Statement Of Truth Has To Be Filed In Prescribed Form Under Commercial Courts Act; No Amendment Could Be Allowed For The Same In Affidavit: Jharkhand HC
The Jharkhand High Court ruled that it is incumbent upon the Court to provide an opportunity to the party to file the statement of truth in a prescribed form as provided under the Commercial Courts Act and no amendment could be allowed for the same in the affidavit.
The Petition before the High Court was filed against the order passed in a Commercial Suit by the Court of Civil Judge (Sr. Division)-I, Jamshedpur wherein the lower Court allowed the petition of the plaintiff/respondent under Order VI Rule 17 of CPC and further rejected the application under Order-XIII-A filed on behalf of petitioners/defendants.
The Single-Judge Bench of Justice Subhash Chand said, “It is the settled law that the amendment can be made in pleadings which includes plaint and written statement and in view of settled propositions of law the applications in any proceeding as well.”
Advocate Jitendra Kumar Pasari represented the Petitioners.
The Counsel for the Petitioner submitted that the Commercial Suit is pending in the court of Civil Judge (Sr. Division)-I cum Special Judge. In that very suit, the application under Order-VI, Rule-17 of CPC was given on behalf of the plaintiff seeking relief to incorporate the statement of truth under Order-VI, Rule-15A of the Commercial Court Act.
The counsel for the petitioner also submitted that given the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, Rule-15A provides that notwithstanding anything contained in Rule-15, every pleading in commercial dispute shall be verified by an affidavit in a manner and form prescribed in the appendix to the schedule. Since with the plaint of Commercial Suit, there was no verification of the pleading because of Rule-15A of Commercial Courts Act, 2015, the very amendment was filed on behalf of the plaintiff under Order-VI Rule-17 of CPC.
In light of such factual and legal aspects, the Bench held, “It was incumbent upon the learned court below that to provide opportunity to file the statement of truth i.e. affidavit in a prescribed form of the Rule-15A schedule in addition or in place of the general affidavit which was annexed with the plaint; but no amendment could have been allowed for the same in the affidavit.”
The Court took note of the fact that in the case in hand the very amendment was sought on behalf of the plaintiff to amend the statement of truth in the plaint. “The same is not permissible since the affidavit does not come within the purview of pleading, if any, affidavit has not been properly filed in view of the Schedule as prescribed under Rule-15A of Commercial Court Act the only course which was available to the plaintiff was to file the statement of truth the format of the same is given in the schedule of the Act itself and which is nothing but affidavit”, the Bench said.
As per the Bench, the very amendment application which had been allowed by the court below was based on perverse findings and needed interference.
Thus, allowing the Petition at the admission stage, the Bench set aside the impugned order and remanded the matter to the court concerned. The Petition was disposed of by ordering that the amendment which has already been incorporated be struck off.
The Bench concluded the matter by further ordering, “The learned trial court is directed to provide the opportunity to the plaintiff of the commercial suit to file the statement of truth as provided in a prescribed format of the schedule as provided under Rule-15A of the Commercial Court Act.”
Cause Title: M/s City Alloys Private Limited v. M/s Hari Om & Co. (Case No.: C.M.P. No.436 of 2024)
Appearance:
Petitioners:Advocates Jitendra Kumar Pasari, Avinash Kumar Pasari