At the outset it has been practiced by courts that once the suit is filed by the plaintiff, the defendant must be served to answer in the court by presenting a written statement. The code of civil procedure provides under that R1- when a suit has been instituted, a summons (signed by judge/officer with seal of court) is to be issued to defendant to appear and answer the claim and to file written statement in his defence if on any specified day not being more than 30 days from the date of institution of suit (OR date of service of summons), as may be specified therein.

However, no such summons is to be issued if the defendant has appeared at the time of presentation of the plaint and admitted the plaintiff’s claim.

If defendant fails to file within 30 days from the date of service of summons, a written statement, he may be allowed an extension but not beyond 90 days from the date of service of summons, and the reason for doing so should be recorded by court.

Defendant may appear –a) in person; b) by a duly instructed pleader who is able to answer all material questions; c) by a pleader along with another person who can answer all questions.

It is pertinent to note that according to R2 – Summon to be accompanied by copy of the Plaint.

Author:
Dr. Ram Niwas Sharma, Associate Professor, Unitedworld School of Law (UWSL)

Disclaimer: The opinions / views expressed in this article are solely of the author in his / her individual capacity. They do not purport to reflect the opinions and/or views of the College and/or University or its members.