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4. If the Plaintiff does not so apply, he shall be considered as SCHEDULE II. insisting that he has sustained damages to a greater amount, or (as Ords. 21-22. the case may be) that the Defendant was and is indebted to him in Non-accepta greater amount than the sum paid in; and in that case the Court, ance thereof. in determining the Suit and disposing of costs at the Hearing, shall have regard to the fact of the payment into Court having been made and not accepted.

5. When any money is required to be paid into or deposited in Custody of Court, the Court may, if it shall think it expedient, address a Money. request in writing to the Treasurer for the district where such Court may be, calling upon him to receive such money for custody into the safe kept by him for public moneys; and the Treasurer shall thereupon, and upon such money being tendered to him, receive the same, and shall pay or deliver such money to such person as may be directed by an authority of the Court in writing to receive the same.

Such Treasurer, duly observing any direction in writing which he shall receive from the Court respecting such money, shall be free and exonerated of all liability on account of or relating to the

same.

ORDER XXII.

INTERROGATORIES: DISCOVERY AND PRODUCTION OF DOCUMENTS.

1. Any party may, by leave of the Court (but if he is required When Interto deliver any pleading, not until he has delivered a sufficient rogatories may be pleading), deliver Interrogatories in writing for the examination delivered. of the opposite party upon any matter as to which discovery may

be sought.

2. The Court may strike out or permit to be amended any Amendment. Interrogatory which, in the opinion of the Court, is scandalous

or irrelevant, or not put bonâ fide for the purposes of the action, or

not sufficiently material, or in any other way objectionable.

3. The party interrogated shall answer the Interrogatories sub- Answer. ject to just exceptions.

insufficient.

4. If any party interrogated omits to answer or answers insuffi- If Answer ciently, without having just cause, the party interrogating may apply to the Court for an Order requiring him to answer or to answer further. Thereupon, or upon the Court's own motion, if the Court thinks fit, an Order may be made requiring him to answer, or to answer further, either by affidavit or by vicâ voce examination, as the Court may direct.

5. The Court may order any party to the Suit to make discovery Discovery of upon oath of the documents, which are or have been in his posses- Documents. sion or power, relating to any matter in question in the Suit.

Documents.

6. The Court may, at any time during the pendency therein of Production of any Suit or proceeding, order the production by any party thereto, upon oath, of any documents in his possession or power relating to any matter in question in such Suit or proceeding, and the Court may deal with such documents, when produced, as shall appear just.

SCHEDULE II.

7. The Court may, in its discretion, on the application of any Ords. 22-23. of the parties to any Suit or proceeding, compel any other party Inspection to allow the applicant to inspect all or any documents in the of Documents. custody or under the control of such other party relative to such Suit, and, if necessary, to take examined copies of the same.

Notice to produce.

Order for
Production.

Where right to Production depends on Questions in dispute.

Penalty on failure to

comply with

Order to

Answer or for
Discovery.

Any Party may give

notice of Admissions.

By leave of

may be

notified to

8. Whenever any of the parties to a Suit is desirous that any document or other thing which he believes to be in the possession or power of another of the parties thereto, or of any other person, should be produced at any hearing of the Suit, he shall at the earliest opportunity serve the party, in whose possession or power he believes the document or other thing to be, with a notice in writing calling upon him to produce the same.

9. In case it shall appear to the Court that there is reasonable ground to believe that such document or thing will not be produced pursuant to such notice, the Court may make an Order for the production of the same at the hearing of the Suit, by the party served with the notice, subject to just exceptions.

10. If the party from whom discovery of any kind, or production or inspection, is sought, objects to the same or any part thereof, the Court, if satisfied that the right to the discovery or production or inspection sought depends on the determination of any issue or question in dispute in the Suit, or that for any other reason it is desirable that any issue or question in dispute in the Suit should be determined before deciding upon the right to the discovery or inspection, may order that such issue or question be determined first, and reserve the question as to the discovery or inspection.

11. If any party fails to comply with any Order to answer Interrogatories, or for discovery or production or inspection of documents, he shall be liable to attachment. He shall also, if a Plaintiff, be liable to have his action dismissed for want of prosecution, and if a Defendant, to have his defence, if any, struck out, and to be placed in the same position as if he had not defended, and the party interrogating may apply to the Court for an Order to that effect, and an Order may be made accordingly.

ORDER XXIII.
ADMISSIONS.

1. Any party to a Suit may give notice, by his own statement or otherwise, that he admits the truth of the whole or any part of the case stated or referred to in the writ of summons, statement of claim, defence, or other statement of any other party.

2. Any party may, by leave of the Court, call upon any other Court, Party party, by notice filed in Court and served under Order of the Court, to admit any document or fact, saving just exceptions. 3. In case of refusal or neglect to admit, the costs of proof Costs of Proof of the document or fact shall be paid by the party refusing or where refusal neglecting to admit, whatever be the result of the cause, unless

admit.

to make

the Court is of opinion that the refusal or neglect to admit was SCHEDULE II. reasonable.

Ords. 23-25.

Consent.

4. If the parties shall agree to the terms and conditions on which reasonable judgment shall be entered, and shall sign a statement of such terms admissions. and conditions before a District Commissioner, a Justice of the Judgment by Peace, or the Registrar of the Court in which the action is taken, the Court may, unless it sees good reason to the contrary, enter judgment accordingly without hearing the parties.

before a

5. If any defendant shall in like manner as in the preceding Admissions rule mentioned sign a statement admitting the amount claimed or District Comany part thereof, the Court shall, unless it sees good reason to the missioner, &c. contrary, receive such statement in evidence as an admission without further proof.

ORDER XXIV.

SETTLEMENT OF ISSUES.

1. At any time before or at the Hearing, the Court may, if it At or before thinks fit, on the application of any party, or of its own motion, Hearing. proceed to ascertain and determine what are the material questions in controversy between the parties, and may reduce such questions into writing and settle them in the form of Issues, which Issues when settled may state questions of Law on admitted facts, or questions of disputed fact, or questions partly of the one kind and partly of the other.

2. The Court may, if it thinks fit, direct the parties to prepare such Issues, and the same shall be settled by the Court.

Court may

direct Parties to prepare

3. The Issues may be settled without any previous notice at any Issues. stage of the proceedings at which all the parties are actually When to be present or at the Hearing. If otherwise, notice shall be given to settled. the parties to attend at the settlement of the Issues.

frame Addi

4. At any time before the decision of the case, if it shall appear Court may to the Court necessary for the purpose of determining the real amend or question or controversy between the parties, the Court may amend tional Issues. the Issues or frame Additional Issues on such terms as to it shall seem fit.

Order XXV.
PLEADINGS.

1. Suits shall ordinarily be heard and determined in a summary Written manner without pleadings; but where it appears to the Court Statements, in (for reasons recorded in the Minutes) that the nature and circum- what Cases. stances of any case render it expedient, in the interests of justice, to do so, the Court may order the Plaintiff to file a written statement of his claim (called the Petition), and may likewise order the Defendant to file a written Answer or statement of his defence. The filing of a Petition shall not necessarily involve, unless the Court so directs, that an Answer shall also be filed. The Order may be made at any stage of a suit, either before or at the Hearing.

SCHEDULE II.
Ord. 25.

Illiterate
Parties.

The Pleading to state all

material facts.

How facts to

be stated.

The Relief

stated.

2. In making any such Order, the Court shall have regard to the condition of the parties, and shall not require any party to file a written statement who, from want of education, is incapable of preparing or understanding the same. If in any case the Court considers it necessary, in the interests of justice, that any statement of such party should be reduced into writing previous to the Hearing, the Court may direct that the same be taken down in writing by the Registrar, Interpreter, or other fit Officer of the Court, and, after verifying the statement so prepared by oral examination of the party where necessary, may direct, if it thinks fit, that such statement be filed as a pleading.

Wherever any pleading, Petition, or Answer, is ordered to be filed, the provisions of the following Rules shall be observed:

3. Every pleading shall contain a statement of all the material facts on which the party pleading relies, but not the evidence by which they are to be proved, such statement being divided into paragraphs numbered consecutively, and each paragraph containing as nearly as may be a separate allegation.

4. The facts shall be alleged positively, precisely, and distinctly, and as briefly as is consistent with a clear statement.

5. Every statement of claim shall state specifically the relief claimed to be which the Plaintiff claims, either simply or in the alternative, and may also ask for general relief, and the same rule shall apply to any counter-claim made or relief claimed by the Defendant in his statement of defence.

Grounds of

6. Where the Plaintiff seeks relief in respect of several distinct Claim founded claims or causes of complaint founded upon separate and distinct facts, they shall be stated, as far as may be, separately and distinctly. And the same rule shall apply where the Defendant relies upon several distinct grounds of set-off or counter-claim founded upon separate and distinct facts.

on separate facts to be separately stated.

Defendant's Pleading to meet Allegations in Petition.

Allegations shall not be met generally, but specifically.

Denial of fact

must answer point of substance.

Admissions: their effect.

7. The Defendant's pleading shall deny all such material allegations in the Petition as the Defendant intends to deny at the Hearing. Every allegation of fact, if not denied specifically or by necessary implication, or stated to be not admitted, shall be taken as established at the Hearing.

8. It shall not be sufficient to deny generally the facts alleged by the statement of claim, but the Defendant must deal specifically therewith, either admitting or denying the truth of each allegation of fact seriatim, as the truth or falsehood of each is within his knowledge, or (as the case may be) stating that he does not know whether such allegation or allegations is or are true or otherwise.

9. When a party denies an allegation of fact he must not do so evasively, but answer the point of substance. And when a matter of fact is alleged with divers circumstances, it shall not be sufficient to deny it as alleged along with those circumstances, but a fair and substantial answer must be given.

10. The Answer shall admit such material allegations in the Petition as the Defendant knows to be true, or desires to be taken as admitted, and such allegations may be taken as established without proof thereof.

11. The Answer must allege any fact not stated in the Petition SCHEDULE II. on which the Defendant relies in defence, as establishing, for Ords. 25-26. instance, fraud on the part of the Plaintiff, or showing that the Allegation of Plaintiff's right to recover, or to any relief capable of being granted new facts in on the Petition, has not yet accrued, or is released, or barred, or otherwise gone.

Defence.

Counter

12. Where any Defendant seeks to rely upon any facts, as sup- Alleged porting a right of set-off or counter-claim, he shall, in his statement Set-off or of defence, state specifically that he does so by way of set-off or claim to be counter-claim, and the particulars of such set-off or counter-claim specifically shall be given.

stated.

13. The Answer of a Defendant shall not debar him at the Evidence in

Hearing from disproving any allegation of the Plaintiff not ad- Denial of Allegation or mitted by the Answer, or from giving evidence in support of a in support of defence not expressly set up by the Answer, except where the Defence not defence is such as, in the opinion of the Court, ought to have been set up in Pleading. expressly set up by the Answer, or is inconsistent with the statements thereof, or is, in the opinion of the Court, likely to take the Plaintiff by surprise and to raise new issues not fairly arising out of the pleadings, as they stand, and such as the Plaintiff ought not to be then called upon to try.

14. Where the Court shall be of opinion that any allegations of Costs in fact, denied or not admitted by any pleading, ought to have been certain Cases. admitted, the Court shall make such Order as may be just with

respect to costs.

15. The Court may order any Plaintiff or Defendant to verify Verification his statement, or any part thereof, on oath or affidavit.

of Pleadings. 16. Every pleading shall be filed at such time as the Court Filing and direct, and be served on the opposite party, if the Court thinks fit, Service of

at such time and in such manner as it directs.

17. The Court may at any time, on the application of either Striking out party, strike out any pleading or any part thereof on the ground Pleadings. that it discloses no cause of action, or no defence to the action, as the case may be, or on the ground that it is embarrassing, or scandalous, or vexatious, or an abuse of the process of the Court, and the Court may either give leave to amend such pleading, or may proceed to give judgment for the Plaintiff or Defendant, as the case may be, or may make such other Order, and upon such terms and conditions, as may seem just.

ORDER XXVI.

AMENDMENT.

1. The Court may at any stage of the proceedings, either of its Under what own motion or on the application of either party, order any pro- Circumceeding to be amended, whether the defect or error be that of the stances. party applying to amend or not; and all such amendments as may be necessary or proper for the purpose of eliminating all statements which may tend to prejudice, embarrass, or delay the fair trial of

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