NIKHIL KUMAR AND ASSOCIATES | Advocates High Court Allahabad Lawyers NCLT Prayagraj Lucknow Noida Ghaziabad

Order VII Rule 11 of the Civil Procedure Code provides for rejection of plaint, and the grounds on which a plaint can be rejected.

The object of such powers conferred on the court is to reduce the menace of sham and meaningless litigation.

Basically, as per the section, there are “Six” grounds provided along with a proviso that states that the list of grounds is not exhaustive.

The six grounds on which a plaint is rejected are as follows:

1.  There is no cause of action in the plaint.(Rule 11(a))
2. The suit is undervalued. (Rule 11(b))
3. Plaint is not sufficiently stamped. (Rule 11(c))
4. Plaint is barred by law. (Rule 11(d))
5. Plaint is not filed in duplicate (Rule 11(e))
6. Plaintiff does not comply with Order VII Rule 9. (Rule 11(f))

However, it is additionally provided that the list is not exhaustive, thus calling for a holistic and prudent examination of the plaint for its rejection by the Court.

Among the above six, if the suit is undervalued, or is not sufficiently stamped, the court gives a time frame within which some error must be corrected. If not corrected, then the plaint shall be rejected by the Court.

If the suit is being rejected on the ground of no disclosure of cause of action, the court must only look at the plaint and nothing else. The reading of the plaint must be meaningful. However, clever drafting and repeating words may create an illusory cause of action, which the court must recognize and reject such plaint under Order VII Rule 11(a)[1].

A plaint shall be rejected if the suit is barred by law.

For example, in a suit against Government, if the suit is instituted without Notice u/s 80 CPC which is mandatory, then the plaint shall be rejected. Although, if a waiver of such notice is pleaded, the court cannot reject the plaint without giving an opportunity to the plaintiff to establish the fact.

Another example is if plaint shows it is barred by limitation, it shall be rejected. However, if the matter of limitation is connected with other issues, it shall be decided along with other issues[2].

As per Rule 12, Judge must record an order to that effect with reasons for rejection of the plaint.  Therefore, such order must not be passed in a mechanical and pedantic manner. Such an order must be unambiguous and clear regarding the grounds taken. Moreover, it must be a reasoned order.

The powers conferred by Order VII Rule 11 CPC can be exercised at any stage before the conclusion of the trial. This can be exercised suo motu by the Court if the Court finds any ground to reject the plaint to save precious judicial time, or it may reject upon an application by the defendant parties regarding the same. However, the provisions of rejection of plaint must be applied strictly, and therefore, the ingredients for each ground must be strictly adhered to.  

An order under Order VII Rule 11 of CPC can be challenged by means of filing an appeal under Section 96 of the Civil Procedure Code 1908 as the first appeal from order (FAFO).

[1] Abdulla Bin Ali vs. Galappa (1985) 2 SCC 54.

[2] Arjan Singh vs. Union of India