This article is written by VAIBHAV SINGH, Student of BALLB (3rd year) of ASIAN LAW COLLEGE during his internship at Ledroit India.
Abstract
Litigation in court is started and responded through oral and written submissions. The parties to the case must present papers in suitable format and in accordance with the provisions currently in force, whether for a claim or a response (or defence). A pleading is a written document filed by each party in a case. There are four fundamental rules of pleading. This article discusses Fundamental of pleadings with various landmark judgements given by the various courts.
Keywords: Civil Procedure, Pleading, Fact Pleading,facts, material Facts, Concise, precise , Law.
Introduction
In criminal cases, the police conduct all of the research and investigation and submit the FIR, or First Information Report, to the court, after which the case proceed. In civil cases, however, the representatives on either side must prepare their sides of arguments based on the facts of the case and submit it to the court, after which the case proceeds. Criminal cases do include arguments and pleadings, however, the paperwork is typically handled by the police, and the advocate just takes it a step further to establish evidence and prove his/her client’s innocence or injury. In civil proceedings, the pleadings are far more detailed, and the advocates perform the entirety of the work. In the wider context, this work is referred as pleading. Pleadings are generally arguments and evidence that advocates bring before a court in a civil case.
What Is Pleading?
The word “plead” often refers to a request or request made in an emotional or humble manner. This request can be made orally, in writing, or in any other form that represents the request being made by one before another person or entity in a position to consider, grant, or reject such request. In general, the content of such a request is referred to as pleading.
According to Mogha[1], “Pleadings are statements in writing drawn up and filed by each party to a case, explaining what his contentions will be at the trial and giving all such details as his opponent needs to know in order to prepare his case in answer”.
Rule 1 of Order VI of CPC defines pleading; it states that pleading means either a plaint or a written statement. A plaintiff’s pleading is his plaint, which is a statement of claim in which the plaintiff outlines and particularises his cause of action. The defendant’s pleading is his written statement; it is a defence in which the defendant addresses every charge raised by the plaintiff in the plaint as well as any other information that may assist the defendant in the case.
Fundamental Rules Of Pleading
Order VI sub-rule 1 of the rule 2 of the CPC lays down the fundamental or basic of pleading. This rule is regarded as the golden rule of pleading because it specifies the general caution that a litigant must exercise while drafting his pleading. It states that “Every pleading shall contain, and contain only a statement in a concise form of the material facts on which the party pleading relies for his claim or defence as the case may be, but not the evidence by which they are to be proved”
From the abovementioned definition. It can be derived that:
- A pleading shall contain, only a statement of facts, and not Law.
- A pleading shall contain all material facts and material facts only.
- A pleading shall state only the facts on which the party pleading relies and not the evidence by which they are to be proved.
- A pleading shall state such material facts concisely, but with precision and certainty.
- A pleading shall contain, only a statement of facts, and not Law
It is the First fundamental rule of pleading which says that a pleading shall contain and contain only the statement of the facts not laws related to it. The parties should not introduce legal arguments, but rather explain the facts from which such legal conclusions may logically flow and which the court will take judicial notice. Thus, pleading that the defendant’s act was unlawful, that the defendant was negligent, or that the defendant was legally required to perform a specific contract would be improper.
The honourable court ruled in the matter of Kedar Lal v. Hari Lal[2] that the parties to civil proceedings are simply need to establish the material facts on which their claim is founded, and the Court will apply the law appropriately. In Ram Prasad v. State of M.P[3], it was ruled by the court that a mixed question of law and fact should be specifically pleaded in the fact. Again, in the case of Union of India v. Sita Ram Jaiswal[4], the Court declared that a question of law that must be supported by facts must be pleaded with the necessary fact.
- A pleading shall contain all material facts and material facts only.
The second basic rule is to present facts which are material only. Immaterial facts will not be taken into account. There is no specific definition of the expression ‘material fact’ given either in the CPC or any other law. As a consequence, the question arises that what’s the actual scope or meaning of the term “material Fact”. In Udhav Singh v. Madhav Rao Scindia[5] , the Supreme Court defined material facts as “all the primary facts that must be presented at trial by a party to establish the existence of a cause of action or his defence.”
- A pleading shall state only the facts on which the party pleading relies and not the evidence by which they are to be proved.
According to the third fundamental rule of pleadings, the evidence must be omitted from the pleadings, according to this rule. In other words, the party is not required to discuss the documentary evidence or witnesses that it intends to present before the court to be used against the opposing party. This is done to ensure the fairness of a trial and the security of the evidence.
According to jurisprudence, there are two kinds of facts
Facta Probanda
Facta Probantia
The pleadings should only include the Facta Probanda, or the case’s important facts. The material facts on which the plaintiff relies his claim or the defendant builds his defence are referred to as the Facta Probanda. The plaint or written statement must include the Facta Probanda. However, the evidence used to prove the material facts, known as Facta Probantia, does not need to be mentioned in pleadings. They are not the fact at question, but rather the essential facts that must be proven at trial in order to establish the facts of the issue.
- A pleading shall state such material facts concisely, but with precision and certainty.
The last and final basic or fundamental rule, it states that the pleadings must be brief, unambiguous, and capable of just one interpretation that the pleader intended to convey.
The pleading should not only be brief but also precise. Although the pleading must be brief, it must be accurate and certain. Pleadings must be clear and definite, and clarity should not be sacrificed for conciseness. However, this does not imply that the facts that must be provided are so concise that they lose significance in the pleadings. If the pleadings lack accuracy, the fundamental purpose and aims of pleading to discover the real issue of controversy is defeated. The golden rule of pleading is to describe the facts in such a way that key items are not left out and irrelevant things are not included in the pleading.
The Hon’ble Supreme Court remarked in Virendra Kashinath v. Vinayak N. Joshi[6] observed that pleadings must be concise and niggling should be avoided. However, this does not imply that vital facts must be removed or overlooked in the pursuit of brevity.
Conclusion
As previously stated, pleadings are the foundation of a trial. It is the foundation upon which a party’s case is built. The proper drafting of pleadings determines the case’s outcome. The Plaint is the plaintiff’s pleading, while the Written Statement is the defendant’s response to the claims in the plaint. The plaint may also be changed, according to the above-mentioned restrictions and prerequisites.
‘Plead facts, not law,’ are four words that can clearly summarise the rule of pleading. Both sides’ counsel should simply project the facts of their individual cases rather than making suggestions about the applicable laws.
[1] Mogha’s Law of Pleadings (1983) at p. I
[2] AIR 1952 SC 47 at p. 51: 1952 SCR 179.
[3] SCC 24: AIR 1970 SC 1818.
[4] 4 SCC 505: AIR 1977 SC 329.
[5] 1976 AIR 744, 1976 SCR (2) 246
[6] (1999) 1 SCC 47
