Order 15 — Pleadings Generally

(1) A Claimant shall, at the institution of action by Writ of Summons, file a Statement of Claim which shall include the relief or remedy to which he claims to be entitled.

(2) A Defendant shall file his Statement of Defence, or Counterclaim, if any, not later than twenty-one days after service on him of the Claimant’s Originating Process and accompanying documents. A Counterclaim shall have the same effect as a cross-action, so as to enable the Court pronounce a final Judgement in the same proceedings.

(3) A Claimant shall within ten days of service on him of the Statement of Defence and Counterclaim, if any, file his Reply to such defence or defence to the Counterclaim, if any: Provided that where a Defendant sets up a Counterclaim, if a Claimant or any other person named as party to such Counterclaim contends that the claim thereby raised, ought not to be disposed of by way of Counterclaim but in an independent proceeding, a Judge may at any time order that such Counterclaim be excluded.

(1) Every pleading shall contain a statement in summary form of the material facts on which the party pleading relies for his claim or defence, as the case may be, but not the evidence by which they are to be proved and shall, where necessary, be divided into paragraphs numbered consecutively.

(2) Dates, sums and numbers shall be expressed in figures but may also be expressed in words.

(3) Pleadings shall be signed by a Legal Practitioner or by the party if he sues or defends in person.

(4) Facts shall be alleged positively, precisely, distinctly and briefly as is consistent with a clear statement.

(1) In all cases in which the party pleading relies on any misrepresentation, fraud, breach of trust, wilful default or undue influence and in all other cases in which particulars may be necessary, particulars (with dates, times and items, if necessary) shall be stated in the pleadings.

(2) In an action for libel or slander, if the Claimant alleges that the words or matter complained of were used in a defamatory sense other than their ordinary meaning, he shall give particulars of the facts and matters on which he relies in support of his allegation.

An application for a further and better statement of the nature of the claim or defence or further and better particulars of any matter stated in any pleading requiring particulars, shall be made to a Judge. The Judge may grant such application upon such terms as may be just.

(1) Every allegation of fact in any pleadings if not specifically denied in the pleadings of the opposing party, shall be taken as admitted except as against a person under legal disability.

(2) A general denial in any pleadings shall not operate as denial of any specific fact in the pleadings of the opposing party.

When a party in any pleading denies an allegation of fact in the previous pleading of the opposing party, he shall not do so evasively, but answer the point of substance. If an allegation is made with diverse circumstances, it shall not be sufficient to deny it along with those circumstances, but a full and substantial answer shall be given.

If either party wishes to deny the right of any other party to claim as executor, a trustee or in any representative or other alleged capacity or the alleged constitution of any partnership firm, he shall deny the same specifically.

Each party shall specify distinctly in his pleadings any condition precedent, the performance or occurrence of which is intended to be contested.

(1) All grounds of Defence or Reply which make an action or Counterclaim not maintainable or if not raised will take the opposing party by surprise or will raise issues of facts not arising out of the preceding pleadings, shall be specifically pleaded.

(2) Where a party raises any ground which makes a transaction void or voidable or such matters as fraud, Limitation Law, release, payment, performance, facts showing insufficiency in contract or illegality either by any enactment or by common law, he shall specifically plead same.

(3) A set-off must be specifically pleaded.

No pleadings shall raise any new ground of claim or defence or contain any allegation of fact inconsistent with the previous pleadings of the party pleading the same.

A party may by his pleadings join issues upon the pleadings of the opposing party and such joinder of issues shall operate as a denial of every material allegation of fact in the pleadings upon which the issue is joined except any fact which the party may be willing to admit.

Wherever the contents of any documents are material, it shall be sufficient in any pleading to state the effect thereof as briefly as possible, without setting out the whole or any part thereof, unless the precise words of the document or any part thereof are material.

Wherever it is material to allege notice to any person of any fact, matter or thing, it shall be sufficient to allege such notice as a fact, unless the form or the precise terms of such notice or the circumstances from which such notice is to be inferred are material.

Wherever any contract or any relation between any persons is to be implied from a series of letters or conversations or otherwise from a number of circumstances, it shall be sufficient to allege such contract or relation as a fact and to refer generally to such letters, conversations or circumstances without setting them out in detail. If in such case the person so pleading desires to rely in the alternative upon more contracts or relations than one as to be implied from such circumstances, he may state the same in the alternative.

A party may not allege in any pleadings any matter or fact which the law presumes in his favour or as to which the burden of proof lies upon the other party, unless the same had first been specifically denied.

Where the cause of action is a stated or settled account, the same shall be alleged with particulars but in every case in which a statement of account is relied upon by way of evidence or admission of any other cause of action which is pleaded, the same shall not be alleged in the pleadings.

No technical objection shall be raised to any pleading on the ground of any alleged want of form.

The Judge may at any stage of the proceedings order to be struck out or amended, any matter in any indorsement or pleading which may be unnecessary or scandalous or which may tend to prejudice, embarrass or delay the fair trial of the action; and may in any such case, if the Judge shall deem fit, order costs of the application to be paid as between Legal Practitioner and client.

(1) Wherever it is material to allege malice, fraudulent intention, knowledge or other condition of the mind of any person, it shall be sufficient to allege the same as a fact without setting out the circumstances from which the same is to be inferred.

(2) Where in an action for libel or slander the Defendant pleads that any of the words or matters complained of are fair comment on a matter of public interest or were published upon a privileged occasion, the Claimant shall, if he intends to allege that the Defendant was actuated by express malice, deliver a Reply giving particulars of the facts and matters which such malice is to be inferred.

(3) Where in an action for libel or slander the Defendant alleges that in so far as the words complained of consist of statement of fact, they are true in substance and in fact, and in so far as they consist of expressions of opinion, they are fair comment on a matter of public interest, or pleads to the like effect, he shall give particulars stating which of the facts and matters he relies on in support of the allegation that the words are true or fair comment.

(1) The Judge may at any stage of the proceedings order to be struck out or amended any pleading or the indorsement of any Writ in the action or anything in any pleading or in the indorsement, on the ground that:
(a) it discloses no reasonable cause of action or defence as the case may be; or
(b) it is scandalous, frivolous or vexatious; or
(c) it may prejudice, embarrass or delay the fair trial of the action; or
(d) it is otherwise an abuse of the process of the Court, and may order the action to be stayed or dismissed or Judgement to be entered accordingly, as the case may be.

(2) No evidence shall be admissible on application under sub-rule (1) (a) of this Rule.

(3) This Rule shall so far as applicable, apply to an Originating Summons, Originating Motion, a Petition and Judicial Review as if the Originating Summons, Originating Motion, Petition or Judicial Review, as the case may be, were a pleading or endorsement of a Writ.

(4) No proceedings shall be open to objection on the ground that only declaratory Judgement or Order is sought thereby and a Judge may make a binding declaration of right whether any consequential relief is or could be claimed or not.

(1) Where a Defendant fails to file his Statement Defence within the time prescribed by these Rules, pleadings shall be deemed closed.

(2) Where a pleading subsequent to Reply is not ordered, then at the expiration of seven days from the service of the Defence or Reply, if a Reply has been filed, pleadings shall be deemed closed.

(3) Where a pleading subsequent to Reply is ordered, and the party who has been ordered or given leave to file the same fails to do so within the period limited for the purpose, then at the expiration of the period limited, pleadings shall be deemed closed: Provided that this Rule shall not apply to a Defence to Counterclaim and unless the Claimant files a Defence to Counterclaim, the statements of fact contained in such Counterclaim shall at the expiration of ten days from the service thereof or of such time, if any, as may by Order be allowed for filing of a Defence thereto, be deemed to be admitted, but the Judge may at any subsequent time, give leave to the Claimant to file a Defence to the Counterclaim.