Plaint Order 7 CPC || Its meaning, essentials, and particulars, form, etc.

Plaint order 7 CPC

        Plaint is defined in order 7 of CPC. Rules 1 to 8 of Order 7 relate to particulars in a plaint. Rule 9 lays down the procedure for plaint being admitted. Whereas rules 10 to 10-B provide for the return of plaint, power of Court to fix a date of appearance of parties, and power of the appellate Court to transfer suit to the proper Court and rules 11 to 13 deal with the rejection of plaint. Rules 14 to 17 contain provisions for the production of documents. Order 7 should be read with section 26 of the code.

Introduction (Plaint):-

  Particulars of the plaint:-

 Admission of plaint:              

                                   Rule 9 lays down the procedure when the plaint is admitted by the court. It provides for the filling of copies of the plaint by the plaintiff and also requires him to pay requisite fees for the service of summons on the defendants within seven days.

FROM OF THE PLAINT:

                                       As per the above-stated material we can say that the plaint should be drafted in a particular form. So that a plaint can be divided into three important parts such as heading and title, the body of the plaint, and the relief claimed.

These all are discussed in detail below:

    Heading and Title:

1.    Name of the court :

                                The name of the court should be written on the plaint as the heading. It is not necessary to mention the name of the presiding officer of the court. The name of the is sufficient, for example:-  In the Court of the District Judge, Sirsa.

2.     Parties to the suit:

                                      When we talk about parties to suit, there must be two parties in every suit, namely, the plaintiff and the defendant. However, there may be more than one plaintiff, and defendant.  All particulars of the parties such as name, residence, father’s name, age, etc. which are necessary to identify the parties, must be stated in the plaint.

             In the case of more than one party, all of their names have to be mentioned in the plaint according to their pleadings.

    In the case of minors, a minor cannot sue or be sued. If one of the parties is a minor or of unsound mind, it will have to be mentioned in the cause title.

3.     Title of the suit :

                    The title of the suit contains the reasons for approaching the court and the jurisdiction before which the plaint is initiated.

Body of the plaint:

           It is the body of the plaint wherein the plaintiff describes his/her concerns in an elaborative manner. That should be divided into short paragraphs, which each contain one fact. The body of the plaint is divided into two further parts which are as follows:

1.    Formal part:

The formal part contains the following essentials:-

Ø A statement regarding the date of cause of action. It is necessary for every plaint to contain the date when the cause of action arose. The primary objective behind this is to determine the period of limitation.

Ø The plaint must state all the facts showing how the court has pecuniary and territorial jurisdiction over the subject matter of the suit.

Ø The value of the subject matter of the suit must be stated properly for the purpose of the pecuniary jurisdiction of the court and court fees.

Ø Statement regarding minority.

Ø The representative character of the plaintiff.

Ø The reasons why the plaintiff wants to claim exemptions under the law if the suit is initiated after the period of limitation.

2.  Substantial portion:  

                                 In this portion, plaint must contain all the necessary and vital facts, which constitute the suit. If the plaintiff wishes to pursue a cause of action on any other grounds must be duly mentioned.

Ø It should be shown in the plaint that the defendant is interested in the subject matter and therefore must be called upon by the court.

Ø Where defendants are more than one and if the liability is not joint, then the individual liability of each and every defendant must be shown separately.

Ø In the same way, if there is more than one plaintiff and their cause of action is not joint, then too, the same has to be mentioned separately.

Relief:

        Every plaint must state specifically the relief claimed by the plaintiff either simply or in the alternative. It is the last part of the plaint. It must be claimed properly and accurately. Every plaint must state specifically the kind of relief asked for, be it in the form of damages, specific performance or injunction, or damages of any other kind. This must be done with utmost carefulness because the claims in the plaint cannot be backed by oral pleadings.

Signature and verification:

     The signature of the plaintiff is put at the end of the plaint. In case the plaintiff is not present due to any legitimate reason, then the signature of an authorized representative would suffice.

  The plaint should also be duly verified by the plaintiff. Where the plaintiff is unable to do so, his/her representative may do the same after informing the court.  

The plaintiff has to specify against the paragraphs in the pleadings, what he/she has verified by his her own awareness of the facts, and what has been verified as per information received, and subsequently believed to be true. The signature of the plaintiff/verifier, along with the date and the place, at the end of the plaint is essential.

The verification can only be done before a competent court or in front of an Oath Commissioner. 

If you want to read a written statement then click here.
If you like this post then please like and comment.