Code of Civil Procedure, 1908
35.Costs.-
(1) Subject to such conditions and limitations as may be
prescribed, and to the provisions of any law for the time being in force, the
costs of and incident to all suits shall be in the discretion of the Court, and
the Court shall have full power to determine by whom or out of what property
and to what extent such costs are to be paid, and to give all necessary
directions for the purposes aforesaid. The fact that the Court has no
jurisdiction to try the suit shall be no bar to the exercise of such powers.
(2) Where the Court directs that any costs shall not follow the
event, the Court shall state its reasons in writing.
(3) The Court may give interest on costs at any rate not
exceeding six per cent. per annum, and such interest shall be added to the
costs and shall be recoverable as such.
{S.35A was ins.by s.2 of the Civil Procedure (Amendment) Act,
1922 (9 of 1922), which, under section 1 (2) thereof, may be brought into force
in any Province by the Provincial Government on any specified date. It has been
so brought into force in Bombay, Bengal, U.P., Punjab, Bihar.C.P., Assam,
Orissa and Madras.} [35A.Compensatory costs in respect of false or vexatious
claims or defenses.- (1) If in any suit or other proceeding, not being an
appeal, any party objects to the claim or defense on the ground that the claim
or defense or any part of it is, as against the objector, false or vexatious to
the knowledge of the party by whom it has been put forward, and if thereafter,
as against the objector, such claim or defense is disallowed, abandoned or
withdrawn in whole or in part, the Court, if the objection has been taken at
the earliest opportunity and if it is satisfied of the justice thereof, may,
after recording its reasons for holding such claim or defense to be false or
vexatious, make an order for the payment to the objector by the party by whom
such claim or defense has been put forward, of costs by way of compensation.
(2) No Court shall make any such order for the payment of an
amount exceeding one thousand rupees or exceeding the limits of its pecuniary
jurisdiction, whichever amount is less:
Provided that where the pecuniary limits of the
jurisdiction of any Court exercising the jurisdiction of a Court of Small
Causes under the Provincial Small Cause Courts Act, 1887 9 of 1887 { Ins.by Act
2 of 1951, s.7.} [or under a corresponding law in force in a Part B State] and
not being a Court constituted { Subs., ibid., for " under that Act
".} [under such Act or law], are less than two hundred and fifty rupees,
the High Court may empower such Court to award as costs under this section any
amount not exceeding two hundred and fifty rupees and not exceeding those
limits by more than one hundred rupees:
Provided , further, that the High Court may limit the
amount which any Court or class of Courts is empowered to award as costs under
this section.
(3) No person against whom an order has been made under this
section shall, by reason thereof, be exempted from any criminal liability in
respect of any claim or defense made by him.
(4) The amount of any compensation awarded under this section in
respect of a false or vexatious claim or defense shall be taken into account in
any subsequent suit for damages or compensation in respect of such claim or
defense.]