Section 1 CPC 1908: Short Title, Commencement and Extent
Section 1 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 identifies the short title of the Code, its date of commencement, and its territorial extent. The provision should be read with the amendments noted below.
Text of Section 1 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908
(1) This Act may be cited as the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908.
(2) It shall come into force on the first day of January, 1909.
(3) It extends to the whole of India except -
[Clause (a) omitted.]
(b) the State of Nagaland and the tribal areas:
Provided that the State Government concerned may, by notification in the Official Gazette, extend the provisions of this Code or any of them to the whole or part of the State of Nagaland or such tribal areas, as the case may be, with such supplemental, incidental or consequential modifications as may be specified in the notification.
Explanation. In this clause, "tribal areas" means the territories which, immediately before the 21st day of January, 1972, were included in the tribal areas of Assam as referred to in paragraph 20 of the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution.
(4) In relation to the Amindivi Islands, and the East Godavari, West Godavari and Visakhapatnam Agencies in the State of Andhra Pradesh and the Union Territory of Lakshadweep, the application of this Code shall be without prejudice to the application of any rule or regulation for the time being in force in such Islands, Agencies or such Union Territory, as the case may be, relating to the application of this Code.
Amendment notes
1976 amendment: Sub-section (3) was substituted by section 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure (Amendment) Act, 1976 (Act 104 of 1976), with effect from 1 February 1977.
2019 amendment: Former clause (a) of sub-section (3), which referred to the State of Jammu and Kashmir, was omitted by section 95 and the Fifth Schedule to the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 (Act 34 of 2019), with effect from 31 October 2019.
What Section 1 CPC means
Section 1 is the introductory territorial and commencement provision of the Code. It confirms that the legislation is called the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 and that it came into force on 1 January 1909. It also sets out the present statutory position concerning the territorial extent of the Code and the special treatment of Nagaland, specified tribal areas, and the areas referred to in sub-section (4).
The omission of former clause (a) in 2019 is important when reading older copies of the CPC. Older texts may still state that the Code does not extend to the State of Jammu and Kashmir. That wording is no longer part of clause (a) after the amendment effective from 31 October 2019.
Official reference
For the authoritative Central legislation text and amendment history, refer to the Government of India source below:
Legal text is presented for reference. State amendments, local amendments, notifications, and judicial interpretation may also be relevant to a particular proceeding.