CPC 1908 § Order XXXII, Rule 4 — Who may act as next friend or be appointed guardian for the suit

Statutory text (English)

(1) Any person who
is of sound mind and has attained majority may act as next friend of a minor or as his guardian for
the suit:

Provided that the interest of such person is not adverse to that of the minor and that he is not,
in the case of a next friend, a defendant, or, in the case of a guardian for the suit, a plaintiff.

(2) Where a minor has a guardian appointed or declared by competent authority, no person
other than such guardian shall act as the next friend of the minor or be appointed his guardian for the
suit unless the Court considers for reasons to be recorded, that it is for the minor's welfare that another
person be permitted to act or be appointed, as the case may be.

(3) No person shall without his consent be appointed guardian for the suit.

(4) Where there is no other person fit and willing to act as guardian for the suit, the Court may
appoint any of its officers to be such guardian, and may direct that the costs to be incurred by such
officer in the performance of his duties as such guardian shall be borne either by the parties or by any
one or more of the parties to the suit, or out of any fund in Court in which the minor is interested, and
may give directions for the repayment of allowance of such costs as justice and the circumstances of
the case may require.

Source and verification

Source citation: CPC (Act V of 1908) First Schedule, Order XXXII, Rule 4 (SUITS BY OR AGAINST MINORS AND PERSONS OF UNSOUND MIND): Pakistan Code portal consolidated official PDF 'THE CODE OF CIVIL PROCEDURE, 1908' (First Schedule, Orders I-LI, pp. 58-185), p. 143, ingested 2026-09-15. Automated transcription from official source (pypdf extraction, audited artifact repair); human admin re-check required before production.

Verification status: verified · Text status: auto_transcribed_verified_source

The record cites an official source, but its transcription is automated or only partly checked; a human re-check is pending.

Official Urdu text status: pending_official_urdu_text. Where official Urdu wording has not been sourced, Qanoon does not substitute an unverified translation for the statutory text.

Historical text notes

1 historical record is linked to this section. Historical wording may be incomplete or pending verification; it is not presented as current law.

• Date not confirmed: Consolidated current text as published in the official Pakistan Code PDF (p. 143) — reflects all amendments recorded in the official footnotes up to ingest date 2026-09-15. Automated transcription; per-amendment…

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