WRITTEN STATEMENT & AMENDMENT OF PLEADINGS

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This article is written by Tamanna Pasi, an intern under Legal Vidhiya.

INTRODUCTION:

The procedural rules that must be followed by our nation’s civil courts are set down in the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908[1]. It specifies the procedures to be followed in civil cases. The 158 sections of the Code include substantive legislation, and its 51 orders make up the actual procedural parts of the Code. Order VI provides for the rules of pleadings in general. It provides for certain requisites that must be kept in mind while the proceeding is being conducted. Order VII provides for the requisites of a plaint and Order VIII of the Code of Civil Procedure contains the counterclaims, setoffs, and written statements. In a civil lawsuit, a written statement is essential. The defendant must provide a written statement in response to the plaint used to start a lawsuit. The submission of the written statement is subject to several requirements under Order VIII, as well as penalties for failure to file. In case there is a requirement as felt by the parties to amend the pleading, the provision for the same is provided under Order VI Rule 17.

MEANING:

A written statement is a reply filed by the defendant in a response to a plaint filed by the plaintiff. It is basically the pleading of the defendant. The written statement deals with every material fact that has been provided in the plaint and specifically provides a response to each allegation as framed in the plaint. It may also state new facts in favour of the defendant, raising legal objections against the plaintiff. The matter shall, however, be concise and contain only facts in defence of the defendant and not the evidence proving such facts. It should be drafted carefully and artistically, after examining the plaint and may include defences maintainable at law.

IMPORTANCE AND OBJECTIVE:

The written statements play a significant role in representing the defendant. It is based on the principle of natural justice – audi alteram partem which means ‘to hear the other side.’ Through the written statement, the defendant puts forward his defence and either accepts or denies specifically, all the allegations imposed on him.

The object of the written statement is to find out the real points in dispute between the parties, in order to prevent the fabrication of false evidence or the unnecessary production of evidence.

It was held in the case of Kishori Lal v. Chaltibai[2], it was held by the Hon’ble Court that “a case different than the one pleaded in the written statement cannot be set up for trial.”

WHO MAY FILE AND WHEN SHALL IT BE FILED?

The written statement may be filed by the defendant or his duly constituted agent within thirty days from the service of the summons. The period shall however be extended to 90 days when a sufficient cause is provided by the defendant and the court is satisfied that the defendant had reasonable cause for such extension.

However, in the case of Kailash v. Nankhu[3], the Court concluded that “Just because a legal requirement is framed in language that implies it is necessary does not mean it applies without exceptions. When interpreting a provision, the courts may decide that it is directive even if it is written in the negative form, considering the complete legislative history of the law.”

GENERAL RULES:

The rules provided for the filing of the written statement have been provided in Order VIII. They are as follows:

According to Order VIII Rule 1, when the defendant receives the summons informing him that a lawsuit has been brought against him:
A Written statement must be filed by him within a period of 30 days from the date he has received such summon. However, if he fails to do so, the time may be extended up to 90 days by the court, with some costs. The reason for such delay shall be recorded by the court.
If after such period of 120 days from the service of summons, the defendant fails to file a written statement, the right of the defendant to submit the same shall be forfeited by the court and the judgment shall be pronounced.
Order VIII Rule 1 A discusses the preservation and presentation of the document on which the defendant is relying. This regulation states that the defendant must provide the document that forms the basis of his or her defence to the court upon the day that the written statement is filed, together with a duplicate copy of the original. The document may be relevant to the counterclaim or set-off. The defendant must specify who is in possession of the document if it does not exist in his possession. The court may forbid the defendant to introduce that document as evidence in the litigation without the court’s permission if he fails to deliver it at the time of submitting the statement.
The new facts that are to be pled are covered by Order VIII Rule 2. The rule states that in order to prove that the lawsuit cannot be upheld or that the transaction at issue was done under a void or voidable contract, among other things, the defendant must have brought forward material case-related information. These facts will aid the defendant in winning the lawsuit since they may be connected to fraud, limitation, and other issues.
Order VIII Rule 3 states that, with the exception of when denying liability for damages, the defendant’s written denial must be specific.
Rule 3A of Order VIII provides that if the defendant is admitting a fact, he may present a broad response; but, if he refuses to admit a fact, he must explain why he is contesting that particular fact. This rule also applies if the defendant contests the court’s authority to hear the matter. He must have given explicit justifications for that.
Order VIII Rule 4 talks about evasive denial and states that the defendant must provide a clear and understandable denial of any truth when making a denial. For instance, if the defendant wishes to dispute that he got a certain sum of money as claimed in the plaint, he must have asserted that he did not get the entire amount or any portion thereof. He must have indicated how much he received if he received the money but not the specific amount that is claimed.
Order VIII Rule 5 provides that if the defendant fails to consider the essential implications or simply states that the assertion stated in the plaint is not acknowledged, it will be assumed that the defendant has agreed to the facts stated in the plaint. This rule is not applicable to people with disabilities. The rule clearly states that the defendant must have provided a particular explanation that why he is denying it. The regulation further stipulates that the court may base its decision on the facts included in the plaintiff’s plaint if the defendant failed to timely present his written statement to the court. Disabled individuals are not covered by this rule. Additionally, the plaintiff may be required to submit proof of the factual allegations made in the plaint by the court. Even if the defendant wasn’t able to submit his statement, the court will nevertheless issue the decree after delivering the verdict in court.
Order VIII Rule 7 provides for separate grounds for set-off: If the defendant filed a set-off that is based on distinct grounds, the defendant was required to have indicated those grounds in the written statement.
Order VIII Rule 8 talks about arising new grounds of defence. After filing the plaint, written statement, set-off, or counterclaim, if any new grounds for the defence of the plaintiff or defendant arise, the parties may include that information in the written statement submitted by both of them.
The plaintiff or defendant cannot file a written statement in a subsequent court hearing to assert a counterclaim or a set-off defence unless the court specifically forbids it under certain circumstances. The court may set a deadline of 30 days for them to submit an additional written statement as provided by Rule 9.
If the parties don’t submit their written statements within the limitation period, the court has the authority to issue a judgement under Order VIII Rule 10. If a party fails, the court will issue a ruling against them and may potentially issue a decree to end the conflict. The ruling further stated that no court may order an extension of the deadline for submitting a written statement. Also, it was decided that the rules of rule 10 are not essential rather than mandatory in Salem Advocate Bar Association v. Union of India[4].

The Supreme Court ruled in Badat & Co. v. East India Trading Co.[5] that “Rules 3, 4 and 5 together have the effect of requiring that every accusation in the plaint be traversed. Written responses should substantively address the issue. The fact shall be deemed to have been conceded if the denial is evasive.”

The Supreme Court held in Balraj Taneja v. Sunil Madan[6] that courts should proceed cautiously when considering an admission stated in a written statement. Simply because a written statement wasn’t filed, the courts shouldn’t proceed to issue a ruling. Courts should be aware that regardless of whether the allegations in the plaint are upheld, a decision might still be rendered in the plaintiff’s favour without any of the allegations being proved.

SET – OFF

An argument made by the defendant towards the plaintiff in a written statement is known as a set-off. In a cross-claim between a plaintiff and a defendant, known as a set-off, the plaintiff is contractually required to pay the defendant the amount claimed. It is provided under Order VIII Rule 6. The purpose of the set-off is to prevent an institution of a new suit, and multiple suits between the parties and save the valuable time of the hon’ble court.

According to the Supreme Court’s definition of set-off in Jayanti Lal v. Abdul Aziz[7], it is the cancellation of obligations owed by two people to one another based on their shared creditor and debtor relationships.

The essentials of set-off in a written statement are:

The plaintiff’s lawsuit must be intended to recover money.
The amount of the defendant’s set-off demand must be specified.
The defendant’s written declaration includes money that must be retrieved through the judicial system. For instance, the defendant is not permitted to claim any winnings from a wager with the plaintiff.
The defendant’s claim cannot be for more money than the court would allow. It simply implies that each court has a financial threshold over which it may only hear matters involving that amount of money. The defendant is not permitted to assert his set-off since it is outside the court’s financial purview.
Rule 6F of Order VIII states that the court may issue the judgement to pay any outstanding amounts owed to the plaintiff or defendant after resolving the set-off and counterclaim in the lawsuit.
Order VIII Rule 6G provides that all regulations pertaining to the written statement must be included in the written statement that the plaintiff files in response to the counterclaim.

COUNTER-CLAIM:

The Counter-claim is covered by Order VIII Rule 6A. It states that any claim or right arising from the plaintiff’s cause of action may be added by the defendant. This cause of action may have arisen before the plaintiff’s lawsuit was instituted or may have done so subsequently. This assertion is referred to as a counterclaim. Because the defendant might have filed a new lawsuit for this specific cause of action, the counter-claim was placed in the written statement to avoid several lawsuits from being filed, which would have wasted time for the court and the parties.

The essentials of a counter-claim include:

The scope of the court’s pecuniary jurisdiction should not be exceeded.
Cross-suit is the term used for a counterclaim. It permits the court to declare the verdict in a straightforward lawsuit and counterclaim.
The court gives the plaintiff time to present a written statement in the event of a counterclaim.
The counter-claim is regarded the same as a plaint, and it must abide by all the plaint’s provisions.

Rules for Counterclaim are:

According to Rule 6B, the defendant should have explained the basis for the counterclaim he is relying on in the lawsuit.
In accordance with Rule 6C, the plaintiff may ask the court to keep the counterclaim separate from the lawsuit and to resolve it separately. Upon the plaintiff’s request for the counterclaim to be excluded, the court may do so if it deems it appropriate.
According to rule 6D, the counterclaim will not be affected if the plaintiff’s lawsuit is dismissed or abandoned. The counterclaim will be treated as a plaint by the court.
As per rule 6E, in the event that the plaintiff is unable to refute the defendant’s counterclaim, the court may grant the defendant’s request for a judgement.

According to the Supreme Court’s ruling in Ramesh Chand v. Anil Panjwani[8], the defendant may submit a counterclaim against co-defendants if he also files one against the plaintiff. However, the defendant may not file a counterclaim against co-defendants alone without also filing one against the plaintiff.

In Ashok Kumar Kalra v. Wing Commander Surendra Agnihotri[9], the Supreme Court determined that Order VIII Rule 6A does not prohibit the filing of a counterclaim following the submission of a written statement. Rule 6A’s restrictions only apply to the accrual of a cause of action. It indicates that the legal basis for submitting a counterclaim must arise before the written statement is submitted, however, the counterclaim may still be submitted after the written statement. The Supreme Court did issue a warning, noting that the defendant does not have a complete right to file a counterclaim with significant delay. The court ruled that the last day to bring a counterclaim is when the problems are defined. Counterclaims cannot be made after the problems have been framed.

AMENDMENT OF PLEADINGS:

The Civil Court is empowered under the Provision Relating to Amendment of Pleadings to permit Parties to Alter, Amend, or modify the pleadings. Order 6 Rule 17 outlines the provisions for amending pleadings. However, the court will only permit a modification if it is required to resolve the dispute between the parties. This clause’s goal is to further justice’s purposes, not to subvert the law.

The Proviso of Order 6 Rule 17 states that the court will not allow the application of amendment after the trial has been commenced unless the court concludes that the party failed to bring forth the pertinent information prior to the trial’s start. This proviso allows the court freedom to determine whether to accept pleas after the Trial has started.

In Gurdial Singh v. Raj Kumar Aneja[10], the court ruled that anybody requesting a pleadings revision shall specify what needs to be changed, updated, or modified in the initial pleadings.

According to the court’s ruling in the case of Rajesh Kumar Aggarwal & Ors v. K.K. Modi & Ors[11], an amendment of pleadings consists of two parts:

The term “may” in the first clause provides the court with the option to admit or deny the application of pleadings.
The word “shall” in the second section of the clause directs the civil court to grant pleadings application if it is required to resolve the actual issues that are in dispute between the parties.

The court’s principal motivation for granting a request for the amendment of a pleading is to uphold the rule of law and guard against unfairness to other parties. This modification is also required to identify the actual issues that the parties are disagreeing on. The parties can remedy any errors in their pleadings by amending them. In the case of Cropper v. Smith[12], the court ruled that the purpose of amending pleadings is to preserve the parties’ interests rather than to hold them accountable for a mistake they made in the pleadings.

In Rajesh Kumar Aggarwal v. K.K. Modi[13], it was held that the case should be tried based on merit and that pleadings amendments should be permitted when doing so does not unfairly disadvantage one party over the other in disputes between the parties.

The Supreme Court in Smt. Ganga Bai v. Vijay Kumar[14] held that the amendment at any point must be done so in the interests of justice. Similarly to this, in M/s Ganesh Trading Co. V. Maoji Ram[15] it was held that the amendment must be granted if it is required to uphold the rule of law without undermining justice’s objectives.

The Amendment can be granted in the following instances:

This leave should not cause the other party to suffer unfairly.
The purpose of the amendment of this pleading is to clarify the main point of contention between the parties.
When the circumstances of the case will alter and an application for an appeal modification will be permitted.
When an amendment is applied and a new cause of action results.
When the statute of limitations is violated by amendments of pleadings.
When the application for a modification is filed, many lawsuits are avoided.
When parties are incorrectly described in the plaint or written declarations.
When the claimant fails to include certain properties in the plaint.

The amendment can be refused in the following instances:

When a request to change, the pleadings are not required to address the actual issue in dispute between the parties, the court will reject the application.
When a request for pleading modification results in the presentation of a completely new case, it is refused.
When the Defendant or Plaintiff is careless.
If the proposed change or modification is unfair.
When a request for pleading amendments would violate another party’s legal rights or treat them unfairly, the request would be rejected.
When granting leave to amend will cause unneeded complexities in the case, it is declined.
When the parties to the lawsuit file the lawsuit with unreasonable delay, leave to amend is denied.
When a request for an amendment modifies the nature of the conflicts, it is rejected.
If a request to change the pleadings is submitted with malicious purpose, the court will not approve it.
The parties are given multiple chances to request pleading amendments. However, they did not apply.

The Supreme Court held in L.J. Leach & Co. Ltd. v. Jardine Skinner & Co[16] that if the Limitation Act prohibits it, the court may reject the application of amendment of pleadings. However, the court has the authority to grant this motion in order to further the interests of justice. The limitation may be a reason for rejecting the application, but if the court determines that an adjustment is required, it may grant the application.

CONCLUSION:

Every civil case is built on pleadings. Pleadings might take the form of a written statement or a plaint. The written statement is a representation of the defendant’s side of the case. The defendant answers to all the allegations mentioned in the plaint and he may also mention a counter-claim or a set-off for the same suit.

The term “amendment of pleadings” refers to the change, alterations, and amendment of initial pleadings through a court application. The court accepts applications for pleading revision in order to prevent the proliferation of lawsuits. However, it is true that pleadings’ amendments are a significant factor in the judicial system’s delay. The court ought to grant requests for amendments submitted in good faith and resolve the issue in dispute between the parties. The court should not grant a request that is submitted to delay the proceedings or act in bad faith. The provision allowing for amendments to pleadings is excellent for fixing errors in pleadings, but it must be used carefully and diligently.

[1] The Code of Civil Procedure, 1908.

[2] AIR 1959 SC 504.

[3] (2005) 4 SCC 480.

[4] AIR 2003 SC 189.

[5] AIR 1964 SC 538.

[6] (1999) 8 SCC 396.

[7] AIR 1956 Pat 199

[8] AIR 2003 SC 2508

[9] 2019 (16) SCALE 544

[10] (2002) 2 SCC 445.

[11] (2006) 4 SCC 385.

[12] (1884) 26 Chd. 700.