IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA C.R. No.611 of 2006 MANOJ KUMAR & ORS Versus JANAKI RAM & ORS ----------- 5 20.10.2008 Heard Counsel for the petitioners. In the opinion of this Court, the impugned order rejecting amendment in the written statement as with regard to the date of death of Lakshaman Ram in the given context of the pleadings of the written statement as originally made in paragraph nos. 20, 21 & 22 read together would definitely at least create an impression that figure 1997 mentioned in paragraph no.20 seems to be a typographical error. This is so because in paragraph no.22, it is being suggested that after the brother of Lakshaman Ram was kidnapped, the widow also died in the year 1982. In that view of the matter, such an explanatory or clarificatory nature of amendment in the written statement ought to have been allowed by the Court below. The submission on the part of the learned Counsel appearing on behalf of the plaintiff-opposite parties that certain admissions were made in the deposition according to which the defendants themselves had accepted the date of death of Lakshaman Ram in the year 1997 and therefore 2 amendment sought in the year of death would amount to retracting and/or withdrawing an admission also does not appeal to this and that would be now does not appeal to this Court. It is so because if the defendants have given a wrong date of death of Lakshaman Ram in their written statement 1997 in place of 1977 it is they who will have to suffer in case there is a contrary evidence of the date of death of Lakshaman Ram in the year 1997. As a matter of fact, when in the written statement, it has been clearly mentioned that Lakshaman Ram had died leaving behind his widow and his brother and the date of death of the widow is said to be 1982, at least prima facie it would appear that the date of death of Lakshaman Ram has to be any date prior to 1982. If that be so, this Court would find that the refusal of amendment in the written statement was a jurisdictional error on the part of the Court below and accordingly, the impugned order is set aside and this application is allowed with a direction to the court below to allow the amendment in written statement as prayed for by the defendant petitioners. Rsh (Mihir Kumar Jha, J.)