Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 | Order VI
Order VI Rules 1, 2, 3, 3A, 4, 5 and 6 CPC: Pleadings Generally
Order VI of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 lays down the general rules governing pleadings. Rules 1 to 6 explain what a pleading is, require concise statements of material facts rather than evidence, prescribe the forms of pleadings, require specific particulars in cases such as fraud and misrepresentation, permit the Court to order better particulars, and regulate pleading of conditions precedent.
India Code - Code of Civil Procedure, 1908
Order VI Rule 1 CPC Pleading
"Pleading" means a plaint or a written statement.
Order VI Rule 2 CPC Pleading to state material facts and not evidence
Every pleading must contain, and contain only, a concise statement of the material facts on which the party relies for the claim or defence, as the case may be, but not the evidence by which those facts are to be proved.
Where necessary, the pleading should be divided into consecutively numbered paragraphs, with each allegation, so far as convenient, stated in a separate paragraph.
Dates, sums and numbers are to be expressed in figures as well as in words.
Order VI Rule 3 CPC Forms of pleading
The forms in Appendix A are to be used where applicable. Where a prescribed form is not directly applicable, pleadings should follow a form of similar character as nearly as possible.
Order VI Rule 3A CPC Forms of pleading in Commercial Courts
In a commercial dispute, where forms of pleadings have been prescribed under applicable High Court Rules or Practice Directions made for commercial disputes, the pleadings must be in those prescribed forms.
Rule 3A applies to commercial disputes of specified value and operates alongside the procedural framework introduced for Commercial Courts.
Order VI Rule 4 CPC Particulars to be given where necessary
Where a party relies on misrepresentation, fraud, breach of trust, wilful default or undue influence, the pleading must contain necessary particulars, including dates and items where required. The same principle applies in other cases where particulars beyond those illustrated in the prescribed forms are necessary.
Order VI Rule 5 CPC Further and better statement or particulars
The Court may, in any case, order a further and better statement of the nature of the claim or defence, or further and better particulars of a matter stated in a pleading, on such terms as to costs or otherwise as the Court considers just.
Order VI Rule 6 CPC Condition precedent
A condition precedent, the performance or occurrence of which is intended to be contested, must be distinctly specified in the pleading by the plaintiff or defendant, as the case may be.
Subject to that requirement, an averment that all conditions precedent necessary for the plaintiff's or defendant's case have been performed or have occurred is implied in the pleading.