in indigent applications is procedural and should not preclude access to justice if no bad faith is shown.
Suit by indigent person – Application for permission to sue as an indigent person has to be rejected and could not be allowed if allegations in plaint could not show any cause of action.
The court clarified that to qualify as an indigent person under Order 33 CPC, actual financial capacity must be assessed, not merely hypothetical earning potential.
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