Plaint in a suit about immovable property under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908

A civil suit — for possession of immovable property, for its partition, for a declaration of a right in it, or for the specific performance of an agreement to sell it — is instituted by presenting a plaint to the civil court the Code names. The Code's sections say how a suit is instituted, that its facts are proved by affidavit, which court it goes to and, where the Government or a public officer is sued, what notice precedes it; the Code's First Schedule says what the plaint contains, how it describes the property, what documents are produced with it and how it is verified. The rules each High Court makes add to that and are not read for this section. A builder's delay and a dispute about revenue records go before other forums and are not this document.

What such a document contains

The suit is instituted by presenting a plaint
Every suit is instituted by the presentation of a plaint, or in such other manner as may be prescribedSection 26(1), Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908)
The facts in the plaint are proved by affidavit
In every plaint, facts are proved by affidavit, in the form and manner the Code's First Schedule prescribesSection 26(2), Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908)
It is presented where the property is situate
A suit for the recovery of immovable property, for its partition, for foreclosure, sale or redemption of a mortgage or charge on it, or for the determination of any other right to or interest in it, is instituted in the court within the local limits of whose jurisdiction the property is situate, subject to the pecuniary or other limits any law prescribesSection 16, Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908)
It goes to the court of the lowest grade competent to try it
Every suit is instituted in the court of the lowest grade competent to try it, which is decided by the value of the suit and the court's pecuniary limitsSection 15, Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908)
The particulars every plaint contains
The name of the Court the suit is brought in; the name, description and place of residence of the plaintiff, and of the defendant so far as they can be ascertained; a statement where either is a minor or of unsound mind; the facts constituting the cause of action and when it arose; the facts showing that the Court has jurisdiction; the relief claimed; any set-off allowed or portion of the claim relinquished; and a statement of the value of the subject-matter for the purposes of jurisdiction and of court-fees, so far as the case admitsOrder VII, Rule 1, First Schedule, Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908)
A description of the property sufficient to identify it
Where the subject-matter of the suit is immovable property, a description of the property sufficient to identify it, and, where it can be identified by boundaries or numbers in a record of settlement or survey, those boundaries or numbersOrder VII, Rule 3, First Schedule, Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908)
The documents sued on or relied on, listed and produced with it
Where the plaintiff sues upon a document, or relies on one in their possession or power, it is entered in a list and produced in Court when the plaint is presented, with a copy delivered to be filed with the plaint; where such a document is not in the plaintiff's possession or power, the plaint states, wherever possible, whose it is; a document that ought to have been produced or listed and was not is not received in evidence on the plaintiff's behalf without the Court's leaveOrder VII, Rule 14, First Schedule, Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908)
Verified at the foot, and supported by an affidavit
Every pleading is verified at the foot by the party, by one of the parties pleading, or by some other person proved to the Court's satisfaction to be acquainted with the facts; the person verifying specifies, by reference to the numbered paragraphs, what is verified of their own knowledge and what upon information received and believed to be true, signs the verification stating the date and place, and furnishes an affidavit in support of the pleadingOrder VI, Rule 15, First Schedule, Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908)
The relief sought, and the fee paid on it
Possession, partition, a declaration or specific performance, stated as the relief the Schedule requires the plaint to claim, and the court fee on the value the plaint states.Convention rather than law

The periods that attach to it

  • Where the suit is against the Government or against a public officer for an act done in an official capacity, it is not instituted until two months have passed after a written notice stating the cause of action, the plaintiff's name, description and residence and the relief claimed has been delivered as the section directs — save in the urgent case the section's second sub-section allows with the court's leave — Section 80(1), Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908)

Not established

  • The Code and its First Schedule fix what every plaint contains, how it describes the property, what is produced with it and how it is verified. The rules each High Court makes for the courts under it add to that — the form of the cause title, the copies and the index filed with the plaint, the affidavit's form — and those rules are not established here for any State.

What this guide is not

Of the points listed below, eight are fixed by the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908) itself and one are convention — such documents carry them, and no provision read for this section requires them. This is a description of a kind of document and not a document — confirm the contents of any document in a particular matter with an advocate.

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