Civil procedure

Recovery of Money Through Civil Court: Legal Options in India

By Advocate Sainath Panjagari · Published 29 May 2026 · 2 min read

The short answer

If someone owes you money in Hyderabad, the civil court is still the ordinary forum.

Typical tools:

a regular suit for recovery of money;
a summary suit under Order XXXVII of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, where the claim is on a bill of exchange, hundi, promissory note, or a written contract of the kind that Order covers;
a legal notice first, where it is useful or required.

IBC, SARFAESI / DRT, and Section 138 NI Act are specialised statutes with thresholds and ingredients. They are not a louder civil court.

This is general information. It is not a promise of a decree or of a timeline.

Choosing the tool

Tool	When it may fit	When it usually does not
Civil suit	Private debt, unpaid invoices, loans between individuals, many commercial accounts	You need a specialised statutory forum
Order XXXVII summary suit	Instrument / written contract the Order actually covers	Disputed, unwritten, or unliquidated claims forced into a summary caption
Section 138 NI Act	Cheque, statutory notice, 15-day default	No legally enforceable debt, or a missing statutory step
Section 9 IBC	Operational debt, corporate debtor, threshold, no genuine dispute	Individuals, disputed invoices, amounts below threshold
DRT / SARFAESI	Eligible bank / FI and secured creditor	Private lenders who are not in the statute

Using the fashionable statute because it sounds severe is how jurisdictions are lost.

Limitation and interest

Most contract claims must be filed within the period the Limitation Act, 1963 allows — often three years from the accrual of the cause of action, subject to acknowledgement in writing and part-payment. Interest is pleaded and proved. It is not a feeling.

Where to file in Hyderabad

Territorial jurisdiction follows the CPC (where the defendant resides or works, or where the cause of action arises). Pecuniary jurisdiction follows the value of the suit. City Civil Court, Hyderabad and the District Court at Medchal–Malkajgiri are not interchangeable because one is closer to the office.

Related: how to reply to a legal notice, Section 9 IBC, cheque bounce, and civil litigation. Contact with the invoices and the contract.

Nothing in this article is a promise of a decree, of interest at any rate, or of any timeline.

Statutes referred

Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, including Order XXXVII
Limitation Act, 1963
Indian Contract Act, 1872

Questions

How do I recover money through a civil court in India?

Ordinarily by a suit for recovery of money, filed in the court of territorial and pecuniary jurisdiction, within limitation. Where the claim is on a bill of exchange, hundi, promissory note, or a written contract of the kind Order XXXVII covers, a summary suit may be available.

What is the limitation period for a contract debt?

Many simple money claims are governed by a three-year period under the Limitation Act, 1963, running from when the cause of action accrues. Acknowledgements and part-payments can matter. The particular article and the contract still have to be read.

Is a bounced cheque only a criminal case?

No. Section 138 is available only if its ingredients are met. A civil suit for the same debt can proceed on the documents, subject to the law on parallel proceedings. The two are not substitutes for each other.

Can I use the IBC instead of a civil suit?

Only if the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code’s conditions are met, including threshold and, for operational creditors, the absence of a genuine pre-existing dispute. The IBC is not a faster civil court.