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Section 47: Questions to be determined by the Court executing decree

Code of Civil Procedure • Official Statutory Text & Practice Guide

Statutory Regulation
Legal Standard
Competent Court / Tribunal
Act 1908
Section 46 All 158 Sections of Code of Civil Procedure Section 48
Statutory Defined Terms in this Section: (Click any term for official legal definition)
Decree Sec 2(2) Execution Sec 38

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 47

Section 47 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 establishes the exclusive jurisdiction of the executing court to determine all questions arising between the parties relating to the execution, discharge, or satisfaction of the decree, barring separate civil suits.

  • Statutory Powers & Jurisdiction: Section 47(1) enacts a comprehensive jurisdictional mandate: 'All questions arising between the parties to the suit in which the decree was passed, or their representatives.
  • Core Legal Standard: Relating to the execution, discharge or satisfaction of the decree, shall be determined by the Court executing the decree and not by a separate suit.' The section prevents endless rounds of satellite litigation by directing all post-decree controversies into the executing court.

Section 47 establishes the exclusive jurisdiction of the executing court over decree satisfaction, prohibiting separate civil suits to ensure rapid and unified execution.

The Explanation clarifies that for the purposes of this section, a plaintiff whose suit has been dismissed and a defendant against whom a suit has been dismissed are parties to the suit, and a purchaser of property at a sale in execution of a decree is deemed to be a party. The executing court cannot go behind the decree: it must execute the decree as it stands, unless the decree is a patent nullity passed by a court lacking inherent subject-matter jurisdiction.

Key Landmark Precedents:
  • Vasudev Dhanjibhai Modi v. Rajabhai Abdul Rehman, (1970) 1 SCC 670: The 3-Judge Bench established the cardinal rule: the executing court cannot go behind the decree; it must take the decree as it stands, and can entertain an objection to validity only if the decree is a patent nullity passed by a court lacking subject-matter jurisdiction.
  • Dhurandhar Prasad Singh v. Jai Prakash University, (2001) 6 SCC 534: The Supreme Court held that an objection under Section 47 can be raised where a decree is void ab initio; voidable decrees or procedural irregularities cannot be questioned under Section 47.
  • Bravish Nuwal v. Sakshi Raje, (2024) 4 SCC 321: The Court reiterated that separate suits challenging execution steps between parties to the decree are barred under Section 47.
Legal Commentary:

Section 47 is the ultimate procedural filter in execution. All disputes regarding whether a decree has been paid, satisfied, compromised, or barred by limitation must be adjudicated under Section 47 by the executing court. Filing an independent regular suit to challenge execution is barred by Section 47(1).

Section 46 All 158 Sections of Code of Civil Procedure Section 48