The Courts shall (subject to the provisions herein contained) have jurisdiction to try all suits of a civil nature excepting suits of which their cognizance is either expressly or impliedly barred.
Explanation I.— —A suit in which the right to property or to an office is contested is a suit of a civil nature, notwithstanding that such right may depend entirely on the decision of questions as to religious rites or ceremonies.
Explanation II.— —For the purposes of this section, it is immaterial whether or not any fees are attached to the office referred to in Explanation I or whether or not such office is attached to a particular place.
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 9
Section 9 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 establishes the plenary jurisdiction of civil courts to try all suits of a civil nature, excepting only those suits of which their cognizance is either expressly or impliedly barred by statute.
The presumption of law is strongly in favor of civil court jurisdiction, and the burden of proving that cognizance is ousted lies heavily on the party asserting the bar.
Explanation I clarifies that a suit in which the right to property or to an office is contested is a suit of a civil nature, notwithstanding that such right may depend entirely on the decision of questions as to religious rites or ceremonies. Explanation II adds that it is immaterial whether any fees are attached to the office or whether it is attached to a particular place. Express bars arise through explicit statutory provisions (such as the SARFAESI Act, IBC, or Industrial Disputes Act), while implied bars arise where a special statute creates a new right or liability and provides a complete and exhaustive statutory machinery for its enforcement.
Section 9 is the first port of call in every civil litigation. A defendant seeking to resist a civil suit on jurisdictional grounds must establish that a specialized statutory tribunal (such as NCLT, DRT, RERA, or Rent Controller) has been vested with exclusive authority that comprehensively displaces the civil court. If the tribunal's order is ultra vires or passed in breach of natural justice, the civil court retains supervisory jurisdiction under Section 9.