Pleadings generally......
Pleadings mean the statement in writing drawn up and filed by either party to the case, stating his contentions which will be taken at the trial stage. "The object of pleadings is to bring the parties to a trial by securing their attention on the matters in dispute so as to narrow the controversy to precise issues and to give notice to parties of the nature of the testimony required on either side in support of respective cases" [Ladli Prasad v. Karnal Distillery Co. AIR 1963 SC 1279]. Order 6 Rule 1 of the Code of Civil Procedure states that, "pleadings shall mean plaint or written statement". In the plaint the plaintiff sets out his cause of action with all necessary particulars and in a written statement the defendant denies every material facts alleged by the plaintiff in the plaint, states any new facts which will tell in his favour adding such legal objections as he wishes to take to the claim. The fundamental or basic rules of pleading can be classified into four heads; viz;
- Every pleading should state the facts and not the law;
- According to O.6 R.2 of the Code, every pleading shall contain all the material facts, and material facts only;
- It must state only the facts as to which the party pleading relies and not the evidence by which they are to be proved; and
- The pleadings must state such facts concisely but with precision and certainty.
Facts and not the Law The first and the most important rule of pleading is that it is not necessary to plead neither the provisions of the law nor the conclusions of the law, in the pleadings. The pleading should be confined to facts only and it is for the judge to draw such an inference from those facts pleaded, as are permissible under the law, of which he is bound to take judicial notice. It is not at all necessary to plead in the plaint the provision under which the suit is being filed because the mentioning of a wrong provision will not prevent the court from granting the reliefs under the correct provision. Material facts The second fundamental principle regarding the pleadings is that every pleading shall contain and contain only a statement of the material facts as which the party pleading relies for his claim or defence. It means that the party pleading must plead all material facts on which he asserts his right; and he must plead material facts only and no fact which is immaterial should be pleaded and not the evidence be given. In Udhav Singh v. Madhav Rao Scindhia AIR 1976 SC 744, it was held that "every fact is material for the pleading of the party, which he is bound to prove at the trial to succeed in his claim or defence". Thus material facts are those facts, which a plaintiff must allege for his triumph or a defendant to constitute his defence. A defendant need not repeat those facts in his written statement, which are admitted or relied upon by the plaintiff in his plaint. No facts should be alleged in the pleadings, which is not material at the present stage of action, even though it may become material at a later stage; i.e.; after the objections raised by the other party. Because, it is not necessary for the plaintiff to anticipate the answer of the defendant, and to state what the plaintiff would have to state in reply to it. He cannot be expected to plead those facts on the strength of which he could face the defence or falsify the claim put up by the defendants. It is settled that all material facts and material facts alone need be pleaded. But this rule is subject to the following exceptions;
- Condition Precedent.
The performance or occurrence of any condition precedent need not be alleged in the plaint, as its averment shall be implied in the pleading. But, if the other party is going to contest the performance or occurrence of such a condition, the plaintiff has to set up the plea distinctly in his pleading. In case the plaintiff is conscious that he has not performed a condition, and for that there is good reasons, he may, in his pleadings, state the condition, the non-performance, and also the facts which prevented him from such performance etc.
- Matters in which the Legal Presumption is there.
Both the parties in their pleadings are not required to plead any matter of facts which the law presumes in their favour or as to the burden of proof lies on the other side, unless the other side specifically denies it. It means that, only those facts need not be pleaded, which a court "shall presume" within the meaning of the Indian Evidence Act; but the facts, which Ja court "may presume", shall be pleaded.
- Matters of inducement.
Even though not material facts, sometimes it is desirable to commence the pleadings with some introductory allegations like who the parties are, what is their business, their relation with each other etc. But it should be employed to the minimum.
- Facts only and not the Evidence be pleaded
The basic principle of pleading is that every pleading should contain only the statement of material facts and not the evidence by which those material facts are to be proved. The material facts on which a party relies are 'facta probanda' (the facts to be proved) and the evidence or the facts by means of which these material facts are to be proved are the 'facta probantia'. Only the 'facta probanda' need be stated in the pleading and not the 'facta probantia', because they are not the facts in the issue but only relevant facts which will be proved at the trial stage in order to establish the facts in issue.
- Form of Pleading
The fourth rule of pleading is that, the material facts stated in the pleading should be "in a concise form"; but with precision and certainty. It should be divided into paragraphs and numbered consecutively. Dates, sums and numbers etc. should be, expressed in figures as well as in words. Either party should state his whole case with brevity, which can be attained
- By omitting all unnecessary facts;
- By omitting all unnecessary details while alleging material facts; and
- By giving proper attention to the language used in alleging the material facts.
The most important quality of precision can be attained by following the rules hereunder;
- Names of persons and places should be accurately given;
- As far as possible do not refer to the plaintiff or defendant by their names only. Use 'the plaintiff' or 'the defendant' as the case may be;
- If suit is based on an instrument, as far as possible use the language of the document; 4. Avoid complex sentences;
- Divide the pleadings into separate paragraphs and as far as impossible only one fact in one paragraph;
- Try to avoid repetitions;
- Every necessary particulars shall find a place in the pleadings.
These are the guiding principles regarding the drafting of pleadings. It is worthwhile to note that in Mani Amma v. Kollichalil Choni 1985 KLJ 247, it was observed that "construction of pleadings should not be dissected and accepted in part and rejected the remainder, but they must be taken as a whole. O.6 R.2 of the Code ordains only that pleadings shall contain, and contain only a statement in concise form of the material facts on which the party pleading relies for his claim or defence as the case may be, but not for the evidence by which they are to be proved".
