Powers of the Court in a Case Management Hearing
Full Text
(1) In any Case Management Hearing held under this Order, the Court shall have the power to—
(a) prior to the framing of issues, hear and decide any pending application filed by the parties under Order XIII-A;
(b) direct parties to file compilations of documents or pleadings relevant and necessary for framing issues;
(c) extend or shorten the time for compliance with any practice, direction or Court order if it finds sufficient reason to do so;
(d) adjourn or bring forward a hearing if it finds sufficient reason to do so;
(e) direct a party to attend the Court for the purposes of examination under Rule 2 of Order X;
(f) consolidate proceedings;
(g) strike off the name of any witness or evidence that it deems irrelevant to the issues framed;
(h) direct a separate trial of any issue;
(i) decide the order in which issues are to be tried;
(j) exclude an issue from consideration;
(k) dismiss or give judgment on a claim after a decision on a preliminary issue;
(l) direct that evidence be recorded by a Commission where necessary in accordance with Order XXVI;
(m) reject any affidavit of evidence filed by the parties for containing irrelevant, inadmissible or argumentative material;
(n) strike off any parts of the affidavit of evidence filed by the parties containing irrelevant, inadmissible or argumentative material;
(o) delegate the recording of evidence to such authority appointed by the Court for this purpose;
(p) pass any order relating to the monitoring of recording the evidence by a commission or any other authority;
(q) order any party to file and exchange a costs budget;
(r) issue directions or pass any order for the purpose of managing the case and furthering the overriding objective of ensuring the efficient disposal of the suit.
(2) When the Court passes an order in exercise of its powers under this Order, it may—
(a) make it subject to conditions, including a condition to pay a sum of money into Court; and
(b) specify the consequence of failure to comply with the order or a condition.
(3) While fixing the date for a Case Management Hearing, the Court may direct that the parties also be present for such Case Management Hearing, if it is of the view that there is a possibility of settlement between the parties.
Plain English Summary
Vests exhaustive managerial and supervisory powers in the Commercial Court: prioritizing Order XIII-A applications, striking off irrelevant witnesses, deleting argumentative matter from evidence affidavits, appointing evidence commissions, ordering cost budgets, and advancing the overriding objective of efficient dispute disposal.
Key Legal Elements
- 18 Specific Plenary Powers under Sub-rule (1): From deciding summary judgment to delegating evidence to commissioners.
- Primacy of Order XIII-A (Clause a): Applications for summary judgment MUST be heard before framing issues.
- Striking Off Witnesses and Evidence Affidavits (Clauses g, m, n): Eliminates bloated witness lists and legal arguments improperly inserted into examination-in-chief affidavits.
- Costs Budget (Clause q): Borrowed from UK CPR costs budgeting to control litigation expense inflation.
- Overriding Objective Clause (Clause r): Empowers judges to mould procedure creatively to achieve efficient disposal.
Practical Note
Striking Out Argumentative Affidavits under Rule 6(1)(n): 1. Common Courtroom Motion: Litigants often pack evidence affidavits with legal submissions and case laws. Move under Order XV-A Rule 6(1)(n) CPC to strike off paragraphs 10 to 25 of the plaintiff's affidavit as argumentative, irrelevant, and inadmissible hearsay. 2. Compulsory Local Commission for Evidence: In commercial divisions, the court routinely invokes Clause (l) and (o) to appoint a retired judicial officer or senior advocate as Court Commissioner to record evidence within 30 days outside court hours.
हिंदी पाठ
(1) इस आदेश के अधीन आयोजित किसी केस मैनेजमेंट हियरिंग में, न्यायालय को निम्नलिखित व्यापक शक्तियां होंगी:—
(क) विवाद्यक विरचित करने से पूर्व, आदेश 13-क के अधीन लंबित सरसरी निर्णय के आवेदन को सुनना और तय करना;
(ख) पक्षकारों को प्रासंगिक दस्तावेजों या अभिवचनों का संकलन (Compilation) दाखिल करने का निर्देश देना;
(ग) किसी अनुपालन के समय को बढ़ाना या घटाना;
(घ) सुनवाई को स्थगित करना या पहले बुलाना (Bring forward);
(ङ) आदेश 10 नियम 2 की परीक्षा हेतु पक्षकार को व्यक्तिगत उपस्थित होने का निर्देश देना;
(च) मुकदमों को समेकित (Consolidate) करना;
(छ) विवाद्यकों के लिए अप्रासंगिक किसी गवाह का नाम या साक्ष्य काट देना (Strike off witness);
(ज) किसी विवाद्यक का पृथक विचारण;
(झ) विवाद्यकों के विचारण का क्रम तय करना;
(ञ) किसी विवाद्यक को विचार से अपवर्जित करना;
(ट) प्रारंभिक विवाद्यक के फैसले के बाद दावे पर निर्णय या खारिजी;
(ठ) आदेश 26 के अनुसार कमिश्नर द्वारा साक्ष्य दर्ज कराने का निर्देश देना;
(ड) अप्रासंगिक, अग्राह्य या तर्कपूर्ण सामग्री होने के कारण साक्ष्य के शपथपत्र को खारिज करना;
(ढ) साक्ष्य के शपथपत्र के ऐसे अप्रासंगिक या अग्राह्य अंशों को काट देना (Strike off parts of affidavit);
(ण) साक्ष्य दर्ज करने का कार्य नियुक्त प्राधिकारी को सौंपना;
(त) कमीशन द्वारा साक्ष्य की निगरानी;
(थ) पक्षकारों को वाद व्यय बजट (Costs budget) दाखिल व आदान-प्रदान करने का आदेश देना; तथा
(द) वाद के कुशल निपटारे के सर्वोपरि उद्देश्य (Overriding objective) को आगे बढ़ाने हेतु कोई भी न्यायोचित आदेश पारित करना।
(2) न्यायालय अपने आदेशों को न्यायालय में धन जमा कराने सहित शर्तों के अधीन कर सकेगा और अनुपालन न करने के परिणाम विनिर्दिष्ट कर सकेगा।
(3) समझौते की संभावना होने पर न्यायालय पक्षकारों को व्यक्तिगत उपस्थित रहने का निर्देश दे सकेगा।