Subscription and verification of pleading
Full Text
In suits by or against a corporation, any pleading may be signed and verified on behalf of the corporation by the secretary or by any director or other principal officer of the corporation who is able to depose to the facts of the case.
Plain English Summary
Governs the signing and verification of pleadings by corporate entities, permitting the company secretary, director, or any principal officer conversant with the facts to sign and verify plaints and written statements on behalf of the corporation.
Key Legal Elements
- Eligible Officers: Secretary, Director, or Principal Officer (e.g. Managing Director, General Manager).
- Competency Test: Officer must be able to depose to the facts of the case from personal knowledge or corporate records.
- Corporate Authority: Read alongside Board Resolution or Power of Attorney under Companies Act, 2013.
- Curing Technical Defects: Curable irregularity rather than an incurable fatal illegality.
Practical Note
Corporate Authorization Litigation Practice: 1. Supreme Court Landmark — United Bank of India Principle: In United Bank of India v. Naresh Kumar (1996) 6 SCC 660, the Supreme Court established that procedural defects in signing or verifying a plaint on behalf of a company/bank should not defeat substantive claims; courts can presume implied authorization where the suit was openly prosecuted and financed by the company. 2. Requisite Documentation: Despite the liberal rule in Naresh Kumar, counsel drafting a corporate plaint must always annex: (a) Certified extract of Board Resolution, (b) Power of Attorney executed under common seal, and (c) Specific averment that the signatory is a 'principal officer' under Rule 1 (State Bank of Travancore v. Kingston Computers (2011) 11 SCC 524).
हिंदी पाठ
किसी निगम (कंपनी या निकाय) द्वारा या उसके विरुद्ध वादों में, कोई भी अभिवचन (वादपत्र या लिखित कथन) निगम की ओर से सचिव द्वारा अथवा किसी निदेशक द्वारा या निगम के अन्य प्रधान अधिकारी द्वारा हस्ताक्षरित और सत्यापित किया जा सकेगा जो मामले के तथ्यों के बारे में बयान करने (गवाही देने) में समर्थ हो।