{"id":319883,"date":"2025-11-25T20:48:30","date_gmt":"2025-11-25T20:48:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/uncategorized\/requirements-of-a-representative-suit-and-suits-against-government\/"},"modified":"2025-11-25T20:48:30","modified_gmt":"2025-11-25T20:48:30","slug":"requirements-of-a-representative-suit-and-suits-against-government","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=319883","title":{"rendered":"Requirements of a Representative Suit and Suits against Government"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n
\nI have written<\/a>
\nbefore<\/a>
\non the essential requirements of institution of a representative suit under
\nOrder 1, Rule 8. I recently came across two judgements of the Supreme Court
\nwhich shed more light on its nuances and scope. The first one was delivered in 1963<\/a> and the second in 1990<\/a>.<\/span><\/div>\n

\nIn the first judgement, the issue before the Court involved a combined
\ninterpretation of Section 80 of the CPC (suits against Government) and Order 1,
\nRule 8. In this case, two individuals issued a notice under Section 80 to the then
\nState Government of Madras notifying the Government of their intention to the sue it and also highlighting the fact that their notice was on behalf
\nof other individuals with similar grievances as them. While the notice did not
\nidentify all such individuals, it clearly identified the grievance, the cause of
\naction, names and places of residence of the two individuals issuing the notice
\nand the reliefs sought. Out of the said two individuals, however, only one of
\nthem finally sued the Government. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\nThe Government objected to the maintainability of the suit on the ground
\nthat (a) the Section 80 notice was not in accordance with the law since it
\nfailed to specify the particulars of all individuals who had such a grievance; (b) that before issuing the Section 80 notice on behalf of others their consent
\nwas not sought; and (c) that only one of the \u201cnoticers\u201d finally sued the Government
\ninstead of both of them, which according to the Government was not in accordance
\nwith Order 1, Rule 8. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\nThe Supreme Court held that as long as the Section 80 notice clearly
\nidentified the grievance along with the particulars of the issuers of the notice
\nand the reliefs claimed, and had a statement to the effect that the notice was
\nrepresentative in nature, the fact that it did not specify the details of other
\naggrieved individuals did not affect the legality of the notice. The Court
\nalso clarified that the consent of the other affected parties was not needed to
\nissue a Section 80 notice on their behalf and categorically rejected the argument
\nthat the leave of the Court was needed even before issuing the Section 80
\nnotice. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\nKeeping with this logic, the Court further held that it was not
\nnecessary to seek the permission of all affected parties to sue on their behalf
\nunder Order 1, Rule 8 since such permission to sue in representative capacity
\nwas, in any case, \u00a0<\/span>to be sought from and
\ngranted by the Court to the Plaintiff upon institution of the suit. The Court reasoned that since the provision itself envisaged issuance of a public notice by the trial court to similarly placed individuals\/parties
\nat the expense of the Plaintiff, there was no need for the Plaintiff to seek permission
\nfrom such parties prior to the institution of the suit. The Court also pointed
\nout that there was nothing either in Section 80 or in Order 1, Rule 8 which mandated
\ninstitution of the suit by everyone who issued the Section 80 notice in order
\nfor the suit to be maintainable. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\nIn the second judgement, delivered in 1990, the case involved demands for
\nadditional payments issued by the State Housing Board of Tamil Nadu to allottees
\nof housing units. When a representative suit was instituted by the one of the
\nallottees, the State Government objected to its maintainability on the ground
\nthat a representative suit could not be filed against monetary claims since the
\nclaim amounts would differ from person to person, and that the demand made to
\neach person would give rise to a separate cause of action, thereby precluding
\nthe application of Order 1, Rule 8.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\nThe Apex Court dismissed these contentions on
\nthe ground that there was nothing in Order 1, Rule 8 which precluded its application
\nto any class of claims or actions. Importantly, the Court reiterated the
\nposition that the fundamental basis of a suit under the provision was a
\ncommonality of interest, which in itself would arise from the nature of the
\ncause of action notwithstanding the differences in the quantum of claims. In
\nother words, it could either be argued that the cause of action i.e. the demand
\nfor payment, need not be the same for Order 1, Rule 8, or it could be argued that
\nthe cause of action in such a case would be the broad fact that similar demands
\nwere issued to similarly placed parties\/individuals. The net result would be
\nthe same.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\nThe following extracts from the judgement capture the position with
\ngreat clarity:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\n\u201c<\/span><\/i>The provisions of Order 1 of Rule 8 have been included
\nin the Code in the public interest so as to avoid multiplicity of litigation.
\nThe condition necessary for application of the provisions is that the persons
\non whose behalf the suit is being brought must have the same interest. In other
\nword,s either the interest must be common or they must have a common grievances
\nwhich they seek to get redressed.<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

\nIn Kodia Goundar and Another v.
\nVelandi Goundar and others, |LR<\/span><\/a>\u00a01955 Madras 339, a Full Bench
\nof the Madras High Court observed that on the plain language of Order 1, Rule
\n8, the principal requirement to bring a suit within that Rule is the sameness
\nof interest of the numerous person on whose behalf or for whose benefit the
\nsuit is instituted.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/span>The Court, while considering whether leave under the Rule
\nshould be granted or not, should examine whether there is sufficient community
\nof interest to justify the adoption of the procedure provided under the Rule.\u00a0<\/i><\/div>\n

\nThe object for which this provision is enacted is really to facilitate the
\ndecision of questions, in which a large number of persons are interested,
\nwithout recourse to the ordinary procedure. The provision must, therefore,
\nreceive an interpretation which will subserve the object for its enactment.
\nThere are no words in the Rule to limit its scope to any particular category of
\nsuits or to exclude a suit in regard to a claim for money or for injunction as
\nthe present one.<\/i><\/p>\n

\n8. Coming to the relevant circumstances in the present case it
\nwill be seen that all the allotments in Ashok Nagar were made under the same
\nScheme and all the relevant facts are common. The basis of the impugned demand
\nof the appellant is equally applicable to all the allottees and the plea of the
\nplaintiff is available to all of them. The trial court was, therefore,
\nperfectly right in permitting the plaintiff to proceed under Order 1, Rule 8 of
\nthe Code of Civil Procedure. Nobody in this situation can complain of any
\ninconvenience or injustice. On the other hand, the appellant is being saved
\nfrom being\u00a0involved in unnecessary repeated litigation.<\/span><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\n9. It is true that each of the allottees is interested
\nindividually in fighting out the demand separately made or going to be made on
\nhim and, thus, separate causes of action arise in the case, but, that does not
\nmake Order 1. Rule 8 inapplicable. Earlier there was some doubt about the Rule
\ncovering such a case which now stands clarified by the Explanation introduced
\nby the Code of\u00a0Civil Procedure
\n(Amendment) Act<\/span><\/a>, 1976, which reads as follows:
\n“Explanation–For the purpose of determining whether the persons who sue
\nor are sued, or defend, have the same interest in one suit, it is not necessary
\nto establish that such persons have the same cause of action as the persons on
\nwhose behalf, or for whose benefit, they sue or are sued, or defend the suit,
\nas the case may be.”<\/span><\/span><\/i><\/div>\n

\nThe objects and reasons for the amendment were stated below:
\n“OBJECTS AND REASONS: Clause 55; sub-clause (iv),–Rule 8 of Order 1 deals
\nwith representative suits. Under this rule, where there are numerous persons
\nhaving the same interest in one suit, one or more of them may, with the
\npermission of the Court, sue or be sued, on behalf of all of them. The rule has
\ncreated a doubt as to whether the party represent- ing others should have the
\nsame cause of action as the persons represented by him. The rule is being
\nsubstituted by a new rule and an explanation is being added to clarify that such
\npersons need not have the same cause of action.” There is, therefore, no
\ndoubt that the persons who may be represented in a suit under Order 1, Rule 8
\nneed not have the same cause of action.”<\/span><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I have written before on the essential requirements of institution of a representative suit under Order 1, Rule 8. I recently came across two judgements of the Supreme Court which shed more light on its nuances and scope. The first one was delivered in 1963 and the second in 1990. In the first judgement, the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[147483,147484],"tags":[4378,20311,16519,868,1262],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-319883","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-code-of-civil-procedure","category-representative-suit","tag-government","tag-representative","tag-requirements","tag-suit","tag-suits"],"yoast_head":"\nRequirements of a Representative Suit and Suits against Government - Som2ny Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=319883\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Requirements of a Representative Suit and Suits against Government - Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I have written before on the essential requirements of institution of a representative suit under Order 1, Rule 8. I recently came across two judgements of the Supreme Court which shed more light on its nuances and scope. The first one was delivered in 1963 and the second in 1990. In the first judgement, the […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=319883\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-25T20:48:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=319883#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=319883\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371\"},\"headline\":\"Requirements of a Representative Suit and Suits against Government\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-25T20:48:30+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=319883\"},\"wordCount\":1381,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Government\",\"Representative\",\"Requirements\",\"Suit\",\"Suits\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Code of Civil Procedure\",\"Representative Suit\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=319883#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=319883\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=319883\",\"name\":\"Requirements of a Representative Suit and Suits against Government - Som2ny Network\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-25T20:48:30+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=319883#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=319883\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=319883#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?bp_activities=1\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Requirements of a Representative Suit and Suits against Government\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/\",\"name\":\"Som2ny Network\",\"description\":\"Daily Deals\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Som2ny Network\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png\",\"width\":300,\"height\":86,\"caption\":\"Som2ny Network\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Requirements of a Representative Suit and Suits against Government - Som2ny Network","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=319883","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Requirements of a Representative Suit and Suits against Government - Som2ny Network","og_description":"I have written before on the essential requirements of institution of a representative suit under Order 1, Rule 8. I recently came across two judgements of the Supreme Court which shed more light on its nuances and scope. The first one was delivered in 1963 and the second in 1990. In the first judgement, the […]","og_url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=319883","og_site_name":"Som2ny Network","article_published_time":"2025-11-25T20:48:30+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=319883#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=319883"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371"},"headline":"Requirements of a Representative Suit and Suits against Government","datePublished":"2025-11-25T20:48:30+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=319883"},"wordCount":1381,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization"},"keywords":["Government","Representative","Requirements","Suit","Suits"],"articleSection":["Code of Civil Procedure","Representative Suit"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=319883#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=319883","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=319883","name":"Requirements of a Representative Suit and Suits against Government - Som2ny Network","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-11-25T20:48:30+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=319883#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=319883"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=319883#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?bp_activities=1"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Requirements of a Representative Suit and Suits against Government"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/","name":"Som2ny Network","description":"Daily Deals","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization","name":"Som2ny Network","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png","width":300,"height":86,"caption":"Som2ny Network"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/fivemor.com"],"url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319883","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=319883"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319883\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=319883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=319883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=319883"},{"taxonomy":"dealstore","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fdealstore&post=319883"},{"taxonomy":"offerexpiration","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fofferexpiration&post=319883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}