M/S. Revajeetu Builders & Developers vs M/S. Narayanaswamy & Sons & Ors

3. Brief facts in nutshell are as under:

4. The appellant also claimed that it be declared absolute owner of the scheduled property on the basis of the sale deed dated 30.9.1987. The sale deed was executed by the respondents in favour of the appellant after obtaining permission from the State of Karnataka under the provisions of the Urban Land (Ceiling & Regulation) Act, 1976.

7. The appellant sought to add the following prayers in the plaint by an amendment in the plaint:-

12. The High Court in the impugned judgment also held that any such amendment which changes the entire character of the plaint cannot be permitted and that too after a lapse of four years after the institution of the suit. The High Court has set aside the order of the trial court which allowed the amendment under Order VI Rule 17 CPC.

18. Respondents (Defendant nos.1, 2, 4 and 7) filed written statement to the original plaint. They prayed the court to pass a decree in favour of the appellant for a sum of Rs.27,30,339.45/. This is an admission of the respondents in favour of the appellant to an extent of Rs.27,30,339.45/-. The appellant now cannot be permitted to take a complete somersault.

31. In a recently published unique, unusual and extremely informative book "Justice, Courts and Delays", the author Arun Mohan, a Senior Advocate of the High Court of Delhi and of this Court, from his vast experience as a Civil Lawyer observed that 80% applications under Rule VI Order 17 are filed with the sole objective of delaying the proceedings, whereas 15% application are filed because of lackadaisical approach in the first instance, and 5% applications are those where there is actual need of amendment. His experience further revealed that out of these 100 applications, 95 applications are allowed and only 5 (even may be less) are rejected. According to him, a need for amendment of pleading should arise in a few cases, and if proper rules with regard to pleadings are put into place, it would be only in rare cases. Therefore, for allowing amendment, it is not just costs, but the delays caused thereby, benefit of such delays, the additional costs which had to be incurred by the victim of the amendment. The Court must scientifically evaluate the reasons, purpose and effect of the amendment and all these factors must be taken into consideration while awarding the costs.

45. Though the Court noticed `considerable force' in the objection, keeping in view the prayer in the amendment which was not `foreign to the scope of the suit' and all necessary facts were on record, it allowed the amendment.

56. Setting aside the order of the High Court, this Court stated:

59. Setting aside the orders refusing amendment, this Court stated:

61. The first condition which must be satisfied before the amendment can be allowed by the court is whether such amendment is necessary for the determination of the real question in controversy. If that condition is not satisfied, the amendment cannot be allowed. This is the basic test which should govern the courts' discretion in grant or refusal of the amendment.

NO PREJUDICE OR INJUSTICE TO OTHER PARTY:

62. The other important condition which should govern the discretion of the Court is the potentiality of prejudice or injustice which is likely to be caused to 22 (1981) 3 SCC 652 other side. Ordinarily, if other side is compensated by costs, then there is no injustice but in practice hardly any court grants actual costs to the opposite side.

63. The Courts have very wide discretion in the matter of amendment of pleadings but court's powers must be exercised judiciously and with great care.

COSTS:

65. The Courts have consistently laid down that for unnecessary delay and inconvenience, the opposite party must be compensated with costs. The imposition of costs is an important judicial exercise particularly when the courts deal with the cases of amendment. The costs cannot and should not be imposed arbitrarily. In our view, the following parameters must be taken into consideration while imposing the costs. These factors are illustrative in nature and not exhaustive.

(i) At what stage the amendment was sought?

(ii) While imposing the costs, it should be taken into consideration whether the amendment has been sought at a pre-trial or post-trial stage;

(iii)The financial benefit derived by one par-

ty at the cost of other party should be properly calculated in terms of money and the costs be awarded accordingly.

(iv) The imposition of costs should not be symbolic but realistic;

(v) The delay and inconvenience caused to the opposite side must be clearly evaluated in terms of additional and extra court hearings compelling the opposite party to bear the extra costs.

(vi) In case of appeal to higher courts, the victim of amendment is compelled to bear considerable additional costs.

All these aspects must be carefully taken into considera- tion while awarding the costs.

66. The purpose of imposing costs is to:

lay and the inconvenience caused;

c) Compensate the other party for avoid-

d) To send a clear message that the par-

ties have to be careful while drafting the original pleadings.

FACTORS TO BE TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION WHILE DEALING WITH APPLICATIONS FOR AMENDMENTS:

67. On critically analyzing both the English and Indian cases, some basic principles emerge which ought to be taken into consideration while allowing or rejecting the application for amendment.

(1) Whether the amendment sought is im-

perative for proper and effective adjudication of the case?

(2) Whether the application for amend-

ment is bona fide or mala fide?

(3) The amendment should not cause such prejudice to the other side which cannot be compensated adequately in terms of money;

68. These are some of the important factors which may be kept in mind while dealing with application filed under Order VI Rule 17. These are only illustrative and not exhaustive.

69. The decision on an application made under Order VI Rule 17 is a very serious judicial exercise and the said exercise should never be undertaken in a casual manner.

70. We can conclude our discussion by observing that while deciding applications for amendments the courts must not refuse bona fide, legitimate, honest and necessary amendments and should never permit mala fide, worthless and/or dishonest amendments.

71. When we apply these parameters to the present case, then the application for amendment deserves to be dismissed with costs of Rs.1,00,000/- (Rupees One Lakh) because the respondents were compelled to oppose the amendment application before different Courts. This appeal being devoid of any merit is accordingly dismissed with costs.