plaint

Every civil suit is instituted by presenting a plaint (section 26 CPC). Order VII Rule 1 lists what it must contain: the court's name, the parties' names and addresses, the facts constituting the cause of action and when it arose, facts showing the court's jurisdiction, the relief claimed, and the valuation for court fee and jurisdiction. It must be signed and verified and is accompanied by a list of documents relied on.

The plaint is a pleading, so it states material facts, not evidence or law. Under Order VII Rule 11 the court must reject it if, for example, it discloses no cause of action or the suit appears from its statements to be barred by law. The defendant answers it by a written statement.

Example

Since the plaint itself showed that the suit was filed eight years after the cause of action arose, it was rejected as barred by limitation under Order VII Rule 11(d).

In Indian law

• s.26 and Order VII, Code of Civil Procedure, 1908
• Order VII Rule 11, CPC (rejection of plaint)

See also

written statement · pleadings · rejection of plaint · cause of action

Read more in the study notes

• The rule against bias (Administrative Law)
• Judicial control: public and private law remedies, writ procedure and ouster clauses (Administrative Law)
• Corruption, maladministration and the ombudsman: Lokpal and Lokayukta (Administrative Law)
• Central Vigilance Commission, parliamentary committees and commissions of inquiry (Administrative Law)
• Need for ADR, international commitments and suitability of disputes (Alternative Dispute Resolution Systems)
• ADR and the Civil Procedure Code: section 89 and Afcons (Alternative Dispute Resolution Systems)