Rule 1.
Particulars to be contained in plaint
The plaint shall contain the following particulars:—
(a)the name of the Court in which the suit is brought;
(b)the name, description and place of residence of the plaintiff;
(c)the name, description and place of residence of the defendant, so far as they can be ascertained;
(d)where the plaintiff or the defendant is a minor or a person of unsound mind, a statement to that effect;
(e)the facts constituting the cause of action and when it arose;
(f)the facts showing that the Court has jurisdiction;
(g)the relief which the plaintiff claims;
(h)where the plaintiff has allowed a set-off or relinquished a portion of his claim, the amount so allowed or relinquished; and
(i)a statement of the value of the subject-matter of the suit for the purposes of jurisdiction and of court-fees, so far as the case admits.
Rule 2.
In money suits
Where the plaintiff seeks the recovery of money, the plaint shall state the precise amount claimed: But where the plaintiff sues for mesne profits, or for an amount which will be found due to him on taking unsettled accounts, the plaint shall state approximately the amount sued for.
Rule 3.
Where the subject-matter of the suit is immovable property
Where the subject-matter of the suit is immovable property, the plaint shall contain a description of the property sufficient to identify it, and, in case such property can be identified by boundaries or numbers in a record of settlement or survey, the plaint shall specify such boundaries or numbers.
Rule 10.
Return of plaint
(1)Subject to the provisions of rule 10A, the plaint shall at any stage of the suit be returned to be presented to the Court in which the suit should have been instituted.
Explanation — For the removal of doubts, it is hereby declared that a Court of appeal or revision may direct, after setting aside the decree passed in a suit, the return of the plaint, under this sub-rule.
(2)Procedure on returning plaint: On returning a plaint the Judge shall endorse thereon the date of its presentation and return, the name of the party presenting it, and a brief statement of the reasons for returning it.
Rule 10A.
Power of Court to fix a date of appearance in the Court where plaint is to be filed after its return
(1)Where, in any suit, after the defendant has appeared, the Court is of opinion that the plaint should be returned, it shall, before doing so, intimate its decision to the plaintiff.
(2)Where an intimation is given to the plaintiff under sub-rule (1), the plaintiff may make an application to the Court specifying the Court in which he proposes to present the plaint and praying that the Court may fix a date for the appearance of the parties in the said Court.
Rule 11.
Rejection of plaint
The plaint shall be rejected in the following cases:—
(a)where it does not disclose a cause of action;
(b)where the relief claimed is undervalued, and the plaintiff, on being required by the Court to correct the valuation within a time to be fixed by the Court, fails to do so;
(c)where the relief claimed is properly valued, but the plaint is returned upon paper insufficiently stamped, and the plaintiff, on being required by the Court to supply the requisite stamp-paper within a time to be fixed by the Court, fails to do so;
(d)where the suit appears from the statement in the plaint to be barred by any law;
(e)where it is not filed in duplicate;
(f)where the plaintiff fails to comply with the provisions of rule 9:
Provided that the time fixed by the Court for the correction of the valuation or supplying of the requisite stamp-paper shall not be extended unless the Court, for reasons to be recorded, is satisfied that the plaintiff was prevented by any cause of an exceptional nature for correcting the valuation or supplying the requisite stamp-paper, as the case may be, within the time fixed by the Court and that refusal to extend such time would cause grave injustice to the plaintiff.
Rule 12.
Procedure on rejecting plaint
Where a plaint is rejected the Judge shall record an order to that effect with the grounds for such order.
Rule 13.
Where rejection of plaint does not preclude presentation of fresh plaint
The rejection of the plaint on any of the grounds hereinbefore mentioned shall not of its own force preclude the plaintiff from presenting a fresh plaint in respect of the same cause of action.
Rule 14.
Production of document on which plaintiff sues or relies
(1)Where a plaintiff sues upon a document or relies upon document in his possession or power in support of his claim, he shall enter such documents in a list, and shall produce it in Court when the plaint is presented by him and shall, at the same time deliver the document and a copy thereof, to be filed with the plaint.
(2)Where any such document is not in the possession or power of the plaintiff, he shall, wherever possible, state in whose possession or power it is.
(3)A document which ought to be produced in Court by the plaintiff when the plaint is presented, or to be entered in the list to be added or annexed to the plaint but is not produced or entered accordingly, shall not, without the leave of the Court, be received in evidence on his behalf at the hearing of the suit.
(4)Nothing in this rule shall apply to document produced for the cross-examination of the plaintiff's witnesses, or, handed over to a witness merely to refresh his memory.
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Order VII
Order VII of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 regulates the contents and presentation of the Plaint, establishing the vital statutory mechanism for the Rejection of Plaint under Rule 11.
Order VII Rule 11 is the most powerful threshold weapon available to a defendant. If a suit is filed beyond limitation, barred by Section 9 CPC, hit by res judicata on the face of the plaint, or lacks a disclosed cause of action, an application under Order VII Rule 11 should be moved immediately. The court must decide the application on the demurrer, without taking evidence.