Who may appeal as an indigent person
Full Text
(1) Any person entitled to prefer an appeal, who is unable to pay the fee required for the memorandum of appeal, may present an application accompanied by a memorandum of appeal, and may be allowed to appeal as an indigent person, subject, in all matters, including the presentation of such application, to the provisions relating to suits by indigent persons, in so far as those provisions are applicable.
Plain English Summary
Authorizes any appellant unable to pay appellate court fees to apply for permission to appeal as an indigent person accompanied by the memorandum of appeal, importing the procedural framework of Order XXXIII mutatis mutandis.
Key Legal Elements
- Inability to Pay Court Fees: Applies to any person entitled to appeal who lacks sufficient means to pay appellate court fees.
- Accompanying Memorandum of Appeal: Application MUST be accompanied by the formal memorandum of appeal drawn under Order XLI Rule 1.
- Order XXXIII Subservience: Provisions of Order 33 (presentation, examination, rejection grounds under Rule 5) apply mutatis mutandis.
- 1976 Amendment Liberalization: Deletion of the former restrictive proviso that required the appellate court to find the decree contrary to law before entertaining the indigent appeal.
Practical Note
Presentation of Indigent Appeals & Removal of Merits Filter: 1. Deletion of the Former Proviso (1976 Amendment): Prior to 1976, Order XLIV Rule 1 contained an onerous proviso requiring the court to summarily reject the application unless it was satisfied that the trial court decree was contrary to law or otherwise erroneous. The Supreme Court in R.V. Dev v. Panckutty (2009) 8 SCC 417 observed that the 1976 Amendment deleted this hurdle, placing indigent appellants on an equal footing with ordinary appellants once indigency is substantiated. 2. Simultaneous Presentation Requirement: The application for leave to appeal as an indigent person and the memorandum of appeal must be filed together. If the application is filed without the memorandum, it is procedurally defective.
हिंदी पाठ
(1) अपील करने का हकदार कोई भी व्यक्ति, जो अपील के ज्ञापन के लिए अपेक्षित फीस देने में असमर्थ है, अपील के ज्ञापन के साथ एक आवेदन प्रस्तुत कर सकेगा, और उसे निर्धन व्यक्ति (Indigent Person) के रूप में अपील करने की अनुज्ञा दी जा सकेगी, जो ऐसे आवेदन की प्रस्तुति सहित सभी मामलों में निर्धन व्यक्तियों द्वारा वादों से संबंधित उपबंधों के, जहां तक वे उपबंध लागू हो सकते हों, अधीन होगी।