Rejection of plaint and return

 Rejection of plaint and return

WHAT IS PLAINT?

Order 6 rule 1 of Civil Procedure code, 1908 defines pleading to be a plaint or a written statement. Pleadings form the basis of proceedings before the court of law.Section 26 of the Civil Procedure Code states, that every suit that shall be instituted should present the plaint first or any other documents as may be prescribed.The Civil Procedure Code does not define plaint rather it has laid down certain rules in detail about plaint in order 7 containing 18 rules. A short brief definition of plaint can be given as:

WHAT ARE THE RULES OF FILING A PLAINT?

We can know about the basic rules of filing a plaint by knowing the rules on how to file a pleading and a plaint:

Basic rules of pleadings:

Pleadings should state facts and not law.

Facts should be material facts.

The pleading should not state the evidence.

The facts should be stated in brief.

1. Pleadings should state facts and not law

“Plead facts not law.”

The pleading should only contain facts and not law.

The facts are to be mentioned on which the claim of the pleaders depend.

Question of fact and intention shall be pleaded.

Waiver and negligence shall be pleaded.

A point of law which is required to be helping the facts should be pleaded.

2. Facts should be material facts

“All the primary facts which must be proved at the trial by a party to establish the existence of a cause of an action or his defense are material facts.”

Pleading should only contain material facts.

Material facts are all the primary facts of the plaintiff’s cause of action or the defendant’s defense.

3. The pleading should not state the evidence

“It is an elementary rule in the pleading that, when a state of facts is relied on, it is enough to allege it simply, without setting out the subordinate facts which are the means of producing it, or the evidence sustaining the allegation.”

The pleading should contain all the facts and not the evidence proving them.

Pleadings should only contain “facta probanda” meaning, facts that required to be proved and not “facta probantia” meaning, facts by means of which they are to be proved.

Fact in issue is to be mentioned in the pleadings.

4. The facts should be stated in brief.

“If Care is taken in syntactic process, pleadings can be saved from tautology”

Material facts should b stated “precisely”, “succinctly “and “Coherently”

Pleading should be brief but not vague as it gives the defendant a great disadvantage.

One should not exclude necessary facts while drafting pleadings.

Every pleading should be divided in paragraphs and sub paragraphs.

Each allegation shall be contained in a separate paragraph.

Dates and numbers should be mentioned in figures as well as words.

Facts must be stated with certainty.

All the material facts should be stated as a summary.

Immaterial and unnecessary details shall be omitted.

THE PROVISIONS IN CIVIL PROCEDURE CODE THAT STATES THE ABOVE MENTIONED:

Order 6 Rule 2 of Civil Procedure Code states that the pleading must only state material facts and not evidence supporting the facts:

All the material facts that are present in the case shall be mentioned in the pleading for the claim or defense of the party but the evidence proving the material facts should not be mentioned.

Every pleadingas per the necessity and clarity be divided into paragraphs, numbered consecutively, all the allegations for the convenience an understanding be divided in to separate paragraphs.

The dates, sums and numbers shall be expressed in a pleading in figures as well as in words.

Order 6 rule 4 states that, the particulars other than in Rule 2, should be mentioned in the pleading wherever it is necessary. Like in cases where the pleading relies upon the party’s misrepresentation, fraud, breach of start trust, willful default or undue influence, it should be mentioned in the pleading.

Order 6 rule 14 States that the pleading should be signed by the party or pleader who in the absence of the party unable of signing the pleading, shall sign the same or sue or defend on his behalf.

PARTICULARS TO BE CONTAINED IN A PLAINT:

Order 7 (rule 1 to 8) of the civil procedure code lays down certain particulars that should be added or omitted for the constitution of a valid plaint:

GROUNDS FOR REJECTION OF PLAINT?

1. If a plaint does not disclose the cause of action:

If the plaint filled by the plaintiff, doesn’t specify any cause of action, the court will reject such a plaint, by only looking at the plaint.

The court can reject plaint on this basis only if it reaches to the conclusion that after all the allegation are set out, the plaintiff is not entitled to any relief.

A plaint shall be rejected wholly if the case of action is not defined, it cannot be rejected partly.

2. LOCUS STANDI:

The basis of filing a suit is locus standi.

The term means that one needs to show that some legitimate right of the individual has been damaged, and such infringement has brought some damages to the individual.

If there is no locus standi then no suit can be brought, as it provides the grounds which were abused which lead to the institution of suit.

3. Relief claim is undervalued:

When the relief claimed is undervalued and the valuation of the claim is not corrected or extended by the court, the plaint will be rejected.

4. Insufficiently stamped:

Sometimes the relief claimed by the plaintiff is written on paper insufficiently stamped and the plaintiff on failing to pay the court fees within the time fixed or extended by the court, the plaint can be rejected.

If the plaintiff cannot pay the court fees, he may apply to continue the suit as an indigent person.

5. Suit barred by law:

If the statements in the plaint show that the suit is barred by any law, the court will reject the plaint.

If plaint itself shows that the claim is barred by limitation, the plaint can be rejected.

6. Plaint not in duplicate:

According to order 4 rule 1, every suit shall be instituted by presenting a plaint in duplicate. If such a requirement is not fulfilled then the plaint can be rejected.

7. Non compliance with statutory provisions:

plaintiff cannot then appeal against the court on returning the plaint.

REMEDIES ON RETURN OF PLAINT:

Plaintiff may file a new suit.

Plaintiff may amend the plaint.

Plaintiff may file an appeal. (Only first appeal can be filled against the order of return.)

WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN RETURN AND REJACTION OF PLAINT?

Rejection of plaint Return of plaint

In this the rules of drafting and the construction of plaint is mistaken.

In this the jurisdiction of trying the suit is absent for the court. The drafting of the plaint may be right.

Rejection of plaint can be through application or Suo Moto.

2. Return of plaint is always Suo Moto.

In case of rejection of plaint second appeal can be filled.

3. In return of plaint second appeal is not allowed.

Order rejecting plaint amounts to decree.

4. Order returning plaint is not a decree.

Revision on rejection of plaint cannot be filled.

5. In returning plaint revision can be filled.

It is not exhausted in nature.

6. It is exhausted in nature.