Civil Suit Stages

Stages of a Civil Suit

The Civil Suit is basically a dispute which arises between two people or two organisations wherein a subject for dispute is limited to monetary transaction and dispute related to immovable property. 

The Civil Suit, if it is personal in nature than it is governed under Civil Procedure Code and if it is related to business transaction then Commercial Court Act also plays a great role to set out the procedure. The Parties in the Civil Suit are addressed as Plaintiff and Defendant.

Broadly, a civil suit passes through the following five stages:

• Institution of a Civil Suit (Plaint, Written Statement, Replication, etc.)

• Framing of issues.

• Summoning and attendance of witnesses.

• Hearing of Suit and Examination of Witness.

• Decree/Order and the Judgment.

STAGES OF CIVIL SUIT

There are total 18 stages in a Civil Suit which are mentioned herein below:-

1. Plaint

The document in which the fact of the case is mentioned that document is known as Plaint in legal world. The entire Civil Suit is based on Plaint and the Plaint is starting point or the starting stage for all the Civil Suit. Order VII deals with the contents of Plaint and some of the points mentioned under Order VII is mentioned herein below:-

• Particulars

• Name of the Court

• Details of the Party

• Facts of the Dispute involved between the party

• Relief Sort

• Jurisdiction

• The Documents on which the party is relying upon.

2. Summons

After a Plaint is filed the Court may either accept the Plaint or they may reject the Plaint if the Plaint is accepted the Court may call the Party i.e. Defendant against whom the dispute is filed and Court calls party by issuing Summon. Defendant to whom the summons is issued may appear in person or through the legal representative. If the Summons are addressed within the jurisdiction of the Court than the same is addressed under Section 27 of the Code and if the Defendant doesn’t reside in the jurisdiction of the Court but the same resides in the same Country than the Summons are addressed under Section 28 of the Code but if the Defendant is residing outside the Country than the Summons are addressed under Section 29 of the Code. The Summons is also addressed when Plaintiff or Defendants want to produce a witness in the Court, the procedure relating for calling for witness is mentioned under Section 31 of the Code. The procedure for the Service of Summons is mentioned under Order V of the Code.

3. Appearance of the Party

The Party to whom summon is addressed needs to be present before the concerned court and if the person failed to appear before the concerned Court than as per Order V rule 20 an Ex-parte order is passed by the Concerned Court. If both parties are not present on the concerned date thrn the court after giving due chance ay dismiss the matter.

4. Interlocutory Proceeding

Everyone knows that Suit is a Long process as it has many steps before passing Judgment so before starting the stages of Suit sometime the Court has to intervene in the matter to maintain the position as it prevailed. Such Intervention is known as “STATUS QUO”. The Plaintiff can ask for Status Quo order by filing Notice of Motion in the City Civil Court or by filling Interim Application in respective High Court. Following intervention matter are entertain by the Civil Court:-

• Temporary Injunction (order 39)

• Appointment of Court Receiver (order 40)

• Appointment of Court Commissioner(order 26)

• Arrest and Attachment before Judgment (order 38)

5. Written Statement

In the simple language Written Statement is a Document in which the Defendant mentions his/her side of facts of the case and mentions his defence to the Plaint. Order VIII of the code deal with Written Statement. Before Amendment in 2002, there was no limitation period for filing the Written Statement but after the amendment, it is mandatory to file Written Statement within 90 days, after the limitation period is expired it is at the discretion of the Court whether to accept the Written Statement. Under this discretion, the Court will give additional days to file Written Statement but those days won’t exceed 90 days.

6. Examination of Party

After the Written Statement is filed the Court may ask the parties whether they admit the allegation or they deny the allegations pressed by the Plaintiff and such acceptance or denial should be recorded.

7. Framing of Issues

The Court after the Suit is filed and after the Written Statement is filed by the Defendant then the Court may ask the parties to produce Draft Issues and after examining the draft issues the Court may frame Final issues. Order XIV of code deal with Framing of Issues.

8. List of Document relied by the Party

After the Framing of Issue, the Court will ask the Parties to submit a List of Documents on which they are relying upon. The parties submit the list in the form of Affidavit.

9. Discovery and Inspection

After the Document is produced in the Court the Party can apply for inspection of Document. Order XI of the code deals with the Discovery and Inspection of documents. After taking leave from the court the parties can Inspect the Document.

10. Admission and Denial of Document

After the Party has ascertained the Document they may either Admit the Document or they may deny the Document. The Admission and Denial of the Documents are dealt under Order XII of the code.

11. Production of Documents

After the List of Document is relied upon by the Party and after Admission and denial of the Document, the next stage is to produce the Document in the Court. The Party has to submit all original documents in the concerned court. Order XIII of code deals with the production of the Documents.

12. Hearing and Cross Examination of the Witness (Order XVIII)

After the Production of Document, the next stage of a civil suit is hearing of suits and examination of witnesses commence. The first right to begin is of the plaintiff. The plaintiff has to submit the evidence that was earlier marked if any evidence was not marked earlier then it will not be considered by the court. And the defendant’s advocate will cross-examine the plaintiff and also to the witnesses who are from the plaintiff’s side. And the defendant also presents his side of the story supported by his witnesses and evidence from his side and the plaintiff advocate also cross-examined the defendant.

13. Argument

As soon as the stage of the hearing of suits and examination of witnesses is over then the suit is kept for the next stage i.e. argument. Once the evidence has been submitted and cross-examination is conducted by both parties, then both sides are allowed to present a summary of the case and evidence to the judge in the final session.

14. Judgment

After the concerned court has heard the matter the Court will pass Judgment/Decree. The provision related to Judgment and Decree is in Section 33 read with Order XX of the Code.

15. Appeal, Review and Revision

After the Judgment is pronounced and if the concerned party are not satisfied with the Judgment/Decree passed than they can either apply for Review (Section 114 read with Order XLVII) within Thirty Days from the date of pronouncement of Judgment/Decree or the aggrieved party can apply for Revision (Section 115) to the higher court within thirty days of pronouncement of Judgment, or the aggrieved party can also go for an Appeal (section 96 to 110 along with Order XLI to XLV) to the Higher Court within 60 or 90 days from the pronouncement of the Judgment/ Decree.

16. Execution of the Decree

In this stage, decree-holder compels the judgment-debtor to out the mandate of the decree or decree or order as the case may be. It is the process by which a decree-holder recovers the fruits of the judgment. The execution is complete when judgment creditor or decree-holder gets money or other thing awarded to him by judgment, decree, or order.

The decree shall agree with the judgment; it shall contain the number of the suit, the names and descriptions of the parties, their registered addresses, and particulars of the claim, and shall specify clearly the relief granted or other determination of the suit.

17. Appeal, Review, Revision 

A. Appeal :-

An appeal may be an appeal from order or an appeal from decree. All orders are not appealable and complete discretion of the appealable order has been given in order 43 of the code of Civil Procedure Code. The appeal has to be preferred within prescribed limitation period before the appellate court. The limitation period for appeal to High Court is 90 days and appeal to District Court is 30 days. If the period of limitation is expired, then application for condonation of delay also is required to be moved.

B. Review :- 

The right of review is having very limited scope under the Civil Procedure Code

A review application is maintainable only when the following conditions are satisfied,

1. If involves a decree or order from which no appeal is allowed or if allowed it is not preferred.

2. The appellant was aggrieved, on the ground, that because of the discovery of a new and important matter of evidence, which, after the exercise of due diligence, was not within his knowledge or could not be produced by him at the time of decree or on account of some mistake, apparently on the face of the record, or for any sufficient reason, desires to obtain a review of such decree. The other side will be granted an opportunity to be heard, when any review application has been granted.

C. Revision :- 

The High Court in its revision jurisdiction can interfere in any case decided by subordinate court under certain circumstances.

The High Court may call for the record of any case which has been decided

by subordinate court and in which no appeal lies, if such subordinate court appears -

1. To have exercised, a jurisdiction not vested in it by law, or 

2. To have failed to exercise a jurisdiction so vested, or

3. To have acted in exercise of its jurisdiction illegally; or with material irregularity.

18. Execution of Decree (Order 21) :- 

Execution is the medium by which a decree- holder compels the judgment-debtor to carry out the mandate of the decree or order as the case may be. It enables the decree-holder to recover the fruits of the judgment. The execution is complete when the judgment-creditor or decree-holder gets money or other thing awarded to him by judgment, decree or order. 

-  Adv. Sunita Nagpure

___________________________________________________

The Federal Courts

Introduction To The Federal Court System 

The federal court system has three main levels: 

• District courts (the trial court)

• Circuit courts which are the first level of appeal and 

• Supreme Court of the United States, the final level of appeal in the federal system. 

There are 94 district courts, 13 circuit courts, and one Supreme Court throughout the country.

Courts in the federal system work differently in many ways than state courts. The primary difference for civil cases (as opposed to criminal cases) is the types of cases that can be heard in the federal system. 

Federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction, meaning they can only hear cases authorized by the United States Constitution or federal statutes. The federal district court is the starting point for any case arising under federal statutes, the Constitution, or treaties. This type of jurisdiction is called “original jurisdiction.” Sometimes, the jurisdiction of state courts will overlap with that of federal courts, meaning that some cases can be brought in both courts. The plaintiff has the initial choice of bringing the case in state or federal court. However, if the plaintiff chooses state court, the defendant may sometimes choose to “remove” to federal court.

Cases that are entirely based on state law may be brought in federal court under the court’s “diversity jurisdiction.” Diversity jurisdiction allows a plaintiff of one state to file a lawsuit in federal court when the defendant is located in a different state. The defendant can also seek to “remove” from state court for the same reason. To bring a state law claim in federal court, all of the plaintiffs must be located in different states than all of the defendants, and the “amount in controversy” must be more than $75,000. (Note: the rules for diversity jurisdiction are much more complicated than explained here.)

Criminal cases may not be brought under diversity jurisdiction. States may only bring criminal prosecutions in state courts, and the federal government may only bring criminal prosecutions in federal court. Also important to note, the principle of double jeopardy – which does not allow a defendant to be tried twice for the same charge – does not apply between the federal and state government. If, for example, the state brings a murder charge and does not get a conviction, it is possible for the federal government in some cases to file charges against the defendant if the act is also illegal under federal law.

Federal judges (and Supreme Court “justices”) are selected by the President and confirmed “with the advice and consent” of the Senate and “shall hold their Offices during good Behavior.” Judges may hold their position for the rest of their lives, but many resign or retire earlier. They may also be removed by impeachment by the House of Representatives and conviction by the Senate. Throughout history, fifteen federal judges have been impeached due to alleged wrongdoing. One exception to the lifetime appointment is for magistrate judges, which are selected by district judges and serve a specified term.

District Courts

The district courts are the general trial courts of the federal court system. Each district court has at least one United States District Judge, appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate for a life term. District courts handle trials within the federal court system – both civil and criminal. The districts are the same as those for the U.S. Attorneys, and the U.S. Attorney is the primary prosecutor for the federal government in his or her respective area.

District court judges are responsible for managing the court and supervising the court’s employees. They are able to continue to serve so long as they maintain “good behavior,” and they can be impeached and removed by Congress. There are over 670 district court judges nationwide.

Some tasks of the district court are given to federal magistrate judges. Magistrates are appointed by the district court by a majority vote of the judges and serve for a term of eight years if full-time and four years if part-time, but they can be reappointed after completion of their term. In criminal matters, magistrate judges may oversee certain cases, issue search warrants and arrest warrants, conduct initial hearings, set bail, decide certain motions (such as a motion to suppress evidence), and other similar actions. In civil cases, magistrates often handle a variety of issues such as pre-trial motions and discovery.

Federal trial courts have also been established for a few subject-specific areas. Each federal district also has a bankruptcy court for those proceedings. Additionally, some courts have nationwide jurisdiction for issues such as tax (United States Tax Court), claims against the federal government (United States Court of Federal Claims), and international trade (United States Court of International Trade).

Circuit Courts

Once the federal district court has decided a case, the case can be appealed to a United States court of appeal. There are twelve federal circuits that divide the country into different regions. The Fifth Circuit, for example, includes the states of Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Cases from the district courts of those states are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which is headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana. Additionally, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals has a nationwide jurisdiction over very specific issues such as patents.

Each circuit court has multiple judges, ranging from six on the First Circuit to twenty-nine on the Ninth Circuit. Circuit court judges are appointed for life by the president and confirmed by the Senate.

Any case may be appealed to the circuit court once the district court has finalized a decision (some issues can be appealed before a final decision by making an “interlocutory appeal”). Appeals to circuit courts are first heard by a panel, consisting of three circuit court judges. Parties file “briefs” to the court, arguing why the trial court’s decision should be “affirmed” or “reversed.” After the briefs are filed, the court will schedule “oral argument” in which the lawyers come before the court to make their arguments and answer the judges’ questions.

Though it is rare, the entire circuit court may consider certain appeals in a process called an “en banc hearing.” (The Ninth Circuit has a different process for en banc than the rest of the circuits.) En banc opinions tend to carry more weight and are usually decided only after a panel has first heard the case. Once a panel has ruled on an issue and “published” the opinion, no future panel can overrule the previous decision. The panel can, however, suggest that the circuit take up the case en banc to reconsider the first panel’s decision.

Beyond the Federal Circuit, a few courts have been established to deal with appeals on specific subjects such as veterans claims (United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims) and military matters (United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces).

Supreme Court of the United States

The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the American judicial system, and has the power to decide appeals on all cases brought in federal court or those brought in state court but dealing with federal law. For example, if a First Amendment freedom of speech case was decided by the highest court of a state (usually the state supreme court), the case could be appealed to the federal Supreme Court. However, if that same case were decided entirely on a state law similar to the First Amendment, the Supreme Court of the United States would not be able to consider the case.

After the circuit court or state supreme court has ruled on a case, either party may choose to appeal to the Supreme Court. Unlike circuit court appeals, however, the Supreme Court is usually not required to hear the appeal. Parties may file a “writ of certiorari” to the court, asking it to hear the case. If the writ is granted, the Supreme Court will take briefs and conduct oral argument. If the writ is not granted, the lower court’s opinion stands. Certiorari is not often granted; less than 1% of appeals to the high court are actually heard by it. The Court typically hears cases when there are conflicting decisions across the country on a particular issue or when there is an egregious error in a case.

The members of the Court are referred to as “justices” and, like other federal judges, they are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate for a life term. There are nine justices on the court – eight associate justices and one chief justice. The Constitution sets no requirements for Supreme Court justices, though all current members of the court are lawyers and most have served as circuit court judges. Justices are also often former law professors. The chief justice acts as the administrator of the court and is chosen by the President and approved by the Congress when the position is vacant.

The Supreme Court meets in Washington, D.C. The court conducts its annual term from the first Monday of October until each summer, usually ending in late June.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao/justice-101/federal-courts