Substitution Of Legal Heirs And Addition Of Plaintiffs Is Not Permissible Under Order VI Rule 17 Of CPC: Calcutta HC
The Calcutta High Court has held that substituting the legal heirs and adding plaintiffs is not permissible under Order VI, Rule 17 of the Civil Procedure Code (CPC). The Court disposed of an Application seeking an amendment to the cause title, body, and schedule of the plaint.
Justice Krishna Rao observed, “In view of the above, this Court is of the view that substitution of the legal heirs of the plaintiff no. 4 and addition of the plaintiff nos. 8 and 9 is not permissible under Order VI, Rule 17 of the Code of Civil Procedure”.
Advocate Debdatta Sen appeared for the Plaintiffs, and Advocate S N Arefin appeared for the Defendants.
The Plaintiffs filed an application seeking an amendment to the cause title, body, and schedule of the plaint, as mentioned in the proposed amendment annexed with the application. First, they sought to delete the name of the deceased Plaintiff No. 4 and add the name of his wife, Bharati Mitra. Additionally, they sought to replace the previous power of attorney holder of Plaintiff No. 5, Argha Mitra, with Amrita Mitra. They also prayed to add Amrita Mitra and Amitabh Mitra as Plaintiffs no 8 and 9. Furthermore, the Plaintiffs sought to amend the description of the suit premises in paragraphs 1 and 4 and Schedule A property. They also prayed to delete the word “possession” in paragraphs 8 and prayer (a) of the lawsuit and replace it with “eviction/ejectment against the defendant”.
The Defendants contended that the Plaintiffs could not substitute the legal heir of Plaintiff no. 4 by way of amendment, nor could they add Plaintiffs no. 8 and 9 by way of amendment. The defendant argued that the CPC governs the substitution of legal heirs and the addition of plaintiffs. They contended that this provision could not be circumvented by way of amendment.
The Court allowed the Plaintiffs' prayer for amendment of paragraphs 1, 2, 4, 8, prayer (a), Schedule A, and concise statement of the proposed amendment. The Court directed the department to carry out the amendment within three weeks from the date of the order.
Accordingly, the Court disposed of the Application.
Cause Title: Thakurani Shree Shree Durga Mata Jew, & Ors. v Kangali Charan Raul & Anr.
