Let’s understand the civil litigation in most candid way

Shubham Budhiraja[1]

Previously also I posted the similar blog  on civil litigation which you can viewed from here 

In civil litigation, there are two stories by two different parties who come to court with their plea and some relief. To claim their relief, they state their case in form of pleading. The pleading has to contain material facts and there should be no suppression or omission of material facts. With their plaint/ WS, parties attach all lists of documents they intend to rely upon no matter whether they are relevant or not.

 

They may with leave of court file additional documents as well (The situation is bit different in case of commercial suit matters). Once the exchange of documents is over, the parties serve affidavit of admission-denial of documents. The purpose is to cut short the controversy so that issues to be framed only for disputed facts and not for those facts or documents which are admitted or so called common facts.

 

The parties may deliver interrogatories to ask questions from another party regarding the disputed facts or documents (Example, in a partition suit, the plaintiff may serve questions to ask details of any hidden family property which is in the knowledge of defendant).

 

The parties may inspect the documents of other party or may seek production of any document from other party. (Example, in an employer-employee arbitration matter, employee may seek production of laptop which contains details of work he has done for him during his employment)  The purpose of discovery, inspection and production is to speed up the trial so that only relevant issues to be framed by the court.

 

One of important aspect of civil trial is judgment on admission under O12 R6 r/w Section 17 of Indian Evidence act, 1872. The admission can be gathered through; (i) pleadings in the case, (ii) pleadings in any previous suit (Example, admission in claim/defense in arbitration is getting used in injunction suit against bank guarantee between same parties), (iii) admission of documents, etc.

 

Admission is the best evidence however the party can always explain the circumstances or grounds under which he admitted the fact. Admissions once made cannot be withdrawn though they can be explained through amendment of pleading. (Example, in a partition suit defendant admitted in WS that plaintiff entitled to 1/3 of share in property but later amend its WS to add a rider that provided plaintiff first proves his relationship with deceased).

 

There are rules of evidence which runs in parallel. The civil litigation actually begins with framing of issues where onwards the parties bring their testimony of witness. It is a general rule that each allegation becomes a fact when it is proved. When it is proved depends on onus and burden of proving. The onus kept on shifting but burden always remain constant. The burden is the umbrella term. (Example, in a suit for partition, the burden is on plaintiff to proof that he had a relationship with deceased which entitle him the share. He may submit his relationship proof such as birth certificate etc. which may get disputed by the defendant. Once defendant denied it, the onus shifted to plaintiff).

 

The witnesses are of various kinds such as (i) expert witness, (ii) lead witness, etc.  The expert witness merely tenders their opinion (though he is not someone who is aware of the matter) which is always available to rebuttal by other party through cross-examination.  

 

Each of the witness is judged through 3 principles (i) credibility, (ii) reliability and (iii) probability. The credibility means whether he is a man of character speaking truth. The reliability has nothing to do whether he speaking lie but it is that how much of his statement can be accepted with certainty. (Example, where he simply says that he was at the place but he has not personally seen the parties to sign the agreement) The probability is the comparison between to see whose statement sound more probable. There is some of witness who is per se inadmissible such as (i) hearsay witness.

 

The examination of witness runs as (i) examination in chief, (ii) cross-examination and (iii) re-examination. It is always best to introduce only those witnesses who are available and ready to testify. If a party is relying on a document, it is advisable to testify the maker of the document as witness.

There is some of the evidence of whose contents can only be contradicted by the documentary evidence and not by oral testimony. (Example, The execution of a contract or the interpretation of any clause- Section 90-100 of Evidence act however there are exceptions to this rule where oral testimony allow contradicting such as where contract is alleged to be executed through fraud, lack of free consent or misrepresentation)

 

Once the deposition is over, the parties made their final submission in form of written arguments and oral arguments. This led to the order or judgment of the court. The aggrieved party is always welcome to agitate in form of appeal/ review/ revision subject to conditions of law.

 

Disclaimer: The above stated contents are a creation of mind, labor & skill and creativity and therefore subject to all rights & privileges under the copyright act, 1957. However, the non-commercial use of same is allowed subject to all justifications of fair use.

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[1] Advocate, Delhi High Court, Associate Company Secretary-ICSI, Member, Research Committee-Northern Region, ICSI, Member- Delhi High Court Bar Association, Secretary- Shaurya ek Samman (NGO), shubhambudhiraja02@gmail.com , 9654055315