CPC Section 102: Definition of 'Court' - A Trap for Unwary

This question from last year's paper really threw me off: 'Can you file a suit for damages against a private company under Section 102 of the Code of Civil Procedure?' At first, I thought it's an easy 'no', but then it hit me - we often get confused between the concept of 'court' as defined in CPC and the jurisdiction of courts to try a particular type of case. CPC Section 102 defines 'court' to mean 'the Supreme Court or a High Court or any Civil Judge (SDM or Junior Division) exercising jurisdiction under this Code'. The correct approach is to identify the specific court that has jurisdiction over the case, then decide whether it falls under the CPC. So, the right answer is that it depends on the court that has jurisdiction.