(1) Where it is alleged to be uncertain within the local limits of the jurisdiction of which of two or more Courts any immovable property is situate, any one of those Courts may, if satisfied that there is ground for the alleged uncertainty, record a statement to that effect and thereupon proceed to entertain and dispose of any suit relating to that property, and its decree in the suit shall have the same effect as if the property were situate within the local limits of its jurisdiction:
Provided that the suit is one with respect to which the Court is competent as regards the nature and value of the suit to exercise jurisdiction.
(2) Where a statement has not been recorded under sub-section (1), and an objection is taken before an Appellate or Revisional Court that a decree or order in a suit relating to such property was made by a Court not having jurisdiction, the Appellate or Revisional Court shall not allow the objection unless in its opinion there was, at the time of the institution of the suit, no reasonable ground for uncertainty as to the Court having jurisdiction with respect thereto and there has been a consequent failure of justice.
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 18
Section 18 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 resolves procedural impasses arising from uncertain, disputed, or shifting territorial boundaries between judicial districts by empowering any of the competing courts to entertain the suit upon recording a formal statement of uncertainty.
Section 18(2) establishes a stringent statutory barrier against technical appellate challenges. If the trial court proceeded without formally recording the statement of uncertainty under sub-section (1), an appellate or revisional court is statutorily prohibited from entertaining an objection to territorial jurisdiction unless two cumulative conditions are established: first, that there was no reasonable ground for uncertainty at the time of institution of the suit; and second, that there has been a consequent failure of justice on the merits.
In civil litigation practice involving properties along river boundaries, newly formed administrative tehsils, or unmapped urban peripheries, plaintiffs should specifically plead territorial uncertainty in the plaint. The plaintiff should file an application at the threshold requesting the trial court to record its satisfaction under Section 18(1), thereby immunizing the prospective decree from future jurisdictional attacks.