Counter-claim need not be headed by cause title: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court recently held that there is no legal mandate under the Code of Civil Procedure or the Civil Rules of Practice, Kerala that counter-claims should be headed by a cause title [Bijoy v Gopinathan & Ors.]..From a reading of the Order VII Rule 1 and Order VIII Rule 6A of the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC) and Rules 11 and 15 of the Civil Rules of Practice, Kerala, Justice CS Dias held that there is no legal stipulation that any subsequent pleading in a proceeding, such as a counter-claim, need to be headed by a cause title. "Undoubtedly, a counter claim is a subsequent pleading as prescribed under Order VIII Rule 9 of the Code of Civil Procedure. Therefore, there is no legal stipulation that a counter-claim should be headed by a cause title," the Court said in its judgement..The Court was considering a petition moved by one of the defendants in an original suit before a Munsiff court seeking a decree of permanent prohibitory injunction to restrain the petitioner from trespassing into a temple. The petitioner and other defendants raised a counter-claim to the suit and the Munsiff court partly decreed the suit and counter-claim. When the petitioner applied for the judgment and decree, his counsel was served with a notice informing him that the office was unable to do so in the absence of the cause title in the counter-claim. When the petitioner filed an application to correct the cause title in the counter-claim, one of the plaintiffs opposed the same.The trial court was yet to issue order on the said application or pass judgment when the petitioner approached the High Court with the instant plea. The Munsiff in question informed the Court that due to the absence of the cause title, it was not possible for the office to prepare the judgment and decree. .The Court went through the relevant provisions of the CPC and the Civil Rules of Practice, Kerala and found that only a plaint or original petition need to be headed with a cause-title, and the full name, age, residence and address and description of each party needs to be set out in the beginning of the plaint, original petition or memorandum, and further that the said details need not be repeated in the subsequent proceedings in the same suit, appeal or matter.Since a counter claim is a subsequent pleading, the Court held that the counter-claim need not be headed by the cause title. "The stand of the court below that the judgment and decree in the suit and the counter-claim will be issued only on the petitioner incorporating a cause title is unwarranted," the judgment stated.Therefore, the Court allowed the petition and directed the Munsiff to release the judgment and decree in the original suit to the petitioner.The petitioner was represented by Advocate SK Adhithyan.[Read Judgment]