BORE MUHAMMAD vs Mst. AZIZA BEGUM and others
The plaintiff initiated a civil suit against several defendants, including various government officials sued solely by their official designations. The core legal question before the court was whether government officials can be impleaded as parties in a suit in their official capacity rather than their personal names. Relying on the principle that only natural or legal persons can be made parties to a suit under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, the court held that officials sued merely by their official designations do not constitute legal or natural persons capable of being sued. Consequently, the court ordered the names of the official defendants to be struck off from the array of defendants, while noting that the plaintiff remains at liberty to implead proper parties in the proceedings. The key principle laid down is that government officials cannot be sued in their official designation; they must be sued in their personal names if the plaintiff is aggrieved by their individual acts or actions.
- Can government officials be sued in a civil suit by their official designations?
- Are officials sued by their designation considered legal or natural persons under the Code of Civil Procedure 1908?
- What is the remedy for a plaintiff if they are aggrieved by the actions of a government official?
- Order I Rule 3, Code of Civil Procedure 1908
ORDER
1. The plaintiff has filed this suit against defendants Mst. Aziza Begum, Karachi Administration Employees Cooperative Housing Society Limited, Registrar, Cooperative Societies Administrator, Karachi Municipal Corporation, Director Katchi Abadies and Director Sindh Katchi Abadi Authority.
2. Under the provisions of Order I, Rule 3, C.P.C. only persons can be made a party in suit who are either natural or legal persons. The officials in their official designation cannot be termed to be a legal or natural person as ruled in the case of Secretary B & R. v. Fazal Ali Khan PLD 1971 Kar. 625.
3. The, plaintiff has sued the officials by their designations. Such officials cannot be sued in their official name. If the plaintiff is offended by any act or action of such defendants in their personal capacity, they can be sued in their A personal name. Consequently, names of defendants Nos.3 to 7 are struck off from the array of defendants with costs of Rs.100 each to be deposited by the plaintiff within a week.
4. However, this will not preclude the plaintiff to join proper party in the proceedings.
Cited by 4 cases
- Salah Uddin Khan vs Public Procurement Regulatory Authority and others 2022 CLC 497
- Muhammad Hayat vs DG LDA etc. 2015 LHC 6238
- MUHAMMAD HAYAT Versus DIRECTOR GENERAL, LAHORE DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY 2016 MLD 1287
- MUHAMMAD ALI SHAIKH vs SUI. SOUTHERN GAS COMPANY LTD. through Managing Director and 3 others 2014 YLR 444