Civil cases involve a conflict between people or institutions, generally over money. A civil suit begins when a legal person claims that he has been harmed by the actions of another person or business and asks the court for relief by filing a “complaint”. Most of the civil suits are guided by the well settled principles of the Code of Civil Procedure.
Generally, there are six main stages involved in a civil lawsuit. These stages are listed below: Pre Filing: The pre filing stage is when the dispute arises and the parties make demands, try to negotiate the matter between them without taking a legal recourse. However, if they fail to reach a resolution then the parties prepare for the possibility of a court action. Initial Pleading:
At this stage, one party files papers/documents i.e., a complaint to start the court action, and the other party files their response to such complaint i.e., a motion or an answer. Discovery: At this stage, both the parties exchange documents and responses filed by them in court and learn about the strengths and weaknesses of the other side’s case. Pre- Trial: At this stage, both the parties start preparing for trial, they get their evidence and witnesses in order. Even at this stage they might engage in some out of court settlement conference, after such an attempt the parties may file motions with the court to resolve the case or to limit the issues for trial. Trial: At this stage, the case is actually heard by the judge or a jury (which may last for a couple of hours or a couple of months, depending on the complexity of the case), witnesses are examined, evidence is presented, and the case is eventually decided and a judgement is pronounced. Post Trial: At this stage, one or both of the parties might file an appeal challenging the judgement passed.
There is a detailed process laid down in Code of Civil Procedure, for filing a civil case. However, if the process is not followed, then the “registry” has a right to dismiss the suit. “Registry here means an office which every court have which provides the information about any court matter and court forms”. The procedure for filing a civil suit is as follows: Filing of Suit/Plaint The first step to initiate a suit is to file a plaint. A plaint is a written complaint or allegation. The party who files it is known as “plaintiff” and the party against whom it is filed is known as “Defendant”. A Plaint contains: Name of the Court Name and Addresses of the parties between whom the dispute arose Subject (a brief statement telling about the sections and orders under which the jurisdiction of the court is evoked) Main Content or submissions made by plaintiff Verification from plaintiff stating that the contents of the plaint are true and correct. Vakalatnama Vakalatnama is a written document, by which the parties to the suit authorises an Advocate to represent them before the Hon’ble Court. However, if the party is personally representing its own case, then they need not file a Vakalatnama.
