The article is written by Tarini Aleti of Pendekanti Law College pursuing 3rd Year BA. LL.B, during her internship at Ledroit India.
Introduction
Think of a courtroom where the plaintiff abruptly stands up and says: “Your Honour, the defendant has broken my mirror and he shall compensate. Whilst the defendant argues, stating something entirely different, akin to, “No, your honour, I have never borrowed money from the plaintiff”. And now everything became chaotic, the Hon’ble judge got perplexed, doesn’t even know what the cause of action is, whether there was property damage or whether it was a loan dispute? And one party stating his own facts as per his convenience other is saying something else other than the cause of the issue. The courtroom becomes chaotic, and justice becomes impossible. this would really reflect the maxim, which states justice delayed is justice denied.
Hence, to dispose of this issue, the doctrine of pleadings is necessary. Pleadings ensure that each party states its case in writing beforehand, so that the court knows what dispute it must resolve, and the opposite party gets a fair chance to deny those allegations.
Therefore, in the absence of proper pleadings, the entire judicial process would become directionless and uncertain, with a culture of adjourns, procedural delays, and potential miscarriage of justice. Accordingly, pleas and written statements help fulfil the maxim: “justice delayed is justice denied”. By clearly identifying issues ab initio, pleadings help courts conduct faster, and ensure a fair trial. As held in Thorp v. Holdsworth (1876) 3 Ch D 637, by Jessel M R., the primary object of pleadings is “to bring the parties to an issue and to prevent surprises at trial by narrowing the controversy to the precise questions which the court must decide.”
Meaning of the term Pleadings:
The term pleadings is an evolved form of the old French words and late Latin placitum, which means a plea or a lawsuit. Literally, the term plead means “to argue a case”. Accordingly, pleadings comprise of respective contentions of the parties in a dispute which are reduced into writing.
Sir Dinshaw Fardunji Mulla: Pleadings are statements in writing of the parties’ contentions, filed in Court, stating the material facts on which each party relies for their case.
The Statutory definition under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, which is provided in Order VI Rule 1, states that pleading shall mean a plaint or written statement.
Under Civil law, there exist two primary pleadings:
- Plaint – which is filed by the plaintiff
- Written Statement – which is filed by the defendant, contending the allegations in the plaint.
It is to clarify that the terms pleading and pleadings appear similar; nonetheless, they carry different meanings in legal usage. The word pleading (in singular form) refers to a formal written statement submitted by a party before the court, which may be either the plaint filed by the plaintiff or the written statement submitted by the defendant.
Pleadings = Plaint + Written Statement
In contrast, the term pleadings (in plural form) denotes collectively both of these statements as they lay a complete factual foundation of the suit.
Pleading = Plaint / Written Statement
Pleadings commence with the filing of the plaint, as stated under Section 26 of the CPC, which states that every suit shall be instituted by the presentation of a plaint. The written statement is served after the summons is issued by the court, as per orders V and VIII of the CPC. If the defendant doesn’t appear or file any written statement, then the court can proceed ex parte as per Order VIII Rule 10 of CPC. Even in ex parte proceedings, pleadings are not absent but merely stand unrebutted, as the plaint itself constitutes a pleading under Order VI Rule 1. CPC. There is no legal requirement that a Written statement must be filed for pleadings to exist.
Object and purpose of Pleadings: A tool for a fair trial
The doctrine of Pleadings plays a vital role in ensuring procedural fairness in civil proceedings. The primary purpose of pleadings is to specify the actual issues at dispute between the parties and to limit the litigation to these issues alone. In Trojan and Co. v Nagappa, AIR 1953 SC 235, the Hon’ble Supreme Court reiterated that the whole adjudicatory process should be strictly restricted to the pleadings of the parties, meaning that the Court cannot provide relief on a case which was not pleaded.
Pleadings are the ground basis upon which the structure of a civil trial is based upon. They make sure that no party is caught unawares and each is given a reasonable time to present his side hence the most crucial concept of natural justice- audi alteram partem (hear the other side). In Udhav Singh v. In (1976) 2 SCC 95, the Supreme Court noted that the purpose of pleadings is to provide the opponent with reasonable notice regarding the case to be confronted to in order to do away with the element of surprise during trial. Pleadings therefore serve the purpose of ensuring that there is no procedural unfairness as well as facilitating openness in the proceedings.
Pleadings doctrine also averts the ambush litigation, in which a party tries to present a fresh case in the evidence or argument stage. In Bachhaj Nahar v. The Supreme Court in Nilima Mandal, (2008) 17 SCC 491 unanimously said that no evidence made out on a fact that is not pleaded can be utilized and that no judgment can be made on issues that do not come about owing to pleadings. This judicial insistence makes more solid the idea that parties have to adopt a clear position in the very beginning of the proceedings and stick to it.
Essentially, the doctrine of pleadings constitutes and implements the main aspects of natural justice, judicial economy, and litigation justice. It brings certainty, does away with surprise, and narrows down the investigation process to the exact areas of dispute that need resolution. Pleadings thus are not just the formalities of procedure, but they are essential elements of a fair, efficient and just resolution of civil disputes.
Basic Rules of Pleading:
Despite the fact that pleadings are considered to be the cornerstones of civil adjudication, they have to be legal in order to comply with some rules that are required. These regulations make pleadings clear, concise and able to take the judicial process through. The rule that governs this is Order VI Rule 2 of Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, which provides that the pleadings should include only material facts, this should be in concise form and not the facts that will be used to prove the material facts.
The initial and the most important rule is that there is a need to plead facts, but not the law. The parties must put forward the facts on which they base their claim or defence, whereas the Court applies the relevant legal principles. A defective pleading occurs where material facts are not pleaded. Sopan Sukhdeo Sable v. the Supreme Court. This was reiterated in Assistant Charity Commissioner, (2004) 3 SCC 137 since the pleading lacks material facts and no actionable cause has been proved.
Second, pleadings ought to include material facts and not all the details and stories. Material facts refer to facts which are necessary to prove a partying to be successful. It is important to differentiate between material facts and the irrelevant background because oversaturated pleadings undermine the clarity of the law and the judicial process uses too much time.
Third, the evidence should not be provided in pleadings. The evidences are later presented in the form of affidavits, witness depositions, and documents. The pleadings are a mere blue print on what should be proven. Virendra Kashinath Ravat versus. The Supreme Court, said that pleadings must not be a depository of evidence but only reflect the substantive facts creating either the cause of action or the defence.
Fourthly, pleadings must be definite, clear and unambiguous. Unclear pleadings lead to confusion and frustration of the purpose of finding out problems. Order VI Rule 4 CPC also stipulates that specific facts like fraud, misrepresentation, undue influence, malice and special damages should also be pleaded with detailed particulars in order that the other party can be able to prepare effective defence.
Fifthly, the pleadings should be consistent. Contradictory positions in the pleadings of parties are not allowed, but alternative pleadings are allowed provided that they are not mutually destructive. Kishan Chand v. the Supreme Court. In Ganpat Ram,, it was established that lack of coordination in pleadings is enough to discredit and ruin the fairness of the trial.
Sixthly, the pleadings should be signed and validated as per Order VI Rules 14-15 CPC. Checking will provide accountability and prohibit inaccurate or irresponsible accusations and enhance procedural integrity.
Lastly, the pleadings can be corrected, except within the confines of the Order VI Rule 17 CPC, where they are required to serve the best interest of full and final adjudication of the case, and they do not give any undue advantage to the other party.
Therefore, the pleadings rules at work are to ensure that the pleadings are only concise, truthful, coherent, and sufficient with reference to the law, which promotes the right to a fair trial of the parties as well as administrative efficiency of the courts.
Significance of Pleadings in India:
It is under the doctrines of pleadings that one finds an extreme importance in the Indian legal system and especially in adversarial litigation where each party should be well known of the case that it has to satisfy. Pleadings guarantee procedural discipline, facilitate the judiciary process and guard the constitutional right of fair trial under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.
Certainty and transparency in adjudication is one of the greatest benefits of pleadings. Once the plaintiff presents the cause of action clearly and the defendant presents the defence clearly, the exact extent of the argument is identified in the pre-trial stage already. This allows the Court to pose correct issues under Order XIV CPC, and this saves the Court unnecessary investigation into matters that do not bring any benefit. This saves judicial time thereby saving congestion of caseloads on already overstretched Indian courts.
Pleadings also provide procedural fairness since the other side receives sufficient notice of allegations, which provides enough time to rebut, cross-examine, and carry evidence. This supports the rule of audi alteram partem, one of the fundamental principles of natural justice. Moreover, pleadings are a precaution against litigation of false and frivolous character, because by the obligation of verification, required by the Rule facing Order VI of the Rules of Civil Procedure, the litigants are under an obligation to plead only facts which they think true.
In a country like India, where justice delayed is justice denied, pleadings play a major role in ensuring fast justice by streamlining the controversy, avoiding ambush litigation and limiting the evidence that should be presented in court. It has always been the position of the courts that pleadings are essential to the fair adjudication. As the Supreme Court in State of Maharashtra v. observed. The aim of pleadings, as represented in Hindustan Construction Company Ltd., (2010) 4 SCC 518, is to guarantee that there is clarity, no surprise and delivery of justice to the parties.
Therefore, the importance of pleadings in India goes way beyond just formality, it is a tool of practical justice and it is used to guarantee efficiency, fairness as well as legal certainty throughout the course of justice.
Conclusion:
The Indian system of civil adjudication is anchored on the doctrine of pleadings. It will turn an unorganized charge into a structured and comprehensible conflict, which will allow both sides and the Court to concentrate on issues that really need to be resolved. Pleadings enhance the cause of substantive justice by forcing parties to state the material facts clearly and concisely to eliminate any surprises, ambiguity, and hasten the trial.
As much as the law demands that one should strictly uphold the observance of the rules of pleadings, the Indian courts have considerately come up with exceptions to guarantee that valid rights are not lost at the hands of technical procedures. This rigidity and flexibility also highlight the legal principle where procedure is a handmaid of justice and not its mistress.
Pleading is a crucial weapon in a judicial system characterized by large volumes of delays, pleadings and in such a system, this provision brings justice to life, by the crude text of justices delayed is justice denied. Hence, pleadings are none of the procedural niceties and they are critical towards attaining a fair, effective and just resolution of civil disputes in India.
