Q. 37 What is meant by "Pleadings" ?

Briefly state the object and fundamental rules

regarding pleadings.
Ans. Pleadings : Order 6 Rule 1 of Code of Civil Procedure provides that "Pleading" shall mean
plaint or written statement. So pleadings are statements in writing, filed by each party to a case
stating what his contention will be at the trial and giving all such details as his opponent needs to
know in order to prepare his case in answer.
Plaint is the statement of claim in writing and filed by plaintiff in which he sets out his cause of
action with all necessary particulars and "Written Statement" is the statement of defence in
writing and filed by defendant in which he deals with every material facts alleged by plaintiff in
the plaint and also states any new facts which may be in his favour including legal objections.
Order 6 Rule 2 of Code provides that every pleading shall contain, and contain only, a statement
in a concise form all 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 and shall as and when
necessary be divided into paragraphs numbered consecutively.

Objects and Importance of Pleading

Lord Jessel in the notable case of Throp v. Holdsworth[4] explained the obje objectives and
purposes of pleadings in a judicial proceeding. According to His Lordship, the main object of
pleadings is to taper down the parties to certain specific issues and forbid enlargement of issues.
Pleading assists the parties to know the facts and circumstances of the case brought against them
by the adverse party and hence, saves time and expense.

Earlier, when pleadings were not in vogue and parties used to argue their case directly in court,
there were instances where parties took much time to respond to the claims because of the
sudden and new arguments of the adverse party.

The objects of pleading can be enlisted as follows:

 To taper down the broad issues on which dispute arose to a narrow and common issue.
 To avoid sudden and astonishing facts from emerging in the proceeding and causing
travesty of justice.
 To render judicial proceedings inexpensive, less cumbersome and approachable.
 To protect the valuable time of people that is wasted in framing arguments after every
hearing.
 To eliminate irrelevant facts and materials that will waste the time of the court.
 To aid the court in reaching to a fruitful conclusion.

Rules Regarding Pleadings: The Code of Civil Procedure lays down the following rules
regarding pleadings of the parties:-
(i) Pleading must state the material facts on which the party relies and not evidence. [Order 1 rule
2(1)]
(ii) The facts should be stated in the form of a concise statement and shall be divided into
paragraphs numbered consecutively. [Order VI Rule 2(2) C.P.C.]
(iii) In the pleadings, dates, sums and numbers shall be expressed in figures as well as in words.
[Order VI Rule 2(3) C.P.C.]
(iv) In all cases in which the party relies on any misrepresentation, fraud, breach of trust, wilful
default and undue influence and in all other cases in which particulars may be necessary, they
should be stated with dates and items in the pleadings. [Order VI Rule 4 C.P.C.]
(v) Any condition precedent, the performance of occurrence of which is intended to be contested,
shall be distinctly specified in the pleading by the plaintiff or defendant, as the case may be, and
all conditions precedent necessary for the case of the plaintiff or defendant shall be implied in his
pleading and, therefore, such conditions need not be alleged specifically. [Order VI Rule 6
C.P.C.]
(vi) Where the contents of any document are material, it shall be sufficient in any pleadings to
state the effect thereof as briefly as possible without setting out the whole or any part thereof,
unless the precise words of the document or any part thereof are material. [Order VI Rule 9
C.P.C.]
(vii) Wherever it is material to allege malice, fraudulent intention, knowledge or other condition
of the mind of any person, it shall be sufficient to allege the same as a fact without setting out the
circumstances from which the same is to be inferred. [Order VI Rule 10 C.P.C.]
(viii) Wherever it is material to allege notice to any person of any fact, matter or thing, it shall be
sufficient to allege such notice as a fact, unless the form of the precise term of such notice, or the
circumstances from which such notice is to be inferred, are material (Order VI Rule 11 C.P.C.)
(ix) Whenever any contract or any relation between any person is to be implied from a series of
letters or conversations or otherwise from a number of circumstances, it shall be sufficient to
allege such contract or relation, as a fact, and to refer generally to such letters, conversations or
circumstances without setting them out in detail. [Order VI Rule 12 C.P.C.]
(x) Facts which the law presumes need not be pleaded. [Order VI Rule 13]
(xi) Legal pleas such as estoppel, limitation and res judicata may be pleaded.
(xii) Every pleading shall be signed by the party and his pleader, if any. [Order VI Rule 14
C.P.C.]
(xiii) Every pleading shall be verified at the foot by the party or by one of the parties pleadings
[Order VI Rule 15 C.P.C.]