Question

In accordance with the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, where a court, while examining pleadings, finds certain averments to be unnecessary and capable of prejudicing or delaying the fair trial, the court, in such a case, may:

• A. Direct amendment only after trial begins.
• B. Reject the plaint in entirety.
• C. Strike out such pleadings at any stage of proceedings.
• D. Ignore such pleadings without passing any order.

Hint:

Order VI Rule 16 is the "clean-up" tool for pleadings. If a party litters the record with irrelevant or delay-causing nonsense, the Court has the power to simply strike it out at any point!

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
Order VI Rule 16 of the CPC, 1908, grants the court the power to "strike out" pleadings that are unnecessary, scandalous, frivolous, or vexatious to ensure a fair and efficient trial.

Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
- The court has the authority to strike out or amend any matter in any pleading if it is found to be unnecessary, scandalous, or if it tends to prejudice, embarrass, or delay the fair trial of the suit.
- Crucially, this power can be exercised "at any stage of the proceedings." It is not limited to a specific time before the trial begins, allowing the court to maintain procedural order throughout the litigation.

Step 3: Final Answer:
The correct action is to strike out such pleadings at any stage. Option (C) is the correct answer.

Answer 2

The question asks what a civil court can do under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 when it finds parts of the pleadings unnecessary and likely to prejudice or delay a fair trial. Order VI Rule 16 answers this, and each option needs to be tested against what that rule actually authorises.

1. Direct amendment only after trial begins: Order VI Rule 16 is not tied to the trial's timeline this way. The power to act on offending pleadings is available from the moment such pleadings appear on record, not only once the trial has formally begun, so confining the court's power to the post-trial stage misstates the rule.
2. Reject the plaint in entirety: Rejecting the whole plaint is a distinct, more drastic remedy governed by Order VII Rule 11. Order VI Rule 16 targets specific unnecessary or prejudicial averments within the pleading, not the pleading as a whole, so wiping out the entire plaint goes well beyond what this rule permits.
3. Strike out such pleadings at any stage of proceedings: This mirrors Order VI Rule 16 precisely. The rule empowers the court, on its own or on application, to strike out any matter in a pleading that is unnecessary, scandalous, frivolous or vexatious, or that may prejudice, embarrass or delay a fair trial, and it expressly allows this at any stage of the suit, not just at its inception.
4. Ignore such pleadings without passing any order: A court cannot simply overlook problematic pleadings while leaving them formally on record, because unstruck pleadings remain part of the case and can still be relied upon later. Order VI Rule 16 requires the court to act through a formal order striking out the offending matter, not through silent inaction.

Only the option describing a strike-out available at any stage matches both the substance and the timing built into Order VI Rule 16.

Therefore, the correct answer is Strike out such pleadings at any stage of proceedings.