Decree-holder
Also called: Holder of a decree
Any person in whose favour a decree has been passed or an order capable of execution has been made (Section 2(3) of the CPC).
Explained
Section 2(3) of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 defines a decree-holder as any person in whose favour a decree has been passed or an order capable of execution has been made. Two points follow. The person need not have been the plaintiff: a defendant in whose favour a decree for costs or other relief is passed is also a decree-holder. And the definition extends to orders capable of execution, not only decrees. The counterpart is the judgment-debtor under Section 2(10), the person against whom a decree has been passed or an order capable of execution has been made.
The decree-holder is the person who sets execution in motion. Under Order XXI Rule 10 he applies to the Court which passed the decree, or to the Court to which it has been sent. Under Section 38 a decree may be executed by the Court which passed it or by the Court to which it is sent, and under Section 39 the Court may, on the decree-holder's application, transfer the decree to another Court of competent jurisdiction in the circumstances listed there. Where a decree is passed jointly in favour of several persons, any one or more of them may apply for execution of the whole decree for the benefit of all under Order XXI Rule 15. A transferee of the decree by written assignment or operation of law may apply under Order XXI Rule 16.
Section 47 requires all questions between the parties to the suit, or their representatives, relating to execution, discharge or satisfaction of the decree to be decided by the executing Court and not by a separate suit. If the judgment-debtor dies before full satisfaction, Section 50 lets the decree-holder execute against the legal representative, whose liability is limited to the property of the deceased that has come to his hands. Article 136 of the Limitation Act, 1963 allows twelve years for execution of a decree.
Examiners test the definition in match-the-following form, the right of a transferee and of joint decree-holders, and the bar of a separate suit under Section 47.
What the law says
(3) “decree-holder” means any person in whose favour a decree has been passed or an order capable of execution has been made;
Clause (3) defines decree-holder; clause (10) judgment-debtor
(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
Transfer of decree on the decree-holder's application
(1) All questions arising between the parties to the suit in which the decree was passed, or their representatives, and relating to the execution, discharge or satisfaction of the decree, shall be determined by the Court executing the decree and not by a separate suit.
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(3) Where a question arises as to whether any person is or is not the representative of a party, such question shall, for the purposes of this section, be determined by the Court.
Execution questions decided by executing Court
(2) Where the decree is executed against such legal representative, he shall be liable only to the extent of the property of the deceased which has come to his hands and has not been duly disposed of; and, for the purpose of ascertaining such liability, the Court executing the decree may, of its own motion or on the application of the decree-holder, compel such legal representative to produce such accounts as it thinks fit.
Execution against legal representative of judgment-debtor
Where the holder of a decree desires to execute it, he shall apply to the Court which passed the decree or to the officer (if any) appointed in this behalf, or if the decree has been sent under the provisions hereinbefore contained to another Court then to such Court or to the proper officer thereof.
Application for execution by the holder of a decree
Where a decree or, if a decree has been passed jointly in favour of two or more persons, the interest of any decree-holder in the decree is transferred by assignment in writing or by operation of law, the transferee may apply for execution of the decree to the Court which passed it; and the decree may be executed in the same manner and subject to the same conditions as if the application were made by such decree-holder:
Provided that, where the decree, or such interest as aforesaid, has been transferred by assignment, notice of such application shall be given to the transferor and the judgment-debtor, and the decree shall not be executed until the Court has heard their objections (if any) to its execution:
Provided also that, where a decree for the payment of money against two or more persons has been transferred to one of them, it shall not be executed against the others.
Execution by transferee of decree
For the exam
- Section 2(3) CPC: person in whose favour a decree or an executable order is made.
- A defendant can be a decree-holder; the counterpart is the judgment-debtor (Section 2(10)).
- Execution applications: Order XXI Rule 10; transferee of decree applies under Order XXI Rule 16.
- Execution questions between parties are decided by the executing Court, not by suit (Section 47).
- Decree may be executed against a dead judgment-debtor's legal representative (Section 50).
318 questions in the Law Maker question bank use this term. Practise Civil Procedure Code questions
Related terms
- Judgment-debtorAny person against whom a decree has been passed or an order capable of execution has been made (Section 2(10) of the CPC).
- DecreeThe formal expression of an adjudication that conclusively determines the rights of the parties on all or any matter in controversy in a suit, as defined in Section 2(2) of the CPC.
- OrderUnder Section 2(14) of the CPC, the formal expression of any decision of a Civil Court which is not a decree.
- Legal representativeA person who in law represents the estate of a deceased person, including anyone who intermeddles with the estate (Section 2(11) of the CPC). He is liable only to the extent of the estate that reaches him.
- Mesne profitsProfits that a person in wrongful possession of property actually received or might with ordinary diligence have received, with interest, but excluding profits due to his own improvements. Section 2(12) CPC.
- JudgmentUnder Section 2(9) of the CPC, the statement given by the Judge of the grounds of a decree or order.
Further reading
Checked 6 November 2026. Statutory text is quoted from the Bare Acts library, taken from India Code. See the full glossary.