CPC Section 51: Powers of Court to enforce execution
Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 · Part 2: Execution
51. Powers of Court to enforce execution.—Subject to such conditions and limitations as may be prescribed, the Court may, on the application of the decree-holder, order execution of the decree—
(a) by delivery of any property specifically decreed;
(b) by attachment and sale or by the sale without attachment of any property;
(c) by arrest and detention in prison [for such period not exceeding the period specified in section 58, where arrest and detention is permissible under that section];
(d) by appointing a receiver; or
(e) in such other manner as the nature of the relief granted may require: [Provided that, where the decree is for the payment of money, execution by detention in prison shall not be ordered unless, after giving the judgment-debtor an opportunity of showing cause why he should not be committed to prison, the Court, for reasons recorded in writing, is satisfied—
(a) that the judgment-debtor, with the object or effect of obstructing or delaying the execution of the decree,—
(i) is likely to abscond or leave the local limits of the jurisdiction of the Court, or
(ii) has, after the institution of the suit in which the decree was passed, dishonestly transferred, concealed, or removed any part of his property, or committed any other act of bad faith in relation to his property, or
(b) that the judgment-debtor has, or has had since the date of the decree, the means to pay the amount of the decree or some substantial part thereof and refuses or neglects or has refused or neglected to pay the same, or
(c) that the decree is for a sum for which the judgment-debtor was bound in a fiduciary capacity to account.
Explanation. —In the calculation of the means of the judgment-debtor for the purposes of clause (b), there shall be left out of account any property which, by or under any law or custom having the force of law for the time being in force, is exempt from attachment in execution of the decree.]
Official reference: Government reference hosted by Andhra Pradesh High Court — checked: 1 October 2026.Banaka editorial consolidation of the general central text, with the 2025 postal-service amendments applied. Not an official or certified edition. State/High Court variations, commercial-dispute modifications and prescribed Appendix forms are not consolidated here; consult the source and applicable court rules. Hindi learning guides are original explanations, not a statutory translation.Read the original schedule and amendment notes
This text is for reference, not legal advice. Consult the official source for the authoritative text.
Other sections in this chapter
- 36. Application to orders
- 37. Definition of Court which passed a decree
- 38. Court by which decree may be executed
- 39. Transfer of decree
- 40. Transfer of decree to Court in another State
- 41. Result of execution proceedings to be certified
- 42. Powers of Court in executing transferred decree
- 43. Execution of decrees passed by Civil Courts in places to which this Code does not extend
- 44. Execution of decrees passed by Revenue Courts in places to which this Code does not extend
- 44A. Execution of decrees passed by Courts in reciprocating territory
- 45. Execution of decrees outside India
- 46. Precepts
- 47. Questions to be determined by the Court executing decree
- 48. [Repealed.]
- 49. Transferee
- 50. Legal representative
- 52. Enforcement of decree against legal representative
- 53. Liability of ancestral property
- 54. Partition of estate or separation of share
- 55. Arrest and detention
- 56. Prohibition of arrest or detention of women in execution of decree for money
- 57. Subsistence-allowance
- 58. Detention and release
- 59. Release on ground of illness
- 60. Property liable to attachment and sale in execution of decree
- 61. Partial exemption of agricultural produce
- 62. Seizure of property in dwelling house
- 63. Property attached in execution of decrees of several Courts
- 64. Private alienation of property after attachment to be void
- 65. Purchaser’s title
- 66. [Repealed.]
- 67. Power for State Government to make rules as to sales of land in execution of decrees for payment
- 68. [Repealed.]
- 69. [Repealed.]
- 70. [Repealed.]
- 71. [Repealed.]
- 72. [Repealed.]
- 73. Proceeds of execution-sale to be rateably distributed among decree-holders
- 74. Resistance to execution