Written statement filing after several years

867 votes

Hello sir yes defendant may seek permission to file their independent wrriten statment they can file a IA seeking permission of the court to recall the adoption memo and filing of their seprate wrriten statment if you need more legal help you can visit my profile and contact me

Advocate Pooja Patel LawRato

847 votes

the defendant can request the Court to withdraw the earlier Adoption Memo and file their own Written Statement, but they cannot do it automatically after 12 years. They should file an IA/application seeking the Court’s permission and explain the reason for the long delay. Since the trial has not started, the Court may allow it if a proper reason is shown and no serious prejudice is caused to the other side.

Advocate Nikhil Karwal LawRato

844 votes

Absolutely not. The law is very clear on this point. As per Order VIII Rule 1 CPC, once the notice is served upon the defendants their clock of limitation period to file their WS starts ticking, which can be extended upto 120 days max, after that their right to file WS is forfeited. Moreover, Order VIII Rule 10 provides for passing of decree against the defendants if they have failed to file their WS. Reference can also be drawn from Sec. 9 of limitation act which says that once the time starts it can't be stopped either by filing an application or by filing a suit, so the IA can't be allowed by the court if you are persistent upon your arguments. Instruct your lawyer to draft a good reply to their application and argue by mentioning Hon'ble Supreme Court judgements.

Advocate Puneet Srivastava LawRato

639 votes

written statement has to be filed with in 30 days extendable to 120 days with the permission of the court now that 12 years have passed it would be difficult to get a written statement filed even otherwise adoption of written statement now cannot be challenged by the very same party

Advocate Kunal Seth LawRato

616 votes

Dear Sir/Madam, The defendants cannot ordinarily treat an Adoption Memo filed 12 years ago as if it never existed. By adopting the Written Statement of Defendant No. 1, the other defendants had effectively adopted the pleadings contained therein as their defence. However, since the trial has admittedly not commenced, the Court may, in an appropriate case, permit those defendants to file their own Written Statements if they demonstrate a genuine reason why a separate defence is now necessary and the proposed pleading does not cause prejudice or introduce an entirely new and inconsistent case. In my view, after such a long lapse of about 12 years, it would be safer and procedurally appropriate to file an IA seeking permission to withdraw/recall the Adoption Memo and simultaneously seeking leave to place the proposed individual Written Statement on record. The application should explain the circumstances for the earlier adoption, why a separate Written Statement is now necessary, why there has been no deliberate delay, and particularly that the trial has not commenced and no prejudice will be caused to the plaintiff or other defendants. The Court is not necessarily bound to permit the defendants to replace their earlier adopted defence merely because the trial has not started. It will examine the conduct of the parties, the stage of proceedings, the reasons for the delay, the contents of the proposed Written Statement and whether permitting it would cause prejudice or enable the defendants to materially alter their defence after 12 years. Therefore, yes, a separate Written Statement may still be possible, but it should not be filed directly without seeking the Court's permission. The prudent course is to file the IA first, annex the proposed Written Statement, and seek a specific order permitting the defendants to withdraw/modify their adoption and take their individual Written Statement on record.

Advocate Yuganshu Sharma LawRato