Rejection of plaint
Full Text
The plaint shall be rejected in the following cases:—
(a) where it does not disclose a cause of action;
(b) where the relief claimed is undervalued, and the plaintiff, on being required by the Court to correct the valuation within a time to be fixed by the Court, fails to do so;
(c) where the relief claimed is properly valued, but the plaint is returned upon paper insufficiently stamped, and the plaintiff, on being required by the Court to supply the requisite stamp-paper within a time to be fixed by the Court, fails to do so;
(d) where the suit appears from the statement in the plaint to be barred by any law;
(e) where it is not filed in duplicate;
(f) where the plaintiff fails to comply with the provisions of rule 9:
Provided that the time fixed by the Court for the correction of the valuation or supplying of the requisite stamp-paper shall not be extended unless the Court, for reasons to be recorded, is satisfied that the plaintiff was prevented by any cause of an exceptional nature from correcting the valuation or supplying the requisite stamp-paper, as the case may be, within the time fixed by the Court and that refusal to extend such time would cause grave injustice to the plaintiff.
Plain English Summary
The preeminent gatekeeping provision in civil litigation, mandating the threshold rejection of plaints on six statutory grounds—including failure to disclose a cause of action, statutory bar by law/limitation, undervaluation, deficit court fees, and procedural non-compliance.
Key Legal Elements
- Six Statutory Rejection Grounds: (a) No cause of action; (b) Undervaluation uncured; (c) Deficit court fees uncured; (d) Barred by any law (Limitation, Sec. 9, SARFAESI, Waqf, etc.); (e) Plaint not in duplicate; (f) Failure to file process fee & copies within 7 days.
- The Plaint-Only Doctrine: Court can examine ONLY the averments in the plaint and annexed documents; written statement and defense pleas CANNOT be considered (Saleem Bhai).
- Clever Drafting Nipped in the Bud: Illusory causes of action created by clever drafting must be rejected at the threshold (T. Arivandandam; Dahiben).
- Rejection as a Whole (Indivisibility Rule): A plaint cannot be rejected in part and retained in part; it must be rejected as an entirety or not at all (Madhav Prasad Aggarwal).
- Statutory Status: An order rejecting a plaint is a 'Deemed Decree' under Section 2(2) CPC, directly appealable under Section 96.
Practical Note
The Litigator's Ultimate Master Guide to Order VII Rule 11 CPC: 1. Standard Court Application Header: 'Application on behalf of Defendant under Order VII Rule 11(a) & (d) read with Section 151 CPC for Rejection of Plaint for Non-disclosure of Cause of Action and being Barred by Limitation / Law'. 2. The Core Cardinal Rules (Supreme Court Jurisprudence): — Plaint Looked at Exclusively: In Saleem Bhai v. State of Maharashtra (2003) 1 SCC 557 and Chhotanben v. Kiritbhai Jalkrushnabhai Thakkar (2018) 6 SCC 422, the SC held that for Order VII Rule 11, only the averments in the plaint are germane. Pleas taken in the Written Statement are wholly irrelevant. — Clever Drafting Cannot Save Plaint: In Dahiben v. Arvindbhai Kalyanji Bhanusali (2020) 7 SCC 366 and T. Arivandandam v. T.V. Satyapal (1977) 4 SCC 467, the Supreme Court ruled that where clever drafting has created an illusion of a cause of action, the court must nip it in the bud at the earliest stage. — No Partial Rejection: In Madhav Prasad Aggarwal v. Axis Bank Ltd. (2019) 7 SCC 158 and Geetha v. Nanjundaswamy (2023), the SC reaffirmed that a plaint cannot be rejected qua some defendants or qua certain reliefs while surviving for others. It is all or nothing. — Limitation Bar under Clause (d): In Raghwendra Sharan Singh v. Ram Prasanna Singh (2020) 16 SCC 601, a challenge to a gift deed instituted 22 years later was held clearly barred by limitation from the plaint averments and rejected under Rule 11(d). 3. Stage of Filing: Can be moved at ANY stage before judgment—even before filing the Written Statement. 4. Deemed Decree & Remedy: Rejection is a decree under Section 2(2); appeal lies under Section 96 CPC (Regular First Appeal), NOT a revision.
हिंदी पाठ
वादपत्र निम्नलिखित मामलों में नामंजूर (Reject) कर दिया जाएगा:—
(क) जहां वह वाद-हेतुक (Cause of action) प्रकट नहीं करता है;
(ख) जहां दावाकृत अनुतोष का अवमूल्यांकन किया गया है, और वादी न्यायालय द्वारा नियत किए जाने वाले समय के भीतर मूल्यांकन ठीक करने के लिए न्यायालय द्वारा अपेक्षित किए जाने पर ऐसा करने में असफल रहता है;
(ग) जहां दावाकृत अनुतोष का मूल्यांकन तो ठीक किया गया है, किंतु वादपत्र अपर्याप्त स्टाम्प-पत्र पर लिखा गया है, और वादी न्यायालय द्वारा नियत समय के भीतर अपेक्षित स्टाम्प-पत्र प्रस्तुत करने में असफल रहता है;
(घ) जहां वादपत्र में के कथन से ही यह प्रतीत होता है कि वाद किसी विधि द्वारा वर्जित (Barred by any law) है;
(ङ) जहां वह दो प्रतियों में (In duplicate) दाखिल नहीं किया गया है; अथवा
(च) जहां वादी नियम 9 के उपबंधों का पालन करने में असफल रहता है (7 दिन में तलबाना व प्रतियां न देना):
परन्तु मूल्यांकन ठीक करने या अपेक्षित स्टाम्प-पत्र देने के लिए न्यायालय द्वारा नियत समय तब तक नहीं बढ़ाया जाएगा जब तक कि न्यायालय का समाधान न हो जाए कि वादी किसी असाधारण कारण से ऐसा करने से निवारित हुआ था।