Order VI CPC: Pleadings Generally

Order VI of Code of Civil Procedure: Pleadings Generally

Official Bare Act Text

Override / Mandate Court Discretion Procedural Action Non-Compliance Limitation Monetary

Rule 1. Pleading

'Pleading' shall mean plaint or written statement.

Rule 2. Pleading to state material facts and not evidence

(1)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.

(2)Every pleading shall, when necessary, be divided into paragraphs, numbered consecutively, each paragraph containing as nearly as may be a separate allegation.

(3)Dates, sums and numbers shall be expressed in a pleading in figures as well as in words.

Rule 4. Particulars to be given where necessary

In all cases in which the party pleading relies on any misrepresentation, fraud, breach of trust, wilful default, or undue influence, and in all other cases in which particulars may be necessary beyond such as are exemplified in the forms aforesaid, particulars (with dates and items if necessary) shall be stated in the pleading.

Rule 14. Pleading to be signed

Every pleading shall be signed by the party and his pleader (if any):

Provided that where a party pleading is, by reason of absence or for other good cause, unable to sign the pleading, it may be signed by any person duly authorized by him to sign the same or to sue or defend on his behalf.

Rule 15. Verification of pleadings

(1)Save as otherwise provided by any law for the time being in force, every pleading shall be verified at the foot by the party or by one of the parties pleading or by some other person proved to the satisfaction of the Court to be acquainted with the facts of the case.

(2)The person verifying shall specify, by reference to the numbered paragraphs of the pleading, what he verifies of his own knowledge and what he verifies upon information received and believed to be true.

(3)The verification shall be signed by the person making it and shall state the date on which and the place at which it was signed.

(4)The person verifying the pleading shall also furnish an affidavit in support of his pleadings.

Rule 16. Striking out pleadings

The Court may at any stage of the proceedings order to be struck out or amended any matter in any pleading which may be unnecessary, scandalous, frivolous or vexatious, or which may tend to prejudice, embarrass or delay the fair trial of the suit, or which is otherwise an abuse of the process of the Court.

Rule 17. Amendment of pleadings

The Court may at any stage of the proceedings allow either party to alter or amend his pleadings in such manner and on such terms as may be just, and all such amendments shall be made as may be necessary for the purpose of determining the real questions in controversy between the parties:

Provided that no application for amendment shall be allowed after the trial has commenced, unless the Court comes to the conclusion that in spite of due diligence, the party could not have raised the matter before the commencement of trial.

Rule 18. Failure to amend after order

If a party who has obtained an order for leave to amend does not amend accordingly within the time limited for that purpose by the order, or if no time is thereby limited, then within fourteen days from the date of the order, he shall not be permitted to amend after the expiration of such limited time as aforesaid or of such fourteen days (as the case may be), unless the time is extended by the Court.

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Order VI

Order VI of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 establishes the fundamental rules of civil pleading, regulating the Statement of Truth and the strict standards governing the amendment of pleadings under Rule 17.

Procedural Rule & Jurisdiction: Rule 17 empowers the court to allow either party to alter or amend their pleadings at any stage of the proceedings on such terms as may be just.
Exceptions & Statutory Safeguards: However, the Proviso inserted in 2002 restricts this power: 'Provided that no application for amendment shall be allowed after the trial has commenced, unless the Court comes to the conclusion that in spite of due diligence, the party could not have raised the matter before the commencement of trial.' This proviso curtails tactical trial delays.

Once the plaintiff files their witness affidavit in lieu of examination-in-chief, the court cannot entertain an amendment application unless the applicant demonstrates that the facts could not have been discovered earlier despite due diligence.

Key Landmark Precedents:

Life Insurance Corpn. of India v. Sanjeev Builders (P) Ltd., 2022 SCC OnLine SC 1128: The Supreme Court laid down exhaustive principles governing Order VI Rule 17: pre-trial amendments should be allowed liberally if they do not cause injustice or substitute a completely new cause of action; post-trial amendments require proof of due diligence under the proviso.
Vidyabai v. Padmalatha, (2009) 2 SCC 409: The Supreme Court held that the proviso to Order VI Rule 17 is mandatory; once trial has commenced (upon filing of affidavits in lieu of examination-in-chief under Order XVIII Rule 4), the court has no jurisdiction to allow an amendment without a finding of due diligence.
Revajeetu Builders & Developers v. Narayanaswamy & Sons, (2009) 10 SCC 84: The Court articulated six foundational tests for permitting amendments to pleadings.

Legal Commentary:

Under *Vidyabai*, the commencement of trial is the jurisdictional watershed for Order VI Rule 17. Once the plaintiff files their witness affidavit in lieu of examination-in-chief, the court cannot entertain an amendment application unless the applicant demonstrates that the facts could not have been discovered earlier despite due diligence.

Order VI: Pleadings Generally