Order VI of Civil Procedure Code (CPC) deals with pleadings in general. Order VII deals with plaint and Order VIII deals with written statement. Order VI, Rule 1 defines pleadings as follows: 1. Pleading: Pleading shall mean plaint or written statement. Pleading is nothing but what a party to a suit pleads in support of his contention or case. A Plaintiff pleads is called Plaint, and what defendants plead is called Written Statement.
Rule 15 of Order VI of CPC provides verification of pleadings as under-
Rule 15-Verification of Pleadings:
(1) Save as otherwise provided by any law for the time being in force, every pleading shall be verified at the foot by the party or by one of the parties pleading or by some other persons proved to the satisfaction of the court to be acquainted with the facts of the case.
(2) The person verifying shall specify, by reference to the numbered paragraphs of the pleading, what he verifies of his own knowledge and what he verifies upon information received and believed to be true.
(3) The verification shall be signed by the person making it and shall state the date on which and the place at which it was signed.
(4) The person verifying the pleading shall also furnish an affidavit in support of his pleadings.
Every pleading must be verified and signed by the person who makes the pleading. He should also furnish an affidavit in support of his pleadings. For any reason, if the deponent cannot verify and sign, it can be done by his authorized agent. Verification is nothing but affirmation that the facts mentioned in the plaint/written statement are true.
It is submitted that special amendments were made in CPC through the Commercial Courts Act, 2015 (Earlier known as the Commercial Courts, Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of High Courts Act, 2015). A special amendment was made in respect of commercial dispute of a specified value, for verification of pleadings. In its application to any suit in respect of a commercial dispute of a specified value, in order VI, after rule 15, insert the following rule namely-
“15A. Verification of pleadings in a Commercial Dispute: –
(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in Rule 15, every pleading in a commercial dispute shall be verified by an affidavit in the manner and form prescribed in the Appendix to this Schedule.
(2) An affidavit under sub-rule (1) above shall be signed by the party or by one of the parties to the proceedings, or by any other person on behalf of such party or parties who is proved to the satisfaction of the Court to be acquainted with the facts of the case and who is duly authorised by such party or parties.
(3) Where a pleading is amended, the amendments must be verified in the form and manner referred to in sub-rule (1) unless the Court orders otherwise.
(4) Where a pleading is not verified in the manner provided under sub-rule (1), the party shall not be permitted to rely on such pleading as evidence or any of the matters set out therein.
(5) The Court may strike out a pleading which is not verified by a Statement of Truth, namely, the affidavit set out in the Appendix to this Schedule.”
By the aforesaid amendment, a new Rule 15A has been inserted, which pertains to verification of pleadings in a commercial dispute, in a prescribed manner (Statement of Truth). In the absence of verification, the pleadings cannot be relied as evidence. Every pleading has to be verified by an affidavit signed by the party, or one of the parties to the proceedings or any person who is acquainted with the facts of the case and authorized by such parties. If the pleading is amended, the same has to be verified.
It is pertinent to mention that Section 16 of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015 clearly states that this Act will have overriding effect on the provisions of CPC, and its amendments. It clearly mentions that in case of conflict between any rules of the Code, rules of jurisdictional High Courts or any state amendments made to the Code, the provisions of the Act, as it amends the Code, will prevail.
APPENDIX-I
STATEMENT OF TRUTH
(Under First Schedule, Order VI- Rule 15A and Order XI- Rule 3)
I —– the deponent do hereby solemnly affirm and declare as under:
1. I am the party in the above suit and competent to swear this affidavit.
2. I am sufficiently conversant with the facts of the case and have also examined all relevant documents and records in relation thereto.
3. I say that the statements made in —–paragraphs are true to my knowledge and statements made in —–paragraphs are based on information received which I believe to be correct and statements made in —paragraphs are based on legal advice.
4. I say that there is no false statement or concealment of any material fact, document or record and I have included information that is according to me, relevant for the present suit.
5. I say that all documents in my power, possession, control or custody, pertaining to the facts and circumstances of the proceedings initiated by me have been disclosed and copies thereof annexed with the plaint, and that I do not have any other documents in my power, possession, control or custody.
6. I say that the above-mentioned pleading comprises of a total of —- pages, each of which has been duly signed by me.
7. I state that the Annexures hereto are true copies of the documents referred to and relied upon by me.
8. I say that I am aware that for any false statement or concealment, I shall be liable for action taken against me under the law for the time being in force.
Place:
Date:
DEPONENT
VERIFICATION
I, ………………………. do hereby declare that the statements made above are true to my knowledge.
Verified at [place] on this [date]
DEPONENT.
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Very informative portal.
Dr P K Banerjee