Plaint 12m

1. Order VII, Rule 1, CPC, 1908: Contents of Plaint

2. Plaint is a written statement.
3. It is the pleading of the plaintiff.
4. It is not defined in CPC but Order VII deals with it.
5. Contains 17 parts
A. Name of the court
B. Case number
C. Name of plaintiff, father’s name, age, occupation and address
D. Name of defendant, father’s name, age, occupation and address
E. If the plaintiff is a minor, mention who will represent the suit
F. If the defendant is a minor, mention who will represent the suit
G. Provision of law
H. Cause of action
I. Limitation
J. Jurisdiction
K. Set off
L. Counterclaim
M. Relief sought for
N. Court fees
O. Document filed under Order 7 Rules 14 and 15
P. Signature
Q. Verification

6. Name of the court:

A. The plaint should begin with the name of the court where the case is being
filed.
B. Denotes the nature of case (civil/criminal)
C. Ex. Judicial magistrate, Saidapet
7. Case number:
A. It is a unique identifier assigned to a suit when it is filed in a court.
B. Indicates the nature of suit
C. Ex. OS No. _ of 2024 indicates a civil suit as OS is an original suit

8. Name of plaintiff and defendant:

A. The name of plaintiff and defendant refers to the parties involved in the
dispute
B. It should be clearly mentioned in the suit to avoid confusion
C. All the necessary details are included to ensure clarity and proper
identification

9. Who can represent a minor?

 A. A minor cannot represent themselves in the court due to lack of legal capacity
and mental understanding
B. They will thus be represented by:
- Parents (natural guardian)
- If parents are absent, 1st degree relatives who are blood relations:
siblings
- If absent, 2nd degree relatives: uncles
- If absent, 3rd regress relatives: aunts
- If absent, court appointed guardian
C. Qualifications for the court appointed guardian
- There is a 21 years difference between the minor and the guardian
- The guardian must have more property than the minor
- There is no relationship between the guardian and minor
- The guardian is genuine and educated
D. The guardian is responsible to protect the interests of the minors throughout
the proceedings

10. Provision of law:

A. What statute and what section of the statute has been invoked?
B. A plaint will not be numbered if the correct provision of law is not entered
11. Cause of action:
A. Where the dispute arose between the plaintiff and the defendant
B. The root cause of the dispute
C. A plaint can be rejected if it does not mention a cause of action as it discloses
the facts that led to such an action
12. Limitation:
A. A plaint shall be rejected if the suit is barred by limitation
B. A limit is given for different suits and proceedings within which the aggrieved
person may approach the courts for redressal
C. Time within which the suits must be filed
D. Mentioned in the Limitation Act, 1963 or the concerned statute
13. Jurisdiction:
A. Court’ power to hear and determine on the matter
B. Pecuniary, territorial or subject matter jurisdiction
C. Refers to any authority conferred by law upon the court, tribunal or judge to
adjudicate the dispute
14. Set off:
A. It is the legal recovery of a sum that is pending towards the defendant by the
plaintiff and the former claims that the amount be set off in the suit itself
B. Illustration: Plaintiff files suit for recovery of money and during its pendency,
the defendant pays a portion to plaintiff, plaintiff conceals the same and filed
suit
C. Illustration: A files suit against B for 200Rs. B holds a promissory note for
100Rs. from A. B claims to set off that amount.
 15. Counterclaim:
A. Excess amount claimed by defendant
B. Claim of defendant against plaintiff
16. Relief sought:
A. Prayer should be clear
B. The relief claimed by the plaintiff
17. Court fee:
A. The court fee varies depending on
- Jurisdiction
- Nature of suit
- Value of claim
B. Decided by the High Court every 2 or 3 years
C. The fee may be ad valorem (proportional to the claim amount) or fixed,
depending on the type of the suit
18. Document filed under Order VII, rules 14 and 15:
A. Relevant documents
B. Rule 14: original documents
C. Rule 15: photocopies
19. Signature:
A. Important to ratify before court
B. The signature of the counsel should be on the left side
C. The signature of the party should be on the right side
D. The signature is put towards the end of the suit
E. The authorised representative may sign if the plaintiff is not present due to a
legitimate reason
20. Verification:
A. The last paragraph should be the verification
B. “I, name, son/daughter of so and so declare and verify that the content in paras
1 to 10 is true to the best of my knowledge and belief”
C. The verification should be signed by the person making it and should state the
date and place on which it was signed
D. If the plaintiff is absent, it may be signed by the duly authorised agent after
informing the court

21. Rejection of plaint:

A. S2(2) of CPC: rejection of a plaint shall be deemed to be a decree

COMPONENTS OF JUDGEMENT 12M

1. Justice Kishore Kumar defined judgement as a reasoned pronouncement by a judge
on a disputed legal question which has been argued before him.
2. It is a literary composition that possesses its own standards of merit.
3. Two parts: ratio decidendi and obiter dicta
4. Components:
 A. Title of the judgement
B. Citation
C. The bench
D. The procedural journey of the matter
E. The decision in the lower courts or by a bench of lower strength
F. Description of the parties
G. Facts of dispute
H. Contentions of the parties
I. The issue
J. Provisions of the statute(s) concerned
K. Case law
L. Observations and the decision
M. Ratio decidendi
N. Obiter dicta

5. Title of the judgement

A. Reveals the names of the parties to the dispute be it individuals, corporations,
governments, etc
B. The title only mentions the name of one party on each side with the suffix
“anr” or “ors”
C. All the parties involved are mentioned in the text of the judgement
D. It indicates the party that has filed the suit/appealed and the party defending
E. It assists in identifying which area of law the case deals with, as a state being a
party indicates criminal or constitutional matter

6. Citation
A. The title is accompanied by the citation
B. The judgements are published by reporters such as SCC, AIR, Manupatra, etc
C. Citation indicates the location of the judgement in the case reporter that is
- Page number
- Volume of publication
- Year of publication
- The Court which delivered the judgement
D. It may also point to the year the judgement was delivered but not always

7. Bench:
A. The judgement reveals the number of judges who heard and decided the matter
along with the names
B. The size of bench is vital to determine which courts are bound by the
judgement

8. Procedural journey of the matter:

A. Background of how the matter came before the particular court
B. For instance, it may be an appeal from a lower court decision
9. Decision in lower courts/by bench of lower strength:
A. The judgement states the decision taken by the lower court(s) and the
reasoning adopted for the same

10. Description of parties

A. Parties involved in the dispute
B. Which party initiated the legal proceedings
C. Who filed the appeal
D. The relationship between the parties

11. Facts of the dispute:

A. Material facts that led to the dispute
B. Conduct of parties, incidents that led to the conflict
C. Necessary as the Court applies law to the specific facts

12. Contention of parties

A. Arguments by parties
B. Cases and provisions relied upon
C. Evident as it says “the learned counsel, mrs. __ argued on behalf of __ that
__”
D. Court may
- List all contentions in the beginning and deal with them consequently
- Refer one by one with views on the said contention
E. In the latter scenario, difficult to distinguish

13. Issue
A. A question of law or a mixed question of law and fact which the court has to
decide upon
B. The court may also discuss issues framed by lower courts

14. Provisions of the statute(s) concerned

A. Applicable legislation in the matter
B. Sections of the act applicable to the dispute
C. May discuss ingredients, object, explanations, etc

15. Case law

A. Deals with the cases relied upon by the parties
B. Discuss relevant precedents on the subject matter which may not have been
brought up
C. Foreign or Indian judgments

16. Observations and decision

A. Court’s considerations of the law involved
 B. Court may
- Lay down principles of law applicable
- Apply law to facts of dispute
- Remand the matter to lower court to decide based on the law laid down
C. .
17. Ratio decidendi:
A. Binding portion of the judgement
B. The reasons for deciding
C. The rule of law that forms the basis of decision
D. Rule of law which subsequent courts shall consider binding

18. Obiter dicta

A. Non binding portion
B. Observations on principles that were not necessary to decide upon the facts

Principles of natural justice 4m

1. AUDI ALTERAM PARTEM
A. Issuance of notice– Valid and proper notice should be given to the required
parties of the matter to further proceed with the procedure of fair trial method.
Even if the statute does not include the provision of issue of notice then it will
be given prior to making decisions. This was held in the case of Fazalbhai v.
custodian.
B. Right to fair hearing: Fateh Singh v State of Rajasthan
C. Right to present the case and evidence: Stafford v Minister of Health
D. Right to cross examination
E. Right of legal representative: J.J Mody v State of Bombay
F. Exceptions
- During the Emergency period
- Public interest
- Express statutory provision
- Nature of the case is not of a serious kind
- If it doesn’t affect the status of the individual
G. .
2. NEMO JUDEX IN CAUSA SUA
A. “No one should be a judge in his own case” because it leads to a rule of
biases.
B. Bias means an act which leads to unfair activity whether in a conscious or
unconscious stage in relation to the party or a particular case.
C. Personal bias: relationship between party and deciding authority
D. Pecuniary bias: financial benefit
E. Subject matter bias: connected to the matter of dispute
Departmental bias: preconceived notion
SET OFF AND COUNTERCLAIM. 4M
1. Set-off in CPC refers to the statutory defence where a defendant can
counterbalance the plaintiff’s claim by asserting their claim for a related or
ascertained sum.
2. Counterclaim, on the other hand, is a cross-action initiated by the defendant,
allowing them to maintain an independent claim against the plaintiff, even if it does
not arise from the same transaction.

3. Order VIII, Rule 6: Particulars of set-off to be given in written statement:

(1) Where in a suit for the recovery of money the defendant claims to set-off
against the plaintiff's demand any ascertained sum of money legally
recoverable by him from the plaintiff, not exceeding the pecuniary limits of
the jurisdiction of the Court, and both parties fill the same character as they
fill in the plaintiff's suit, the defendant may, at the first hearing of the suit, but
not afterwards unless permitted by the Court, presents a written statement
containing the particulars of the debt sought to be set-off.
(2) Effect of set-off.—The written statement shall have the same effect as a
plaint in a cross-suit so as to enable the court to pronounce a final judgement
in respect both of the original claim and of the set-off: but this shall not affect
the lien, upon the amount decreed, of any pleader in respect of the costs
payable to him under the decree.
(3) The rules relating to a written statement by a defendant apply to a written
statement in answer to a claim of set-off

4. Set off:
A. Set-off is the mutual cancellation of debts. It is a reciprocal arrangement
where two parties acquit each other of their debts
B. It partially offsets the original claim and the debts are extinguished by their
reciprocal credits
C. It eliminates or reduces the plaintiff's claim by settling one claim against the
other
D. In Seshaiah v. Veerabhadrayya, set off was defined as the process by which
debts of two individuals, who are mutual debtors and creditors to each
other, are extinguished by their reciprocal credits.
E. When a defendant asserts a set off, he assumes the role of a plaintiff regarding
the claimed amount
F. This results in two simultaneous lawsuits heard together.
G. It is the legal recovery of a sum that is pending towards the defendant by the
plaintiff and the former claims that the amount be set off in the suit itself
H. Illustration: A files suit against B for 200Rs. B holds a promissory note for
100 Rs. from A. B claims to set off that amount.

5. Order VIII, Rule 6A: Counter claim by defendant

 (1) A defendant in a suit may, in addition to his right of pleading a set-off under
rule 6, set up, by way of counter-claim against the claim of the plaintiff, any
right or claim in respect of a cause of action accruing to the defendant
against the plaintiff either before or after the filing of the suit but before the
defendant has delivered his defence or before the time limited for delivering
his defence has expired, whether such counter-claim is in the nature of a claim
for damages or not:
- Provided that such counter-claim shall not exceed the pecuniary
limits of the jurisdiction of the court.
(2) Such counter-claim shall have the same effect as a cross-suit so as to enable
the Court to pronounce a final judgement in the same suit, both on the
original claim and on the counterclaim.
(3) The plaintiff shall be at liberty to file a written statement in answer to the
counterclaim of the defendant within such period as may be fixed by the
court.
(4) The counter-claim shall be treated as a plaint and governed by the rules
applicable to plaints

6. Counterclaim:
A. Excess amount claimed by defendant
B. Claim of defendant against plaintiff
C. A counterclaim is an independent and separate claim from the plaintiff’s,
which can be enforced through cross-action.
D. Ramesh Chand v. Anil Panjwani:
Counterclaim may be presented as a/by
A. Written statement filed under Order VIII Rule 1
B. Amending written statement to include counterclaim
C. Subsequent pleading under Order VIII Rule 9
E. A defendant can file a counterclaim based on a cause of action distinct from
the cause of action put forth by the plaintiff.
F. It can be unrelated to the original cause of action
G. A counterclaim will be assessed independently on its merits.
7. Laxmidas v. Nanabhai: nothing prevents the court from treating a counterclaim as a
plaint in a cross-suit

Locus Standi 4m
- The right or capacity to bring an action or to appear in a court.
- The traditional rule is that judicial redress is available only to a person who
has suffered a legal injury by reason of violation of his legal right
- It has been expanded for PILs by SP Gupta v. Union of India