Section 19: District court where defendant is residing or act done to have jurisdiction

1) The district court in which the plaint is filed, out of the district court of the district where the act has been done and the district court of the district where the defendant is staying, shall have power to proceed, hear and adjudicate any case other than that set forth in Section 18.

Explanation: For the purposes of this Section, the term “district where the defendant is staying” means the district of the 9 defendant’s residence, and also includes, in the case of a legal person, the district where the head office of such a person is situated.

2) If the plaintiff and the defendant carry on general transaction in a district other than the district of their residence, the district court in which the plaint is filed, out of the district court of the district where such transaction was carried on and the district court of the district where the plaintiff or the defendant, as the case may be, is staying, shall have power to proceed, hear and adjudicate such case.

3) If, in the circumstance referred to in sub-section (1), any case consists of two or more defendants, the plaint shall be filed in the district court of the district where most of the defendants are staying.

Provided that if an equal number of defendants are staying in more than one district, the plaint may be filed in any district court of the districts where such defendants are staying.