Framing of Issues
Authors
1. Vandana Singh Katiyar, Advocate High Court
2. Vijay Katiyar, Additional District and Sessions Judge
Introduction-
This is an important concept for both judges and advocates, a civil case cannot be properly decided without proper issues. Order-14 Rules-1 to 7 provisions have been made in the Civil Procedure Code related to the determination of the issues. If the issue of a suit is properly framed in a suit, then only fair disposal of the suit is possible. In normal practice, no judge pays attention to their seriousness, when they have heard the argument, then they are aware of it. Most lawyers also do not pay attention to the issues. The judge also gives the list of steno which is given by the advocates and the steno is typed, this practice is not appropriate as the correct decision cannot be passed on the basis of wrong issues. Therefore, it is the legal responsibility of the court to properly frame the issues.
What are the issues-
In general, terms, when there are differences between two parties at any point, it is called an issue. This means that at one point affirmation and denial create issues. Order-14 Rule-1 sub-rule-1 of the Code of Civil Procedure defines issues as "when one party affirms the material proposition of a fact or law and the other party denies it, it is called an issue. "
What is propositions -
Sub-rule 2 of Rule-1 of the said order defines propositions as "that material propositions of law or facts are those propositions which a plaintiff must have to allege to show his right to sue or a defendant has to be must allege to constitute his defence. It means that all the statements that the plaintiff has in his plaint to right to sue and the defendant in his written statement reply in the form of pleading, these Propositions may be the question of fact, maybe the question of law or may be mixed questions of law and fact.
Types of Issues-
Generally, there are three types of issues which are as follows-
1 - Issue of fact
2- Issue of law
3- mixed Issue
Material from which issues may be framed -
On the basis of the following material, the issues can be framed- 1 - On statements made on affidavits, such statements may be made by the parties, whether by any person on behalf of the parties or by their advocates.
2 - Allegations made in pleadings.
3 - Answers to interrogatories delivered in a suit.
4 Contents of a document submitted by any parties.
Mandate of law must be comply before framing of issues-
It is necessary to comply mandate of Section 89 CPC and Order 10 Rule 1A to 1C CPC before framing the issues, as the Hon'ble Supreme Court has given direction in the case Afcons Infrastructure Ltd. & Anr vs cherian varkey construction co. (p) Ltd.-civil appeal no-6000/2010, In this case, it is proposed that the court has to first consider the options given in section 89 CPC and order 10 rule 1A to 1C CPC. These provisions impose a duty upon the court that before framing the issues it should be considered whether this case is fit for reference or not and If the court is of the opinion that the said suit is not fit to be referred to any forum described under section 89 CPC, after recording reasons in writing, issues may be framed. It is worth considering here that referring to a case for mediation etc. is not mandatory. It means that it is mandatory to consider the point that the suit is eligible to be referred to an alternative forum or not. It is also necessary to note here that the reasons for not being referred are mentioned on the order sheet.
Duty of Court-
The law has imposed the responsibility of framing issues on the court. The court has the discretion to consider the representations of both parties for the framing of the issues and if it appears to the court, then it may examine the parties or their advocates under Order-10 Rule-2 CPC and if the court seems that if the examination of a witness is necessary before the framing of the issues, then he will be able to summon it and for this purpose court is entitled to consider any document and summon it accordingly.
Omission of the framing of the Issues-
It is a well-established principle of law that each material proposition affirmed by one party and denied by the other shall form the subject of distinct issues and judgment must be passed on each issue. This means that the omission of the issues gives the appellate court, the discretion to remand such a decision to pass the fresh order, but it should be done when the omission of such issues affects the merits of the case and when the parties are going to be endangered, it also means that if the omission of the issues does not affect the matter on merit and the parties have not put in any crisis will not remand the file. On the other hand, if any issue has been left to be debunked and the evidence has been presented by the parties and the advocates of the parties have also argued on the point and the court passed the order taking those points into consideration then Such a judgment cannot be remanded. , For this, see the following case -
1-Nagubai vs B. shama Rao-AIR 1956 SC 593.
2-Sayeda akhtar vs Abdul Ahad-AIR 2003 SC 2985.
3-Bhuwan Singh vs Oriental Insurance company, (2009) 5 SCC 136.
Whether the issues can be amended, changed, enlarged or cut-
Order-14 Rule-5 CPC provides that the issues at any time before passing the decree, can be amended, and additional issues may be framed. issues can be introduced and the issues can be cut. But it has to be kept in mind that before doing so, the parties must provide an opportunity for a hearing and be given the opportunity of evidence to both parties.
Judgment passed on defective issues-
If the issues in a civil suit have been wrongly framed and the judgment has been passed based on defective opinion, such decision will be reversed in the appeal and the letter will be remanded for re-order. On the other hand, although many issues have been wrongly framed and the court has passed an order based on the right opinion, such a decision cannot be set aside in appeal if the objective of justice is not failing. See the following case law in this regard -
Md. Umarsaheb vs Kadalaskar- AIR 1970 SC61.
Whether a suit can be decided on the basis of one issue-
It has been provided in sub-rule-2 of the Order-14 Rule-2 CPC that the Court is of the opinion that settlement of the case or any part thereof can be done only based on one legal issue. This may be related to the jurisdiction of the jurisdictional court or currently barred by any law in force. See the following case law in this regard -
Ramesh B Desai vs Vipin Vadilal Mehta- (2006) 5 scc 638.
Practically, how will you frame the Issues and Write the Orders -
As is well-known, various types of civil suits are handled by the civil court, in Civil cases, the real difficulty is, before the court how the orders should be written and which practical issues should be framed. The details of these various types of suits are given as follows -
Injunction suit -
Injunction suits can also be of several types, such as permanent injunctions, mandatory injunctions, suits in which the title is not disputed, and suits in which the title is indirectly disputed. In cases where the title is not disputed, there is no need for the issue to be framed in order to title. The model order is as follows -
Format-1
"The case called out both parties are present, the options of section 89 of the Code of Civil Procedure have been considered but the said case is not fit to be referred to any forum, by the Court of Justice, hence on the basis of factual and legal proposition these bellow given issues are framed -
1 - Whether the plaintiff is owner and possession over the disputed property?
2 - Whether the plaintiff is entitled to receive the relief of permanent injunction on the grounds stated in the plaint?
3 - Whether the suit is undervalued?
4 -Whether the paid court fee is insufficient?
5 - Whether court has no jurisdiction to try the suit?
6 - Whether the suit is hit by the nonjoinder of the necessary parties?
7 - Whether suit is hit by the misjoinder of unnecessary parties ?
8 -Whether the suit time-barred?
9 - Relief ?
Apart from the above, neither any issue remains for framing nor any issue has been emphasized by the parties, hence the file put up for the disposal issue No. 3 and 4 on dated 15/10/2020.
Format-2
"The case called out both parties are present, the options of section 89 of the Code of Civil Procedure have been considered but the said case is not fit to be referred to any forum, by the Court of Justice, hence on the basis of factual and legal proposition these bellow given issues are framed -
1 -Whether the plaintiff is entitled to the relief of the mandatory injunction on the grounds stated in the plaint?
2 -Whether the suit is undervalued?
3 -Whether the paid court fee is insufficient?
4 - Whether court has no jurisdiction to try the suit?
5 -Whether the suit is hit by the nonjoinder of the necessary parties?
6 - Whether suit is hit by the misjoinder of unnecessary parties ?
7 - Whether the suit is time-barred?
8 - Relief ?
Apart from the above, neither any issue frames nor has been emphasized by the parties, hence the file put up for the disposal issue No. 3 and 4 on dated 15/10/2020.
Partition suit-
There is no inconvenience in the disposal of the suit if the issues in the partition suit are properly framed. There is also a considerable question in the partition suit that the court should express its opinion regarding the share of all the stakeholders because, in the final decree, the defendant can also get his share by paying the prescribed court fee. The format of the order is as follows -
Format-1
"The case called out both parties are present, the options of section 89 of the Code of Civil Procedure have been considered but the said case is not fit to be referred to any forum, by the Court of Justice, hence on the basis of factual and legal proposition these bellow given issues are framed -
1 - Whether the disputed property is the joint/undivided property of both parties, if yes, what is the share of the plaintiff?
2- Whether the plaintiff is entitled to separate his share on the said grounds in the plaint and to get possession of the same?
3 -Whether the suit is undervalued?
4 -Whether the paid court fee is insufficient?
5 - Whether court has no jurisdiction to try the suit?
6 - Whether the suit is hit by the nonjoinder of the necessary parties?
7 - Whether suit is hit by the misjoinder of unnecessary parties ?
8 - Whether the suit is time-barred?
9 - Relief ?
Apart from the above, neither any issue frames nor has been emphasized by the parties, hence the file put up for the disposal issue No. 3 and 4 on dated 15/10/2020.
Money recovery suit-
The money recovery suit may be of two types, a property is mortgaged and a second in which no property is already mortgaged. The format is as follows -
Format-1
"The case called out both parties are present, the options of section 89 of the Code of Civil Procedure have been considered but the said case is not fit to be referred to any forum, by the Court of Justice, hence on the basis of factual and legal proposition these bellow given issues are framed -
1 - Whether the plaintiff is entitled to recover the amount mentioned in the plaint, from the defendants along with the interest?
2 -Whether the suit is undervalued?
3 -Whether the paid court fee is insufficient?
4 - Whether court has no jurisdiction to try the suit?
5 -Whether the suit is hit by the nonjoinder of the necessary parties?
6 - Whether suit is hit by the misjoinder of unnecessary parties ?
7 - Whether the suit is time-barred?
8 - Relief ?
Apart from the above, neither any issue frames nor has been emphasized by the parties, hence the file put up for the disposal issue No. 3 and 4 on dated 15/10/2020.
Cancellation of deeds-
The civil court has tried the suit of the cancellation of sale deeds, the will deed, and cancellation of the sale agreement, etc. It is necessary to discuss here that the issues related to fraud, misrepresentation, undue influence, and coercion should be framed only when clear pleadings have been made in this regard. The format is as follows -
Format-1
"The case called out both parties are present, the options of section 89 of the Code of Civil Procedure have been considered but the said case is not fit to be referred to any forum, by the Court of Justice, hence on the basis of factual and legal proposition these bellow given issues are framed -
1 - Whether the questioned sale deed dated 12/10/1997 is liable to be cancelled on the said grounds in the plaint?
2 - Whether the sale deed dated 12/10/1997 is the result of the fraud?
3 -Whether the suit is undervalued?
4 -Whether the paid court fee is insufficient?
5 - Whether court has no jurisdiction to try the suit?
6 -Whether the suit is hit by the nonjoinder of the necessary parties?
7 - Whether suit is hit by the misjoinder of unnecessary parties ?
8 - Whether the suit is time-barred?
9 - Relief ?
Apart from the above, neither any issue frames nor has been emphasized by the parties, hence the file put up for the disposal issue No. 3 and 4 on dated 15/10/2020.
Declaratory suit -
There are two types of declaratory suit one pure declaratory suit and the other declaratory suit which is filed with the consequential relief of the possession. Sometimes the declarations of civil death are also under consideration. The formats are as follows -
Format-1
"The case called out both parties are present, the options of section 89 of the Code of Civil Procedure have been considered but the said case is not fit to be referred to any forum, by the Court of Justice, hence on the basis of factual and legal proposition these bellow given issues are framed -
1 - Whether the plaintiff is entitled to the decree of declaration of title in respect of the disputed property on the grounds alleged in the suit?
2- Is the plaintiff entitled to take possession of the property in question?
3 -Whether the suit is undervalued?
4 -Whether the paid court fee is insufficient?
5 - Whether court has no jurisdiction to try the suit?
6 -Whether the suit is hit by the nonjoinder of the necessary parties?
7 - Whether suit is hit by the misjoinder of unnecessary parties ?
8 - Whether the suit is time-barred?
9 - Relief ?
Apart from the above, neither any issue frames nor has been emphasized by the parties, hence the file put up for the disposal issue No. 3 and 4 on dated 15/10/2020.
Specific performance of contract suit-
Here it is considered that the specific relief Act-1963 has been amended in the year 2018, this amendment by the Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India, by notification number S-0488 (E) By 19/09/2018. Has been implemented on dated 01/10/2018.Therefore, while framing the issues, it is to be kept in mind that the suit is pre-amendment or post-amendment, if the suit is post-amendment, then the issues related to Sections 16 and 20 of the specific relief act will not be framed because by the said amendment the court discretion has been abolished. Therefore this fact has to be kept in mind at the time of framing of the issues. The formats are as follows
Format-1
"The case called out both parties are present, the options of section 89 of the Code of Civil Procedure have been considered but the said case is not fit to be referred to any forum, by the Court of Justice, hence on the basis of factual and legal proposition these bellow given issues are framed -
1 - Whether the sale agreement in question properly executed, if yes, is the plaintiff entitled to the decree of specific performance of the contract?
2-Whether the plaintiff has always been willing and ready to abide the contract?
3 -Whether the suit is undervalued?
4 -Whether the paid court fee is insufficient?
5 - Whether court has no jurisdiction to try the suit?
6 -Whether the suit is hit by the nonjoinder of the necessary parties?
7 - Whether suit is hit by the misjoinder of unnecessary parties?
8 - Whether the suit is time-barred?
9 - Relief ?
Apart from the above, neither any issue frames nor has been emphasized by the parties, hence the file put up for the disposal issue No. 3 and 4 on dated 15/10/2020.
Conclusion -
From the above analysis, it is clear that the issue in a civil suit is the pillar and if the premise is not correct then a beautiful building can never be built. On the other hand, the formats given above are not perfect in themselves. Convenience improvements are expected. This article is being written with the hope that our newcomer judges, junior advocates, and competitive students can develop a general theoretical and practical understanding.
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