Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (CPC)
Amendment and Correction of Proceedings: Sections 152 to 153B CPC
A judgment may say exactly what the judge meant and the decree drawn up from it may still get a figure wrong, a name misspelt, or a survey number transposed. Section 152 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 allows such clerical and arithmetical mistakes, and errors from any accidental slip or omission, to be corrected at any time. Section 153 gives a wider power to amend any defect or error in any proceeding, and Sections 153A and 153B deal with summary dismissal of appeals and with open court. These notes cover each, and the line that Section 152 must not cross.
What Section 152 reaches, and the decision that lies outside the line
1. Section 152: Correction of Clerical and Arithmetical Mistakes
§ Section 152, CPC 1908 Clerical or arithmetical mistakes in judgments, decrees or orders, or errors arising therein from any accidental slip or omission, may at any time be corrected by the Court either of its own motion or on the application of any of the parties. |
§ Four features of the section • Three kinds of error. A clerical mistake, such as a wrong name, date or description; an arithmetical mistake, such as a wrong total or a miscalculated interest figure; and an error arising from an accidental slip or omission, which is the widest of the three. • In judgments, decrees or orders. All three are covered, so a decree that does not follow the judgment can be brought into line with it. • At any time. There is no period of limitation. The power may be exercised years later, and it survives the disposal of an appeal. • Of the court's own motion or on application. No formal proceeding is required; the court may act suo motu when the error is noticed. |
2. The Line Section 152 Must Not Cross
§ The test The question is always the same: does the correction give effect to what the court intended but failed to express? If yes, Section 152 applies. The record is being made to speak the truth about a decision already made. If it would give effect to something the court did not decide, the section does not apply, whatever the merits of the change. The court would then be altering its decision, not correcting its expression, and the remedies for that are appeal and review. |
Within Section 152 | Outside Section 152 |
|---|---|
A decree that omits a relief the judgment expressly granted | Granting a relief the judgment did not grant, however clearly the plaintiff was entitled to it |
A wrong arithmetical total, or interest calculated at the rate stated but wrongly computed | Changing the RATE of interest the court decided on, or the period for which it runs |
A misdescription of the property, corrected to match the description proved and accepted | Substituting a different property, or enlarging the area decreed |
A party's name or parentage wrongly entered in the decree | Adding a party who was not before the court |
An accidental omission of the direction as to costs which the judgment recorded | Making an order as to costs where the court gave no thought to costs at all |
A decree that does not follow the operative part of the judgment | A judgment that the court now thinks was wrongly reasoned |
One recurring application is worth noting. Where a court awarded interest in the judgment but the direction was omitted from the decree, the omission is an accidental slip and may be corrected under Section 152. But where the judgment itself is silent as to interest after the decree, Section 34(2) deems it refused, and Section 152 cannot be used to supply what the court never decided.
3. Section 153: The General Power to Amend
§ Section 153, CPC 1908 The Court may at any time, and on such terms as to costs or otherwise as it may think fit, amend any defect or error in any proceeding in a suit; and all necessary amendments shall be made for the purpose of determining the real question or issue raised by or depending on such proceeding. |
§ How Section 153 differs from Section 152 Three differences: • What is corrected. Section 152 corrects a judgment, decree or order. Section 153 amends any defect or error in any proceeding, which is wider and covers the record of the suit generally. • The purpose. Section 153 is directed to determining the real question or issue, which is the same policy that runs through Order VI Rule 17 on the amendment of pleadings and Order I Rule 10 on parties. • The terms. Section 153 expressly allows the amendment to be made on such terms as to costs or otherwise as the court thinks fit, so the party who caused the defect may be made to pay for its correction. • What both share. Neither permits the court to decide something it has not decided, and neither is a substitute for appeal or review. |
4. Sections 153A and 153B
§ Section 153A: power to amend after a summary dismissal Where an Appellate Court dismisses an appeal under Rule 11 of Order XLI, the power of the Court to amend, under Section 152, the decree or order appealed against may be exercised by the Court which had passed the decree or order in the first instance, notwithstanding that the dismissal of the appeal has the effect of confirming the decree or order. Why the section was needed. A summary dismissal under Order XLI Rule 11 confirms the decree, and it might then be argued that the trial court could no longer touch it, the decree having merged in the appellate order. Section 153A puts the position beyond doubt: the trial court retains the power to correct clerical and accidental errors in its own decree. |
§ Section 153B: place of trial to be deemed an open court The place in which any Civil Court is held for the purpose of trying any suit shall be deemed to be an open Court, to which the public generally may have access so far as the same can conveniently contain them: Provided that the presiding Judge may, if he thinks fit, order at any stage of any inquiry into or trial of any particular case, that the public generally, or any particular person, shall not have access to, or be or remain in, the room or building used by the Court. The principle and the exception. Open justice is the rule, because proceedings conducted in public are the surest guarantee of their fairness. The proviso allows the judge to exclude the public in a particular case, and specific provisions such as Order XXXII-A Rule 2, on family matters, make in-camera proceedings available as of right where a party asks. |
5. The Four Provisions in Summary
Provision | What it permits | Limit |
|---|---|---|
Section 152 | Correction of clerical or arithmetical mistakes in judgments, decrees and orders, and errors from accidental slip or omission, at any time, suo motu or on application | Only to express what the court intended; it cannot alter what was decided |
Section 153 | Amendment of any defect or error in any proceeding, at any time, on such terms as to costs as the court thinks fit | Directed to determining the real question or issue; not a means of deciding afresh |
Section 153A | The trial court may exercise the Section 152 power over its own decree even after the appeal from it has been summarily dismissed under Order XLI Rule 11 | The power remains that of Section 152, with the same limits |
Section 153B | The place of trial is deemed an open court to which the public may have access | The presiding judge may exclude the public in a particular case; and Order XXXII-A Rule 2 gives a party in a family matter the right to insist on an in-camera hearing |
6. Landmark Points
- Section 152. Clerical or arithmetical mistakes, and errors from accidental slip or omission, in judgments, decrees or orders, may be corrected at any time, by the court of its own motion or on application.
- The test. The correction must give effect to what the court intended but failed to express; it may not give effect to something the court did not decide.
- Interest. An award of interest made in the judgment but omitted from the decree is an accidental slip and may be corrected; but where the judgment is silent, Section 34(2) deems interest refused and Section 152 cannot supply it.
- Section 153. The court may at any time amend any defect or error in any proceeding, on such terms as to costs as it thinks fit, for the purpose of determining the real question or issue.
- Section 153A. Where an appeal is summarily dismissed under Order XLI Rule 11, the court of first instance may still exercise the Section 152 power over its own decree.
- Section 153B. The place of trial is deemed an open court, subject to the judge's power to exclude the public in a particular case.
7. Frequently Asked Questions
What may be corrected under Section 152?
Clerical or arithmetical mistakes in judgments, decrees or orders, and errors arising in them from any accidental slip or omission. The correction may be made at any time, by the court of its own motion or on the application of any party.
What is the test for a correction under Section 152?
Whether the correction gives effect to what the court intended but failed to express. If it would give effect to something the court did not decide, the section does not apply, because the court would be altering its decision rather than correcting its expression.
Is there a limitation period for a Section 152 application?
No. The section says the correction may be made at any time, and the power survives the disposal of an appeal. Delay may bear on the exercise of the discretion but does not bar the application.
Can omitted interest be added to a decree under Section 152?
Where the judgment awarded interest and the direction was accidentally omitted from the decree, yes: that is an accidental slip. Where the judgment itself is silent as to interest after the decree, Section 34(2) deems it refused and Section 152 cannot supply what the court never decided.
How does Section 153 differ from Section 152?
Section 152 corrects a judgment, decree or order. Section 153 is wider: it allows the court to amend any defect or error in any proceeding, on such terms as to costs as it thinks fit, for the purpose of determining the real question or issue raised.
What does Section 153A provide?
That where an appellate court dismisses an appeal summarily under Order XLI Rule 11, the power to amend the decree under Section 152 may still be exercised by the court which passed it in the first instance, notwithstanding that the dismissal confirms the decree.
What is the effect of Section 153B?
That the place in which a civil court is held for the trial of a suit is deemed an open court to which the public generally may have access, so far as it can conveniently contain them, subject to the presiding judge's power to exclude the public or any particular person in a given case.
8. Related Topics in This CPC Series
- Section 151: Inherent Powers of the Court
- Review under Section 114 and Order XLVII
- Section 34: Interest on Decrees
- Order XXXII-A: Suits Concerning Family Matters