Stages of suit 1.Filing the Plaint 2. court sends Summons to defendant 3. defendant appears and files written statement.

4. Court frames issues 5. Case posted for trial 6. Plaintiff files Proof of affidavit. 7. Defendant cross examines the plaintiff 8. Further evidence of plaintiff (if any) 9. Defendant files proof of affidavit. 10. Plaintiff cross examines the defendant 11. Further evidence of defendant (if any) 12. Arguments 13. Judgment. 1. I.A. is filed it will be dealt before the trial takes place or simultaneously along with the suit. The stage is 1) I.A. filed by petitoner 2) Notice taken to the respondent 3) counter filed by respondent 4) arguments of petitioner 5) arguments of respondent 6) disposal of I.A.

chosen the proper court of jurisdiction for filing the suit? Drafted correctly the plaint and all reliefs in your favour are included in the Prayer therein ? included all parties connected with the dispute in the suit? advised you to file correct documents and witness in support of your claim? pleaded your case properly? In case you had lost the case, is it due to the weakness in the substantive part of your case, or due to procedural deficiencies in your presentation. The Sequential Steps for filing a civil suit in a Civil Court

i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi.

vii. viii. ix. x. xi. xii. xiii. xiv. xv. xvi.

Examine the case history and confirm that you have a full-proof bonafide claim that can be enforced by filing a civil suit in a competent court. Decide the appropriate court and its location having jurisdiction to adjudicate the case Prepare a brief history of your case, and attach copies of relevant records/documents in support thereof If you propose to support your case with oral evidence of witnesses, prepare a list of such witnesses and gist of the testimony of each Engage an advocate who practices in the Court, where you are to file the civil suit and hand over the case papers to him for his study Drafting the Plaint by the advocate. Scrutinise the plaint to confirm it contains all material data stated correctly the plaint is made in the form provided and with data/contents as per legal requirements Remitting the Court fees into the Court and filing the Plaint Getting process served to the defendants Initial hearing Filing of written statement by the defendant Framing of Issues by the Court Posting of the suit for evidence Filing documents & Leading Evidence Evidence by the defendants Posting for Final Arguments Posting the case for Pronouncement of the decree & Passing of Decree

Detailed discussion of processes in each step Examination of Case History (Step: 1) Do not venture and resort to frivolous litigation even if your advocate recommends, if you do not have a bonafide and valid claim. It is not enough, you have a valid cause of action, your enforceable remedy through court should not be barred by limitation. If a debtor owes you Rs.10,000/- through a valid pronote, it does not automatically entitle you to go to the court. The debt should have become due for repayment and a proper demand already made to the debtor and he should have failed to repay. Then you have a cause for action for seeking civil remedy through court. If Pronote was executed five years before and there have been not a single repayment or acknowledgement of the debt, your enforceable remedy through court is time-barred. Law expects you to be alert and alive to your bonafide interests. Only then it will come to you aid. Decide the Appropriate Court and its Location having Jurisdiction to adjudicate your Case (Step:2) The court in which you should file your case depends on a. The subject matter of your case. For example, you have to go to a consumer forum to file a consumer case, to a criminal court for filing a case for dishonour of cheque, to a civil court if you want an injunction or recovery of money, labour matters are before the labour court, to the High/Supreme Court if your fundamental right is violated etc.; AND b. The parties involved. For example, a bank can file a case for recovery of an amount more than Rs.10 lakhs in a Debt Recovery Tribunal; AND c. The amount of money involved. Each state has a hierarchy of lower courts. The lowest court has powers to grant compensation/ deal with matters valued up to a limit (such as Rs.25,000 or Rs.50,000). Beyond that, matters are dealt with by the court directly above it; AND d. The place where the transaction in dispute arose or where your defendant (the person against whom you are filing the case) resides. You can file a case in the court which has power (jurisdiction) over such a place; AND e. If you are filing a case in respect of immovable property you should go to the court which exercises power over that area. If you propose to support your case with oral evidence of witnesses, prepare a list of such witnesses and gist of the testimony of each (step:3) This will make you data store complete and comprehensive and make the job quick and easy for the advocate, whose domain should be the legal aspect of the dispute. Engage an Advocate who Practices in the Court, Where You are to File the Civil Suit (Step: 4) After securing the services of a competent lawyer you may hand over the case papers to him for study. Select the advocate wisely. If the issues involved are simple and straight and you have indisputable documentary evidence a junior advocate (even with three years practice) but dedicated to the profession will be sufficient. However, where the suit to be filed involve complex issues of both law and fact, you need an advocate specialised in that branch of law. Normally in such cases one having not less than 7 years practice may be considered. To give a final chance to the person(s) against whom the suit is to be filed, the advocate at this stage should issue a final legal notice giving 15 days time for action/settlement of the matter and in this period , he will start preparing and keeping the plaint ready, to be able to file the suit on the 16th day at the court in case of non-compliance by the person to whom notice has been served.

Preparing a proper case history by the client will enable the advocate to quickly and more efficiently handle the task of plaint preparation. Preparation of Plaint (step: 5) The plaint is made in the manner and with data/contents as per legal requirements. Once you file a plaint, you are known as a plaintiff The plaint that you file should contain the following particulars. a. The name of the Court in which you file your case. b. Your name, father's name, age, occupation and address. c. The name, father's name (if known), age occupation and address of the person against whom you are filing the case. (The person whom you file the case against is known as a "defendant"). d. The facts of the case. e. The facts stating how you are entitled to file the case and when you became entitled to file the case f. The reasons for filing the case in the court you have chosen (you have to establish that the said court has the right jurisdiction to decide your case). The fact that the case filed is not debarred by limitation. g. Your claim (called "relief" or "prayer"). This is to be expressed clearly, because the Court will not grant any relief that has not been prayed, even if it comes that you are entitled for the same. You may also include an omnibus clause seeking for such other reliefs as the Court may please to grant. h. The "value" of the case and the Court fees paid. The documents in your possession in support of your statements in the Plaint are also to be filed. In case you desire to secure any interim reliefs, you must file additional applications for the same, along with the plaint. The plaint is the primary document expressing your full case history and the reliefs you pray for. It has to be drafted very clearly and unambiguously. Remitting the Court Fees into the Court and filing the Plaint Calculation of Court Fee Payable (Step: 6) Court fee is calculated as per the Court Fees Act of each state. Depending on the subject matter of the litigation, the court fee prescribed may bei. ii. A percentage of the value of the compensation claimed or the value of the property in dispute; OR A fixed amount for certain categories of cases, such as partition cases.

It also depends upon what you are asking for from the court. Further, the court fees vary from State to State and therefore you will have to check the "fee schedule" of the Court Fees Act passed in your State. Generally, for cases involving recovery of money, the Court Fees court range from 5 10% of your claim. In case you succeed in your case, the person whom you file the case against (the defendant), will also be ordered to reimburse the (eligible amount of the ) cost of the suit to you. You also settle fees for your advocate and make payment of normally 50% of the amount. The advocate will them remit the court fees and do everything necessary to get the suit filed in the Court. How to File a Civil Suit? (Part: 2)(Steps 7 to 18) Getting process served to the Defendants (Step-7)

Once the case is filed the Court allots a serial number to your case, with a prefix indicating the type of the case.(Like "O.S" for "Original Suit").The judge invariably directs that a notice be issued to the defendant and also specifies the next date on which the case is required to be posted before him. The dates are recorded in the court diary, which is accessible by all. You will have to find out from the court diary when your case is posted and will have to appear before the court on the said date. Of-course this information you will get from your lawyer. The Court issues a "notice" to the defendant informing him that you have filed a case against him and directing him to appear in the court personally/through lawyer on the appointed date. However if the defendant is an unscrupulous litigant, he will try all tricks to delay the matter. He will avoid receiving the notice sent by the court. The remedy then is to send the notice by Registered Post. In this case he may bribe the postal staff and get the registered post returned as bearing "in-correct address". A final remedy is to publish the process in the local newspaper, widely circulated in the place of the defendant. All this involves expenses and delay. Another remedy is to pray to the court seeking service of the notice through "affixture". Affixture of notice is basically where an officer of the Court personally visits the house of the defendant and pastes a copy of the notice on his door or some other conspicuous part of his house. He then reports to the court that he has "affixed the notice". Once he does this, the notice is considered to be served. In case he still does not appear before the court on the date mentioned in the notice, the court will proceed with the case in his absence. Initial hearing (Step: 8) On the initial hearing when the defendant appears before the Court, time is given to him to file the written statement and next date of hearing is fixed for the defendant to file the written statement. Normally 30 days time is allowed to the defendant. However requests for more time by the defendant are generally granted. However, it is up to you to be assertive and to oppose any postponement sought by the Defendant. Incidentally, the court is also empowered to levy a fine (called "costs") upon the defendant for his failure to file a written statement. You can either persuade the Court to grant a postponement subject to a payment of fine (which could act as a deterrent) or you can persuade the court to post the case to its next stage, i.e. recording of evidence. Filing of written statement by the defendant (Step: 9) When the defendant finally files his written statement in the Court, he would have been advised by his lawyer, to deny all the assertions in the plaint and to force the plaintiff to prove each and everything. This is also another clever device to prolong and delay the final outcome of the case, which may not be in favour of the defendant, if you happen to have a bonafide case. Framing of Issues by the Court (Step: 10) Issues to be framed by the court are a list of disputed questions of fact and of law, which the plaintiff has to prove through evidence. Obviously those facts mentioned by the plaintiff in his plaint, which are not expressly disputed by the defendant need not be proved. Posting of the suit for evidence (Step: 11) After the Issues are framed the case is then posted for evidence. Filing documents & Leading Evidence (step: 12) The evidence of the Plaintiff is first taken for consideration. He has to stand in the witness box and tell the judge his part of the story. The judge will record whatever he says. The plaintiff will also be cross-examined by the defendant's advocate. Importantly, he will have to specifically point out the

documents involved, at the time of leading evidence. The court makes a note of these documents. This is called "marking of documents". He must ensure that all the documents you are relying upon are "marked" by the court. The Court does not take into consideration any document, which is not marked. Next, other witnesses, if any, on behalf of the plaintiff are examined and such witness can also step into the witness box and narrate the facts to the judge. This, in legal terminology, is called "leading evidence". All the witness of the plaintiff will be cross-examined by the defendant. Evidenced by the defendants (Step: 13) After the case of the plaintiff is closed, the evidences on behalf of the defendant are taken up. The defendant is allowed to file any documents from his side and these are also marked as records of the case. The witnesses on behalf of the defendant are cross-examined by the Plaintiff (i.e. by the plaintiff's lawyer). After the evidence of both sides are completed, the case is adjourned for final arguments. Posting for Final Arguments (Step: 14) Arguments by both sides are intended to brief the judge with a summary and gist of the evidences produced by each side. This is an important stage in the case, since the judge may not be able to read and assimilate lengthy documents covering evidences on both sides, but he is accustomed for quick perception what is stated in the arguments. Documents are not read during the proceedings, and they have to be studied leisurely by the Judge, after court hours. What if the judge has 50 cases in a day and has to study all the papers? It is customary in many cases for the judge to hear the arguments on both sides and to pronounce the judgement at the court immediately on completion of the arguments. This is possible when the issues involved are simple and properly dealt with. Posting the case for Pronouncement of the decree & Passing of Decree (Step: 15) After the conclusion of arguments the judge may reserve his judgement to be pronounced on a later date or may deliver the same immediately as said earlier. The judgement is expressed in a speaking form. It sums the case proceedings in the court, makes an assessment of the evidences on either side, and draws the logical conclusion. As per the conclusion the reliefs sough by the winning party is expressed. This is called passing the decree in favour of the concerned party i.e. the plaintiff or defendant, as the court pass a decree along with its judgment. A decree is normally passed in favour the plaintiff, who has filed the suit, if the court accepts his pleas. However when the court rejects the submissions of the plaintiff, the case is dismissed. In some times the defendants in such occasions may be awarded the costs of the litigation at the discretion of the court. The decree would have to containa. b. c. d. e. f. g. The date of the judgment The case number, The description of the parties involved, A clear specification of the relief granted The costs of the case The person who is liable to pay the costs The signature of the judge.

Both parties may apply to the court for a copy of the judgement and it is provided to them on their application. This may normally involves a delay of about 10 days. Delay in Securing Legal Remedies

The process as above appears very simple, but in real life the litigation is dragged for several months and even years. This is not only on account of the delaying tactics adopted by the defendant, but also due to enormous backlog of litigation piled up and pending in civil courts. Hearing gets adjourned for some reason or other at every stage several times. What is an adjournment? An adjournment is a postponement of the hearing of the case to a future date for some valid reason such as the illness of the witness, necessity to get additional documents etc. Adjournments may be asked for at various stages of a case, as there is no limit to the number of times it can be asked for. However, the court may impose a small amount of money as penalty while granting an adjournment. The amendments to the Code of Civil Procedure in 2000 sought to limit the number of adjournments to 3 per side, but this has not yet come into force. Over all litigation is time consuming and may also be costly. Efforts should be made to resort to litigation only as an ultimate remedy. Execution of the Decree The party in whose favour the decree is passed is called the decree holder. The other party is called the judgement debtor. The judgement debtor has to implement the court's decree. If he fails to implement, the decree holder can file an execution petition in the court. The execution petition has to be filed in the court at the place where the judgement debtor resides. If immovable property is to be attached it should be filed in the court at the place, where the property is located. For this purpose the judgement-decree has to be transferred to the concerned court in the first instance. The decree holder has the following options by way of remedy: i. ii. iii. iv. He can pray the court for the attachment of moveable properties of the judgement debtor, or He may pray for attachment of the standing crops of the judgement-debtor if he is an agriculturist, or He may move for attachment of the immovable property of the judgement debtor, or He may pray for the arrest and detention of the judgement debtor in the civil prison

In all cases he has to furnish clear particulars of the location and details of the moveable properties, standing crops or immovable property, specified. Further the immovable properties to be attached should be free from prior encumbrance. This the decree holder must satisfy the court by providing a non-encumbrance certificate. Certain items like personal clothing, tools of trade and cooking utensils cannot be attached in satisfaction of debts. In some States the dwelling house in which the judgement debtor resides also cannot be attached. The judgement debtor may plead before the court for repayment of the decreed-debt in convenient installments. When the terms sought are reasonable, it should be in the interest of the decree holder to accept such a proposal. Filing of Appeal When the plaintiff loses the original suit, or when the suit is decreed in his favour, the defendant, i.e. the affected party may appeal, if it is considered there are valid grounds of law, and/or facts for preferring the appeal. The Court immediately higher in the court hierarchy to the court, which passed the final judgment, is the court to which you can appeal. The appeal has to be filed within 90 days from the date of decree. For filing an appeal a certified copy of the decree should be applied and obtained from the Court and filed with the appeal

The appeal will have to be filed in the prescribed form. The general requirements for filing an appeal are: a. The appeal document must contain the "grounds of appeal". In other words, you must set forth in your appeal memorandum how exactly you are aggrieved by the lower court's order and will have to pinpoint where the judge erred in passing the order. b. The appeal will have to be signed by either you or your advocate. The "appellate court" rehears the entire case. The court will examine the judgment of the lower court to ascertain whether it was right in dismissing your case. It will thereafter proceed to pronounce its judgment. The judgment of the appellate court contains i. ii. iii. iv. The points considered for determination; The decision on the above points The reasons for the decision, and Where the appeal is allowed, the relief to which the appellant is entitled. (Source- http://www.indialawinfo.com/civil.html)

Legal Reforms - Amendments Code of Civil Procedure - Procedures for Quick Disposal Civil Procedure (Amendment) Act, 1999 was passed by the Parliament on 12.10.99. The act was further amended by Civil Procedure (Amendment) Act 2002. Both the aforesaid amendments have come into force on 01.07.2002. Purpose/objectives of the Amendments To speed up the pace of judicial process and to get over the backlog of civil cases. The Code of Civil Procedure (Amendment) Act, 2002 brings out radical changes in the Service of Summons allowing Commissioners to record evidence, and providing for submission of written statements by the defendants within 30 days from the date of service of summons.

All these measures are intended to prevent prolonged litigation and help the courts in settling civil suits within a reasonable time. It implements the policy of time-bound disposal civil cases and is intended to bring relief to the litigants, who hitherto have been waiting for years for the outcome of their cases in courts. Now the civil suits cannot last longer than a year. Only three adjournments can be sought by a party and the court may order costs occasioned by the adjournments or such higher costs as it may deem fit. The court may also fix a time limit for oral arguments and to avoid delay, it may ask the parties to file written submissions. Another significant feature of the amended Act is that judgement in a case is to be pronounced within 30 days from the date on which the hearing was concluded. The general power of the court to extend the time for any purpose by the Code without any limit is now being restricted to 30 days. The second appeal is being abolished on money suits where the value does not exceed Rs.215000/-, but appeal to a Division Bench of the High Court against the orders of a single judge is allowed. Also, on filing of revision application against the orders of a subordinate court, its records shall not be called unless the High Court specially orders to do so. The amendments has further empowered the courts to refer certain suits for conciliation and arbitration. This is expected to reduce the bulk of litigation and decrease the pendency of cases in civil courts.