SC lays down rules for uniformity in civil pleadings

• Trial courts directed to scrutinise plaints at initial stage • Bar councils asked to consider standard formats for pleadings • Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi stresses transparent procurement, accountability in judiciary ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Monday formulated a set of guidelines to promote uniformity, improve the quality of pleadings and facilitate the efficient administration of civil justice at the trial court level. In a 26-page judgement authored by Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan, the court observed that it would be beneficial if these principles were incorporated into and emphasised in the teaching of civil procedure and legal drafting modules at law colleges. This, the SC emphasised, would help equip future members of the bar with the requisite skills at the threshold of their professional careers. Justice Hassan and Justice Shakeel Ahmad were part of the two-judge bench that had taken up a review petition under Article 188 of the Constitution against the SC’s April 26, 2023 verdict, through which the appeal of the present petitioners had been dismissed. The Supreme Court, however, accepted the review petition filed by Fazeelat Nasreen and others by setting aside its own April 26 judgement in a property dispute spanning nearly five decades. The court observed that the original suit filed by the respondents was “hopelessly barred by limitation” and that the high court concerned had exceeded its revisional jurisdiction by disturbing concurrent findings of fact recorded by the trial court and the first appellate court. Keeping in view the persistent non-compliance of pleadings with the mandatory procedural requirements of the Civil Procedure Code (CPC) 1908, the Supreme Court said it had become necessary to lay down guiding principles for courts of first instance (trial courts). On presentation or receipt of a plaint, the trial court must examine whether the plaint contains all particulars specified in the CPC and confo...

Original source: Dawn Pakistan