DRAFTING, PLEADING and
CONVEYANCING
UNIT 1
FUNDAMENTAL RULES OF PLEADINGS
TOPIC 1.2
PLAINT STRUCTURE
Ms. Vaishnavi Srivastava
Assistant Professor
DME Law School
[Link]@[Link]
OBJECTIVES OF UNIT I:
As the pleadings form the backbone of any
civil suit, it is very imperative that the students
are made to understand the contours and
intricacies of the basic principles and rules of
drafting civil pleadings.
To make them understand the importance of
pleading as it is the first step taken by the parties
to a case whereby they state their respective
contentions, which helps in laying down the
strong foundation of the case.
• TEXT BOOK
R.N. Chaturvedi; Pleading, Drafting and
Conveyancing, Eastern Book Company
A.N. Chaturvedi; Principles and Forms of Pleading
and Conveyancing, Allahabad Law Agency
• REFERENCE BOOKS
G.C. Mogha & S. N. Dhingra, Mogha’s Law of
Pleadings in India with Precedents, Eastern Law
House
N.S. Bindra, Pleadings and Practice, Universal Law
Publishing
PLAINT
• A suit is instituted by presentation of plaint
before the court. A ‘plaint’ is written
application made by the plaintiff against the
defendant seeking relief from the Court.
• A plaint is pleading and should conform to
the essential rules of pleading.
• Along with plaint, plaintiff shall file
documents on which he relies for the relief.
• Order VII of the Code of Civil Procedure
deals with Plaint.
ORDER 7 CPC
• The exhibiting of any action, real or personal, in
writing; the party making his plaint is called the
plaintiff.
• A private memorial tendered in open court to the
judge, wherein the party injured sets forth his cause of
action.
• A proceeding in lower courts by which an action is
commenced.
• Plaint is written statement of plaintiff’s claim.
Through plaint, plaintiff describes his cause of action
and other necessary particulars to seek remedy from
court for redressal of his grievances.
FORMAL PARTS OF PLAINT
• Title
• Claim
• Body of the Plaint
• Cause of Action
• Jurisdiction Clause
• Valuation of the Suit
• Relief Clause
HEADING AND TITLE
Heading
Name of the Court in which the suit is
brought.
Jurisdiction is not necessary. However if the
Court has various jurisdictions then the
jurisdiction is which suit is brought should be
stated
Number of suit [ …year ]
HEADING AND TITLE
Title or Cause Title
Name, description and place of residence of
Plaintiff
v.
Name, description and place of residence of
Defendant
[Description includes- name of the father, age
and particulars necessary to identify the person]
BODY OF THE PLAINT
Body of the Plaint is the Plaintiff’s statement of
claim and other matters which he/she is legally
required to state.
•Body of the Plaint is composed of two
portions:
Formal portion
Substantial portion
BODY OF THE PLAINT
Formal Portion:
• Statement as to when the Cause of Action
arose [Order VII R1(e)]
• Facts showing that the Court has jurisdiction
[Order VII R1(f)]. [next slide]
• A statement of the value of the subject-matter
of the suit for the purposes of jurisdiction and
of Court [Order VII R1(i)]
• Statement stating that the suit is within
limitation [Order VII R6]
BODY OF THE PLAINT
• JURISDICITON:
A plea that the Court has jurisdiction to entertain the
suit is technically defective where it does not allege
how and where the Cause of Action arose in terms
of sections 16,17,18,19 and 20 of Civil Procedure
Code, 1908- territorial jurisdiction
Example:
Court has jurisdiction to try the suit.
The Court has jurisdiction to try the suit since the
Defendant resides in the jurisdiction of the Court or
the contract was executed in the jurisdiction of this
Court.
BODY OF THE PLAINT
SUBSTANTIAL PORTION:
Matters of inducement or introductory facts
Statement of all the facts constituting the Cause
of Action. It is important to state in properly
because non showing of CoA his Plaint is
ought to be rejected.
Particulars of those facts which are necessary.
RELIEF
Different kinds of reliefs are:
recovery of debt, damages, or movable
property; possession of immovable property,
declaration of title, specific performance,
injunction etc.
Whatever relief he claims must be stated in
the Plaint specifically; as reliefs claimed in the
Plaint cannot be supplemented by oral prayer.
RELIEF
If a Plaintiff can claim more than one relief on
the same CoA, he must claim all, otherwise he
shall not be entitled to bring a new suit for
omitted reliefs, unless the omission was with
the leave of the Court. [Order II R2]
Damages are of two kinds:
•General damages
•Special damages
RELIEF
GENERAL RELIEF:
Although Code has not stated this as
mandatorily required but it is practised.
“Any other relief which Hon’ble Court
may deem fit and proper in the
circumstances of the case may also be
granted to the Plaintiff and against the
Defendant”.
AFFIDAVIT AND VERIFICATION
After the relief:
Signature of Plaintiff through advocate
Date, time and place
Affidavit
Verification
PLAINT STRUCTURE
(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.
• Where the plaintiff seeks the recovery of money,
the plaint shall state the precise amount claimed
• 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.
The plaint shall show that the defendant is or
claims to be interested in subject-matter, and that
he is liable to be called upon to answer the
plaintiff's demand.
• Every Plaint shall state specifically the relief which
the plaintiff claims either simply or in the
alternative.
• Where the suit is instituted after the expiration of the
period prescribed by the law of limitation, the plaint
shall show the ground upon which exemption from
such law is claimed .
