MEANING OF PLEADINGS
INTRODUCTION
The present day system of pleadings in our country is based on the provisions of the Civil Procedure Code, 1908 supplemented from time to time by rules in that behalf by High Courts of the States. There are rules of the Supreme Court and rules by special enactments as well. For one, words ‘plaints’ and ‘complaints’ are nearly synonymous. In both, the expression of grievance is predominant. Verily, when a suitor files a statement of grievance he is the plaintiff and he files a ‘complaint’ containing allegations and claims remedy. As days passed, we have taken up the word ‘Plaint’ for the Civil Court and the word ‘Complaint’ for the Criminal Court. Order 6, R. 1 of Civil Procedure Code (C.P.C.) defines ‘pleading’. It means either a plaint or a written statement.’ With the passing of time written pleadings supplanted archaic oral pleadings. When reduced to writing the scope of confusion, for obvious reasons, was made narrower. In this we find the object of a pleading which aims at ascertaining precisely the points for contention of the parties to a suit. The rules of pleading and other ancillary rules contained in the Code of Civil Procedure have one main object in view. It is to find out and narrow down the controversy between the parties. The function of pleadings is to give fair notice of the case which has to be met so that the opposing party may direct his evidence to the issue disclosed by them Provisions relating to pleadings in civil cases are meant to give each side intimation of the case of the other so that it may be met, to enable courts to determine what is really at issue between parties, and to prevent deviations from the course which litigation on particular causes of action must take. Necessarily, a pleading is accurate only when stripped of verbosity it pinpoints succinctly the plaintiff’s grievances giving him the right to sue for the desired relief, or when it briefly sets out the defendant’s defence. When so done, there would be hardly any scope left to beat about the bush or to take the other party by surprise. Pleadings should be read not by the piecemeal but as a whole and should be liberally construed. Every venial defect should not be allowed to defeat a pleading, for a plaintiffs case should not be defeated merely on the ground of some technical defect in his pleadings provided he succeeds on the real issues of the case. It has been held: “Rigid construction of the law of pleadings was inappropriate and not calculated to serve the cause of justice for which the law of procedure was largely designed (AIR 1969 Del. 120). This should, of course, not be taken as an excuse for pleadings extremely lax and irrelevant, argumentative and inaccurate.” In construing the plaint, the court has to look at the substance of the plaint rather that its mere form. If, on the whole and in substance, the suitor appears to ask for some relief as stated, the court can look at the substance of the relief. “Pleadings have to be interpreted not with formalistic rigour but with latitude of awareness of low legal literacy of poor people.”

Coming to construction of pleadings, Sarkaria, J held: “A pleading has to be read as a whole to ascertain its import. It is not permissible to cull out a sentence or a passage and to read it out of the context in isolation. Although it is the substance and not mere the form that has to be looked into, the pleading has to be construed as it stands without addition or subtraction of words, or change of its apparent grammatical sense. The intention of the party concerned is to be gathered, primarily, from the tenor and term of his pleading taken as a whole.

FUNDAMENTAL RULES OF PLEADINGS
The fundamental rule of pleadings is contained in provisions of O. 6, R. 2 of C.P.C. which enjoins
(1) “Every pleading shall contain only, a statement in a concise form of the material facts on which the party pleading relies for his claim or defence, as the case may be, but not the evidence by which they are to be proved.
(2) Every pleading shall, when necessary, be divided into paragraphs, numbered consecutively, each allegation being, so far as is conveniently, contained in a separate paragraph. (3) Dates, sums and numbers shall be expressed in a pleading in figures as well as in words.” To quote the Earl of Halsbury: “The sole object of it is that each may be fully alive to the questions that arc about to be argued in order that they may have an opportunity of bringing forward such evidence as may be appropriate to the issues.” The rules of pleading and other ancillary rules contained in the Code of Civil Procedure have one main object in view. It is to find out and narrow down controversy between the parties. “The pleadings are not to be considered as constituting a game of skill between the advocates. The) ought to be so framed as not only to assist the party in the statement of his case but the court in its investigation of the truth between the litigants”.
The pleading shall contain (i) facts only, then again, material facts; (ii) not law; (iii) not evidence; and (iv) immaterial facts to be discarded. (v) deficiency in pleading. What are material facts? Facts which gave the plaintiff his cause of action or the defendant his defence are, briefly speaking, material facts which he must prove or fail. It, therefore, stands to reason that facts which are not required to support the plaintiffs or the defendant’s case are not material. Whether a fact is material or not depends on the facts and circumstances of each case and can be held so or otherwise only in the context of relevant situation. (i) Material facts: A pleadings shall contain only material facts. Material facts are the entirety of facts which would be necessary to prove to succeed in the suit. Any fact which is not material should be avoided. Slackness in pleadings is unfair both to the court in which they are filed and also to the litigants. Material facts should be pleaded concisely. There is hardly any scope for showing literary genius in a pleading. Order 6, R. 2, C.P.C. should be read with O. 6, R. 4(c).
When commencing a suit, the plaintiff is required to state only material facts, but such facts must constitute his cause of action as well. Absence of material facts will put the party to discomfiture, for no amount of evidence can be taken into consideration or regarded as sufficient in proof of any fact if specific mention of it is not made in the pleadings. Therefore, if a party omits to state a material fact, he will not be allowed to give evidence of the fact at the trial unless the pleading is amended under O. 6, R. 17, C.P.C. The rule is based mainly on principles that no party should be prejudiced by change in the case introduced by this method. No relief can be granted on facts and documents not disclosed in the plaint. It is often noticed that during the trial of a suit, some fact is sought to be introduced in evidence which does not find mention in the plaint or in the written statement, as the case may be. Then follows a heated parley when the court intervenes and rejects any attempt of introduction of any new fact. To avoid discomfiture, the pleading should be carefully drafted not to miss any material fact which may subsequently be found to be so material as to decide the fate of the case this or that way. (ii) Not law: In a pleading, there is no scope of pleading a provision of law or conclusion of law. It is the intention 284 PP-DA&P of the framers of the Code that a pleading should state facts, and the position as in law shall be inferred if such facts are capable of raising any legal inference. The pleading should present facts in such a way that those would irresistibly and spontaneously draw a legal inference. Herein lies the art of pleading. To find out the law is the duty of the court. Legal effects are not to be stated by the party. In India, as in England, the duty of a pleader is to set out the facts upon which he relies and not the legal inference to be drawn from them. Likewise the conclusion of law or a mixed question of law and fact shoud not be pleaded. (iii) Not evidence: In like manner evidence has to be avoided in pleadings. We have noticed the wording of the rule of O. 6, R. 2 to wit, a statement in a concise form of the material facts on which the party pleading relies for his claim or defence as the case may be but not the evidence by which they are to be proved. A pleading should not contain facts which are merely evidence to prove the material facts. (iv) Immaterial facts to be discarded: Unnecessary details are the facts which are not material and, therefore, should be discarded. (v) Deficiency in pleading: Parties are related to each other and know everything. No element of surprise has been caused to the other party. Parties understood the case and led evidence accordingly. Deficiency in pleading would not affect case of the plaintiff.

PLAINT STRUCTURE
A suit is instituted by filing a plaint, which is the first pleading in a civil suit. It is a statement of the plaintiff’s claim and its object is simply to state the grounds upon, and the relief in respect of which he seeks the assistance of the court. Order VII of the Civil Procedure Code,1908 deals with plaint.
As per Order VII, R.1 CPC, every plaint must contain the following things:
(a) the name of the Court in which the suit is brought;
(b) the name, description and place of residence of the plaintiff;
(c) the name, description and place of residence of the defendant, so far as they can be ascertained; (d) where the plaintiff or the defendant is a minor or a person of unsound mind, a statement to that effect; (e) the facts constituting the cause of action and when it arose;
(f) the facts showing that the Court has jurisdiction;
(g) the relief which the plaintiff claims; (h) where the plaintiff has allowed a set-off or relinquished a portion of his claim, the amount so allowed or relinquished; and
(i) a statement of the value of the subject-matter of the suit for the purposes of jurisdiction and of court fees, so far as the case admits.
Where the plaintiff seeks the recovery of money, the plaint must state the precise amount claimed. But where the plaintiff sue for mesne profits, or for an amount which will be found due to him on taking unsettled accounts between him and the defendant, or for movables in the possession of the defendant, or for debts of which the value he cannot, after the exercise of reasonable diligence, estimate, the plaint shall state approximately the amount or value sued for. [R.2] If the subject-matter of the suit is immovable property, the plaint must contain a description of the property sufficient to identify it, and, in case such property can be identified by boundaries or numbers in a record of settlement or survey, the plaint must specify such boundaries or numbers. [R.3]
When plaintiff sues as representative: As per Rule 4 where the plaintiff sues in a representative character the plaint shall show not only that he has an actual existing interest in the subject-matter, but that he has taken the steps (if any) necessary to enable him to institute a suit concerning it. Defendant’s interest and liability to be shown: The plaint must show that the defendant is or claims to be interested in subject-matter, and that he is liable to be called upon to answer the plaintiffs demand. [R.5] Grounds of exemption from limitation law: In case the suit is instituted after the expiration of the period prescribed by the law of limitation, the plaint must show the ground upon which exemption from such law is claimed. The Court may permit the plaintiff to claim exemption from the law of limitation on any ground not set out in the plaint, if such ground is not inconsistent with the grounds set out in the plaint. [R.6]
Relief to be specifically stated: Rule 7 says that every plaint shall state specifically the relief which the plaintiff claims either simply or in the alternative, and it shall not be necessary to ask for general or other relief which may always be given as the Court may think just to the same extent as if it had been asked for. And the same rule shall apply to any relief claimed by the defendant in his written statement. Relief founded on separate ground: If the plaintiff seeks relief in respect of several distinct claims or causes of action founded upon separate and district grounds, they shall be stated as far as may be separately and distinctly. [R.8].

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[ 2 ]. Ganesh Trading v. Motiram, AIR 1970 SC 480
[ 3 ]. Udhav Singh v. Madhava Rao Scindia, AIR 1976 SC 744
[ 4 ]. Kailash Chandra v. Vinod, AIR 1994 NOC 267 (MP)