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Friday, 13 November 2026 Judgments, law jobs and study notes, written by a practising advocate
Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 · Part II: Execution

Section 39 CPC: Transfer of decree

Bare Act text

39. Transfer of decree.—(1) The Court which passed a decree may, on the application of the decree-holder, send it for execution to another Court [of competent jurisdiction],—

(a) if the person against whom the decree is passed actually and voluntarily resides or carries on business, or personally works for gain, within the local limits of the jurisdiction of such other Court, or

(b) if such person has not property within the local limits of the jurisdiction of the Court which passed the decree sufficient to satisfy such decree and has property within the local limits of the jurisdiction of such other Court, or

(c) if the decree directs the sale or delivery of immovable property situate outside the local limits of the jurisdiction of the Court which passed it, or

(d) if the Court which passed the decree considers for any other reason, which it shall record in writing, that the decree should be executed by such other Court.

(2) The Court which passed a decree may of its own motion send it for execution to any subordinate Court of competent jurisdiction.

[(3) For the purposes of this section, a Court shall be deemed to be a Court of competent jurisdiction if, at the time of making the application for the transfer of decree to it, such Court would have jurisdiction to try the suit in which such decree was passed.]

[(4) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to authorise the Court which passed a decree to execute such decree against any person or property outside the local limits of its jurisdiction.]

State amendments

Uttar Pradesh Amendment of section 39 of Act no. 5 of 1908.— In section 39 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, hereinafter referred to as the said Code, for sub-section (3), the

following sub- section shall be substituted, namely :—

“(3) For the purposes of this section, a Court shall be deemed to be a Court of competent jurisdiction of the amount or value of the subject-matter of the suit wherein the decree was passed does not exceed the pecuniary limits, if any, of its ordinary jurisdiction at the time of making the application for the transfer of decree to it, notwithstanding that it had otherwise no jurisdiction to try the suit.”

[Vide Uttar Pradesh Act 31 of 1978, s. 2]

Amendment notes

  1. Ins. by s. 18, ibid. (w.e.f. 1-2-1977).
  2. Ins. by Act 22 of 2002, s. 2 (w.e.f. 1-7-2002).

Text of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (Act No. 5 of 1908), as amended, including the changes for commercial disputes made by the Commercial Courts Act, 2015. Source: India Code, Government of India.

In simple words

On the decree-holder's application, the Court which passed a decree may send it for execution to another Court of competent jurisdiction in four situations. These are where the judgment-debtor resides, carries on business or works for gain within that Court's limits; where he lacks sufficient property in the first Court's limits but has property in the other's; where the decree directs sale or delivery of immovable property outside the first Court's limits; or where the Court records other reasons in writing. It may also send it on its own motion to a subordinate Court.

Part II: Execution

  1. 36 Application to orders
  2. 37 Definition of Court which passed a decree
  3. 38 Court by which decree may be executed
  4. 39 Transfer of decree
  5. 40 Transfer of decree to Court in another State
  6. 41 Result of execution proceedings to be certified
  7. 42 Powers of Court in executing transferred decree
  8. 43 Execution of decrees passed by Civil Courts in places to which this Code does not extend
  9. 44 Execution of decrees passed by Revenue Courts in places to which this Code does not extend
  10. 44A Execution of decrees passed by Courts in reciprocating territory
  11. 45 Execution of decrees outside India
  12. 46 Precepts
  13. 47 Questions to be determined by the Court executing decree
  14. 48 Execution barred in certain cases (Repealed)
  15. 49 Transferee
  16. 50 Legal representative
  17. 51 Powers of Court to enforce execution
  18. 52 Enforcement of decree against legal representative
  19. 53 Liability of ancestral property
  20. 54 Partition of estate or separation of share
  21. 55 Arrest and detention
  22. 56 Prohibition of arrest or detention of women in execution of decree for money
  23. 57 Subsistence-allowance
  24. 58 Detention and release
  25. 59 Release on ground of illness
  26. 60 Property liable to attachment and sale in execution of decree
  27. 61 Partial exemption of agricultural produce
  28. 62 Seizure of property in dwelling-house
  29. 63 Property attached in execution of decrees of several Courts
  30. 64 Private alienation of property after attachment to be void
  31. 65 Purchaser’s title
  32. 66 Suit against purchaser not maintainable on ground of purchase being on behalf of plaintiff (Repealed)
  33. 67 Power for State Government to make rules as to sales of land in execution of decrees for payment of money
  34. 68 Power to prescribe rules for transferring to collector execution of certain decrees (Repealed)
  35. 69 Provisions of Third Schedule to apply (Repealed)
  36. 70 Rules of Procedure (Repealed)
  37. 71 Collector deemed to be acting judicially (Repealed)
  38. 72 Where Court may authorize Collector to stay Public Sale of Land (Repealed)
  39. 73 Proceeds of execution-sale to be rateably distributed among decree-holders
  40. 74 Resistance to execution
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