THE CODE OF CIVIL PROCEDURE (KARNATAKA AMENDMENT) BILL, 2024
A Bill further to amend the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 in its application to the State of Karnataka for the purpose of expeditious disposal of cases and providing speedy justice. Whereas it is expedient to further amend the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 in its application to the State of Karnataka for the purpose of expeditious disposal of cases and providing speedy justice; Be it enacted by the Karnataka State Legislature in the Seventy Fifth year of the Republic of India as follows: 1. Short title and commencement.-
(1) This Act may be called the Code of Civil Procedure (Karnataka Amendment) Act, 2024. (2) It shall come into force from such date as the State Government may by notification appoint.
2. Insertion of new section 89A .- In the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (Central Act 5 of 1908) (hereinafter referred to as the Principal Act), after section 89, the following new section shall be inserted, namely:- “89A. Mediation and Settlement.-
(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in any provision under the Code of Civil Procedure, every suit that does not contemplate any urgent interim relief shall be referred to mediation and notice shall be issued to defendants accordingly.
(2) The State Government may, by notification, authorise the authorities constituted under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 (Central Act 39 of 1987) for the purpose of mediation. (3) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, the Authority authorised by the State Government under sub-section
(2) shall complete the process of mediation within a period of two months from the date of reference under sub-section (1): Provided that the period of mediation may be extended for a further period of one month with the consent of the parties. (4) If the parties to the civil dispute arrive at a settlement, the same shall be reduced into writing and shall be signed by the parties to the dispute and the mediator and shall be submitted to the Court.
(5) The Court shall effect a compromise between the parties and shall follow such procedure as prescribed.”
3. Insertion of new section 158 A.-After section 158, the following shall be inserted, namely:- “158 A. Amendments to the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 in its application to civil disputes.-(1) The provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (Central Act 5 of 1908) shall, in their application to any suit in respect of a civil dispute stand amended by this Act.
(2) The Civil Courts shall follow the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908), as amended by this Act, in the trial of a suit. (3) Where any provision of any rule of the jurisdictional High Court or any amendment to the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908) is in conflict with the provisions of this amended by this Act, the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure as amended by this Act shall prevail.”
4. Amendment of the First Schedule.-In the First Schedule to the Principal Act,- (i) in the Order V, in rule 1, in sub-rule (1), after the second proviso, the following proviso shall be inserted, namely:– “Provided also that where the defendant fails to file the Written Statement within the said period of thirty days, he shall be allowed to file the Written Statement on such other day, as may be specified by the Court, for reasons to be recorded in writing and on payment of such costs as the Court deems fit, but which shall not be later than one hundred twenty days from the date of service of summons and on expiry of one hundred twenty days from the date of service of summons, the defendant shall forfeit the right to file the Written Statement and the Court shall not allow the Written Statement to be taken on record.”;
(ii) in Order VI,- (a) after rule 3A, the following rule shall be inserted, namely:- “3AA. Forms of pleading in Civil Courts.–In a civil dispute, where forms of pleadings have been prescribed under the High Court rules or Practice Directions made for the purposes of such civil disputes, pleadings shall be in such forms.”; (b) after rule 15 A, the following new rule shall be inserted, namely:- ‘‘15A-A. Verification of pleadings in a civil dispute.-
(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in rule 15, every pleading in a civil dispute shall be verified by an affidavit in the manner and form prescribed in the Appendix-IA to the Schedule.
(2) An affidavit under sub-rule (1)
above shall be signed by the party or by one of the parties to the proceedings, or by any other person on behalf of such party or parties who is proved to the satisfaction of the Court to be acquainted with the facts of the case and who is duly authorised by such party or parties. (3) Where a pleading is amended, the amendments must be verified in the form and manner referred to in sub-rule (1) unless the Court orders otherwise. (4) Where a pleading is not verified in the manner provided under sub-rule (1), the party shall not be permitted to rely on such pleading as evidence or any of the matters set out therein.
(5) The Court may strike out a pleading which is not verified by a statement of truth, namely, the affidavit set out in the Appendix-IA to the Schedule.” (iii) in Order VII,- (a) in rule 1,- (i) for clause (b) the following shall be substituted, namely:- “(b) The name, description and place of residence of the plaintiff, identity proof, mobile number and email- id;” and (ii) for clause (c) the following shall be substituted, namely:- “(c) The name, description and place of residence of the defendant, so far as they can be ascertained including the mobile number and email-id.” (b) after rule 2A, the following rule shall be inserted, namely:— “2-AA. Where interest is sought in the suit.-
(1) In money suits, where the plaintiff seeks interest, the plaint shall contain a statement to that effect along with the details set out under sub-rules (2) and (3). (2) Where the plaintiff seeks interest, the plaint shall state whether the plaintiff is seeking interest in relation to a civil dispute within the meaning of section 34 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908) and, furthermore, if the plaintiff is doing so under the terms of a contract or under an act, in which case the act is to be specified in the plaint; or on some other basis and shall state the basis of that. (3) Pleadings shall also state,-
(a) the rate at which interest is claimed; (b) the date from which it is claimed; (c) the date to which it is calculated; (d) the total amount of interest claimed to the date of calculation; and (e) the daily rate at which interest accrues after that date.” (iv) in Order VIII,– (a) in rule 1, after the second proviso, the following proviso shall be inserted, namely:–
“Provided also that where the defendant fails to file the Written Statement within the said period of thirty days, he shall be allowed to file the Written Statement on such other day, as may be specified by the Court, for reasons to be recorded in writing and on payment of such costs as the Court deems fit, but which shall not be later than one hundred twenty days from the date of service of summons and on expiry of one hundred twenty days from the date of service of summons, the defendant shall forfeit the right to file the Written Statement and the Court shall not allow the Written Statement to be taken on record.” (b) after rule 3, the following rule shall be inserted, namely:– “3A. Denial by the defendant in civil suits before the Courts.-(1) Denial shall be in the manner provided in sub-rules (2), (3), (4) and (5) of this rule. (2) The defendant in his Written Statement shall state which of the allegations in the particulars of plaint he denies, which allegations he is unable to admit or deny, but which he requires the plaintiff to prove, and which allegations he admits.
(3) Where the defendant denies an allegation of fact in a plaint, he must State his reasons for doing so and if he intends to put forward a different version of events from that given by the plaintiff, he must state his own version. (4) If the defendant disputes the jurisdiction of the Court he must state the reasons for doing so, and if he is able, give his own statement as to which Court ought to have jurisdiction. (5) If the defendant disputes the plaintiff’s valuation of the suit, he must state his reasons for doing so, and if he is able, give his own statement of the value of the suit.” (c) in rule 5, in sub-rule (1), after the first proviso, the following proviso shall be inserted, namely:-
‘‘Provided further that every allegation of fact in the plaint, if not denied in the manner provided under rule 3A of this order, shall be taken to be admitted except as against a person under disability.” (d) in rule 10, the following proviso shall be inserted, namely:– “Provided further that no Court shall make an order to extend the time provided under rule 1 of this order for filing of the Written Statement.” (v) Insertion of Order XV-AA.-After Order XV-A, the following order shall be inserted, namely:-
“ORDER XV-AA
CASE MANAGEMENT HEARING
1. First Case Management Hearing.- The Court shall hold the first Case Management Hearing, not later than four weeks from the date of completion of pleadings in the suit. Pleadings are completed when the defendant files Written Statement and the suit is set for framing of issues.
2. Orders to be passed in a Case Management Hearing.- In a Case Management Hearing, after hearing the parties, and once it finds that there are issues of fact and law which require to be tried, the Court may pass an order- (a) framing the issues between the parties in accordance with Order XIV of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908) after examining pleadings and documents produced before it, and on examination conducted by the Court under rule 2 of Order X, if required parties may be directed to submit draft issues. (b) listing witnesses to be examined by the parties;
(c) fixing the date by which affidavit of evidence to be filed by parties; (d) fixing the date on which evidence of the witnesses of the parties to be recorded; (e) fixing the date by which Written arguments are to be filed before the Court by the parties; (f) fixing the date on which oral arguments are to be heard by the Court; and (g) setting time limits for parties and their advocates to address oral arguments.
3.Time limit for the completion of a trial.-In fixing dates or setting time limits for the purposes of rule 2 of this order, the Court shall ensure that the arguments are closed not later than 24 months from the date of the first Case Management Hearing.
4. Recording of oral evidence on a day-to-day basis.-The Court shall, as far as possible, ensure that the recording of evidence shall be carried on, on a day-to-day basis or weekly basis until the cross-examination of all the witnesses is completed.
5.Case Management Hearings during a trial.-The Court may, if necessary, also hold Case Management Hearings anytime during the trial to issue appropriate orders so as to ensure adherence by the parties to the dates fixed under rule 2 and facilitate speedy disposal of the suit. 6. Powers of the Court in a Case Management Hearing.-
(1) In any Case Management Hearing held under this Order, the Court shall have the power to,- (a) prior to the framing of issues, hear and decide any pending application filed by the parties; (b) direct parties to file compilations of documents or pleadings relevant and necessary for framing issues; (c) extend or shorten the time for compliance with any practice, direction, or Court order if it finds sufficient reason to do so; (d) adjourn or bring forward a hearing if it finds sufficient reason to do so; (e) direct a party to attend the Court for the purposes of examination under Rule 2 of Order X; (f) consolidate proceedings; (g) strike off the name of any witness or evidence that it deems irrelevant to the issues framed; (h) direct a separate trial of any issue; (i) decide the order in which issues are to be tried; (j) exclude an issue from consideration; (k) dismiss or give judgment on a claim after a decision on a preliminary issue; (l) direct that evidence be recorded by a Commission where necessary in accordance with Order XXVI; (m)reject any affidavit of evidence filed by the parties for containing irrelevant, inadmissible or argumentative material; (n) strike off any parts of the affidavit of evidence filed by the parties containing irrelevant, inadmissible or argumentative material; (o) delegate the recording of evidence to such authority appointed by the Court for this purpose; (p) pass any order relating to the monitoring of recording the evidence by a commission or such authority; (q) issue directions or pass any order for the purpose of managing the case and furthering the overriding objective of ensuring the efficient disposal of the suit. (2) When the Court passes an order in exercise of its powers under this order, it may- (a) make it subject to conditions, including a condition to pay a sum of money into Court; and (b) specify the consequence of failure to comply with the order or a condition.
(3) While fixing the date for a Case Management Hearing, the Court may direct that the parties also be present for such Case Management Hearing, if it is of the view that there is a possibility of settlement between the parties.
7. Adjournment of Case Management Hearing.-(1) The Court shall not adjourn the Case Management Hearing for the sole reason that the advocate appearing on behalf of a party is not present: Provided that an adjournment of the hearing is sought in advance by moving an application, the Court may adjourn the hearing to another date upon the payment of such costs as the Court deems fit, by the party moving such application.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in this rule, if the Court is satisfied that there is a justified reason for the absence of the advocate, it may adjourn the hearing to another date upon such terms and conditions it deems fit.
8. Consequences of non-compliance with orders.-Where any party fails to comply with the order of the Court passed in a Case Management Hearing, the Court shall have the power to— (a) condone such non-compliance by payment of costs to the Court;
(b) foreclose the non-compliant party’s right to file affidavits, conduct crossexamination of witnesses, file Written submissions, address oral arguments or make further arguments in the trial, as the case may be, or (c) dismiss the plaint or allow the suit where such non-compliance is willful, repeated and the imposition of costs is not adequate to ensure compliance.”
(vi) in Order XVII in Rule 1, in sub -rule (1), for the proviso, the following shall be substituted, namely:- “Provided that no such adjournment shall be granted more than three times to a party during hearing of the suit and the overall duration of three adjournments shall not exceed 30 days.
vii) in Order XVIII,- (a) in rule 2, for sub-rules (3A), (3B), (3C), (3D), (3E) and (3F), the following subrules shall be substituted, namely:–– “(3A) A party shall, within seven days prior to commencing the oral arguments, submit concisely and under distinct headings Written arguments in support of his case to the Court and such Written arguments shall form part of the record.
(3B) The Written arguments shall clearly indicate the provisions of the laws being cited in support of the arguments and the citations of judgments being relied upon by the party and include copies of such judgments being relied upon by the party and care should be taken to cite only one judgment on one point. (3C) A copy of such Written arguments shall be furnished simultaneously to the opposite party.
(3D) The Court may, if it deems fit, after the conclusion of arguments, permit the parties to file revised Written arguments within a period of not more than one week after the date of conclusion of arguments. (3E) No adjournment shall be granted for the purpose of filing the written arguments unless the Court, for reasons to be recorded in writing, considers it necessary to grant such adjournment. (3F) It shall be open for the Court to limit the time for oral submissions having regard to the nature and complexity of the matter.” (b) in rule 4, after the proviso to sub-rule (1C), the following sub-rules shall be inserted, namely:–– “
(1D) The affidavits of evidence of all witnesses whose evidence is proposed to be led by a party shall be filed simultaneously by that party at the time directed in the first Case Management Hearing. (1E) A party shall not lead additional evidence by the affidavit of any witness (including of a witness who has already filed an affidavit) unless sufficient cause is made out in an application for that purpose and an order, giving reasons, permitting such additional affidavit is passed by the Court. (1F) A party shall however have the right to withdraw any of the affidavits so filed at any time prior to commencement of cross-examination of that witness, without any adverse inference being drawn based on such withdrawal.” (viii) in Order XIX, after rule 3, the following new rules shall be inserted, namely:– “4. Court may control evidence.-
(1) The Court may, by directions, regulate the evidence as to issues on which it requires evidence and the manner in which such evidence may be placed before the Court.
(2) The Court may, in its discretion and for reasons to be recorded in writing, exclude evidence that would otherwise be produced by the parties.” 5. Format and guidelines of affidavit of evidence.-An affidavit must comply with the form and requirements set forth below:— (a) such affidavit should be confined to, and should follow the chronological sequence of, the dates and events that are relevant for proving any fact or any other matter dealt with;
(b) each paragraph of an affidavit should, as far as possible, be confined to a distinct portion of the subject or material fact; (c) an affidavit shall state— (i) which of the statements in it are made from the deponent’s own knowledge and which are matters of information or belief; and (ii) the source for any matters of information or belief;
(d) an affidavit should— (i) have the pages numbered consecutively as a separate document (or as one of several documents contained in a file); (ii)be divided into numbered paragraphs; (iii) have all numbers, including dates, expressed in figures; and (iv) if any of the documents referred to in the body of the affidavit are annexed to the affidavit or any other pleadings, give the annexures and page numbers of such documents that are relied upon.” 5. Insertion of new Appendix-IA.- After Appendix-I, the following Appendix shall be inserted, namely:- “APPENDIX-IA S
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