Written statement in a commercial recovery suit with supporting affidavits of company directors
0 of 45 blanks filled
IN THE MATTER OF:
Plaintiff's name (cause title): PLAINTIFF
VERSUS
Defendants' names (cause title): DEFENDANTS
N.D.O.H.: Next date of hearing
WRITTEN STATEMENT ON BEHALF OF THE DEFENDANTS IN THE COMMERCIAL SUIT FOR RECOVERY OF RS. Suit recovery amount/- ALONG WITH INTEREST
MOST RESPECTFULLY SHOWETH:
PRELIMINARY SUBMISSIONS AND OBJECTIONS:
1.That the captioned Suit has been filed by the Plaintiff, verified by an affidavit of one Mr. Plaintiff's authorised representative's name, who purports to be the Authorised Representative / Director of the Plaintiff Company. The Answering Defendants have gone through the complete copy of the Suit and have understood its purport and contents, and are accordingly filing their reply thereto. In reply to the Plaint, the Defendants vehemently deny each and every statement, averment and submission made therein, as the same are false, frivolous, misconceived and wholly baseless. Before tendering a para-wise reply to the Plaint, the Defendants seek to set out their Preliminary Objections and Submissions hereinbelow, which are urged independently of, and without prejudice to, one another. It is pertinent to note that Defendant No. 1 is a company, and Defendants Nos. 2 and 3 are the Directors of Defendant No. 1 Company. Defendant No. 1 Company has, by a board resolution, authorised Defendant No. 2 to contest the present proceedings on its behalf.
2.That at the outset, it is submitted that the present Suit is not maintainable, inasmuch as no cause of action has been made out by the Plaintiff against the Defendants. On the contrary, the Plaint is replete with statements which are untenable in the eyes of law, and the Plaint is liable to be rejected as provided under Order 7 Rule 11 CPC.
3.That it is categorically stated that the Plaintiff is guilty of misrepresentation and of non-disclosure of material facts. It is further categorically stated that the Plaintiff has not approached this Hon'ble Court with clean hands and has suppressed material facts from this Hon'ble Court. This has been so held in S.P. Chengalvaraya Naidu v. Jagannath, (1994) 1 SCC 1.
4.That the Suit of the Plaintiff is not maintainable, inasmuch as the claim put forth by the Plaintiff for recovery of the alleged amount is without any legal, binding and subsisting cause of action. The Plaintiff, being guilty of conduct whereby it has suppressed material facts from this Hon'ble Court, is not entitled to any equitable relief from this Hon'ble Court; accordingly, no swing of equity can be claimed by the Plaintiff as a matter of right or otherwise.
5.That, having failed to disclose material facts, the Plaintiff has rendered itself liable to have the Suit rejected at the very inception, so as to avoid unnecessary litigation. Further, the present Suit, as framed and filed, is a gross abuse and misuse of the process of law and the legal machinery, and has been instituted with the sole intention of harassing the Defendants. The Suit is therefore liable to be dismissed with costs.
6.That the captioned proceedings instituted by the Plaintiff seek to project a scenario which is not only disturbing but also demonstrates how unprincipled and deviant litigants can ingeniously and innovatively, and in a nonchalant manner, knock at the doors of the courts as though they were a laboratory where multifarious experiments may be conducted, and how such persons can adroitly abuse the process of the courts at their own will, by painting a canvas of agony through assiduous assertions in the pleadings, while their real intention, without any remorse, is to harass the opposite parties through such inventive designs.
7.That, without prejudice to the rights and contentions of the Defendants and without admitting any of the allegations levelled by the Plaintiff against them, it is submitted that the documents filed by the Plaintiff along with the Suit cannot be taken on record, as they have not been properly pleaded in the Suit; the documents upon which the Plaintiff has placed reliance cannot be read as part of the pleadings, since they do not find mention in the contents of the Suit. It is further pertinent to mention that the Plaintiff has relied upon fabricated and false documents, which fail to establish any direct nexus between the averments made in the Suit and the grievances sought to be portrayed by the Plaintiff.
8.That the Plaintiff has instituted the present Suit on mere presumptions and conjectures, solely to falsely harass the Answering Defendants, in abuse of the process of law and with an ulterior motive.
9.That the Defendants submit that the Plaintiff has failed to approach this Hon'ble Court with clean hands, and has deliberately misrepresented facts and indulged in unethical practices in order to institute the present Suit. The Suit is not maintainable and is liable to be rejected at the threshold, the Plaintiff being guilty of suppression of material facts.
10.That, in view of the objections set out above, this Hon'ble Court may be pleased to dismiss the present Suit with exemplary costs, the same having been filed with unclean hands, upon suppression of facts and propagation of falsehood, and by the Plaintiff with mala fide intentions and ulterior motives.
11.That in the case of Jay Engineering Works Ltd. v. Ramesh Aggarwal, 135 (2006) DLT 666 : 2007 (1) R.A.J. 188, this Court has also held that where the defendants are not residing or carrying on business within the jurisdiction of this Court, this Court cannot be said to have any territorial jurisdiction under Section 20 of the CPC to entertain any such Suit.
12.That, in addition to the foregoing, it is submitted by the Defendants that the Plaintiff has not annexed any certificate or bank stamp to the statements of account maintained by it; the said statements are accordingly forged and fabricated documents, and no evidence has been placed on record to prove their authenticity.
REPLY ON MERITS:
Without prejudice to the foregoing, and without in any manner admitting any of the submissions, contentions and allegations made in the Suit, except those which are expressly admitted, the Answering Defendants tender their para-wise reply to the Suit as under:
1.That the contents of paragraph 1 of the Plaint are in the nature of a legal submission, and hence require no reply.
2.That the contents of paragraph 1 of the Plaint are denied, and it is denied that the authorised representative of the Plaintiff Company is competent to file and sign the present Suit. The contents of the Preliminary Submissions and Objections may be read as part and parcel of this reply, and the same are not repeated herein for the sake of brevity.
3.That the contents of paragraph 2 of the Plaint are a matter of record, and hence require no reply. The contents of the Preliminary Submissions and Objections may be read as part and parcel of this reply, and the same are not repeated herein for the sake of brevity.
4.That the contents of paragraph 4 of the Plaint are wrong and denied. It is denied that, for the purpose of availing of the services of the Plaintiff, the Defendant, through its Director, approached the Plaintiff for the purchase and delivery of wires and cables equipment from Date from which purchases of wires and cables commenced. The contents of the Preliminary Submissions and Objections may be read as part and parcel of this reply, and the same are not repeated herein for the sake of brevity.
5.That the contents of paragraph 5 of the Plaint are wrong and denied. It is denied that, after various rounds of discussions and deliberations held at the registered office of the Plaintiff at Plaintiff's registered office address, the Defendants, in order to establish a professional relationship, placed various orders requesting the Plaintiff to deliver wires and cables as per the contract. It is further denied that the Defendant had agreed to clear the payments in respect of the purchases as soon as the goods were delivered at the requisite place of supply, i.e., Place of supply of goods. The contents of the Preliminary Submissions and Objections may be read as part and parcel of this reply, and the same are not repeated herein for the sake of brevity.
6.That the contents of paragraph 6 of the plaint are wrong and are hereby denied. It is denied that, after negotiations, the plaintiff agreed to supply the requisite goods. It is further denied that the defendant, through its proprietor, placed the said orders, that the plaintiff honoured the said orders in time with proper invoices, and that the same were duly received by the defendant to its full satisfaction. It is further denied that no dispute whatsoever was raised by the defendant, or that the defendant was satisfied with the supply made by the plaintiff. It is further denied that all the materials were supplied against properly raised invoices. The contents of the preliminary submissions and objections may be read as part and parcel of this reply, and, for the sake of brevity, the same are not repeated herein.
7.That the contents of paragraph 7 of the plaint are wrong and are hereby denied. It is denied that, on the request of the defendant, the plaintiff delivered the desired products in accordance with the aforementioned invoices at the site indicated by the defendant, and that the defendant has cleared payment only to the extent of Partial payment amount made by the defendant against the said invoices. The contents of the preliminary submissions and objections may be read as part and parcel of this reply, and, for the sake of brevity, the same are not repeated herein.
8.That the contents of paragraph 8 of the plaint are wrong and are hereby denied. It is denied that, after all such transactions, an amount of Outstanding amount against the defendant remains outstanding against the defendant company. It is further denied that the plaintiff, on several occasions, requested the defendant telephonically, through WhatsApp and by email to clear the outstanding amount, and that, despite such reminders, the defendant has failed to clear the balance amount. The contents of the preliminary submissions and objections may be read as part and parcel of this reply, and, for the sake of brevity, the same are not repeated herein.
9.That the contents of paragraph 9 of the plaint are wrong and are hereby denied. It is denied that the defendant never intended to make payment for the goods supplied and thereby fraudulently cheated the plaintiff. It is further denied that the defendant raised no dispute with respect to the performance of the purchase order issued to the plaintiff, or that the defendant has failed to make the payment due from the date of delivery of the goods. The contents of the preliminary submissions and objections may be read as part and parcel of this reply, and, for the sake of brevity, the same are not repeated herein.
10.That the contents of paragraph 10 of the plaint are wrong and are hereby denied. It is denied that the plaintiff made numerous attempts through telephonic conversations, all of which fell on deaf ears, and that the defendant failed to make the payment due to the plaintiff. It is further denied that the plaintiff sent a legal notice dated Date of first legal notice demanding the outstanding payment, that the said notice was delivered to and received by all the defendants on Date of delivery of first legal notice, and that, despite service thereof, the defendant made no attempt to contact the plaintiff for clearing the outstanding dues. It is further denied that this demonstrates any unscrupulous intention on the part of the defendant to deliberately withhold payment to the plaintiff. The contents of the preliminary submissions and objections may be read as part and parcel of this reply, and, for the sake of brevity, the same are not repeated herein.
11.That the contents of paragraph 11 of the plaint are wrong and are hereby denied. It is denied that the defendant duly received the goods, as is allegedly evident from the invoices. It is further denied that the defendant has no right whatsoever to defend the present suit by any stretch of imagination, or that the suit rightly deserves to be decreed. The contents of the preliminary submissions and objections may be read as part and parcel of this reply, and, for the sake of brevity, the same are not repeated herein.
12.That the contents of paragraph 12 of the plaint are wrong and are hereby denied. It is denied that the plaintiff, despite delivery of the goods, failed to receive the outstanding amount and remained in continuous contact with the defendant. It is further denied that the defendant never intended to make payment for the goods supplied and thereby fraudulently cheated the plaintiff. The contents of the preliminary submissions and objections may be read as part and parcel of this reply, and, for the sake of brevity, the same are not repeated herein.
13.That the contents of paragraph 13 of the plaint are wrong and are hereby denied. It is denied that the defendant raised no dispute with respect to the performance of the orders issued to the plaintiff, or that the defendant has failed to make the payments due from the date of delivery of the goods. The contents of the preliminary submissions and objections may be read as part and parcel of this reply, and, for the sake of brevity, the same are not repeated herein.
14.That the contents of paragraph 14 of the plaint are wrong and are hereby denied. It is denied that the plaintiff sent a legal notice dated Date of second legal notice through Speed Post to the defendant for recovery of a sum of Amount claimed in the second legal notice, and that the said legal notice was delivered to the defendant on Date of delivery of second legal notice. The contents of the preliminary submissions and objections may be read as part and parcel of this reply, and, for the sake of brevity, the same are not repeated herein.
15.That the contents of paragraph 15 of the plaint are wrong and are hereby denied. It is denied that, despite various assurances of payment, the defendant has not abided by the terms of the agreement between the parties, and that the defendant is liable to pay interest at the rate of Rate of interest per annum claimed per annum over and above the principal amount outstanding against it. The contents of the preliminary submissions and objections may be read as part and parcel of this reply, and, for the sake of brevity, the same are not repeated herein.
16.That the contents of paragraph 16 of the plaint are wrong and are hereby denied. It is denied that the defendant duly received the goods, as is allegedly evident from the invoices. It is further denied that the defendant has no right whatsoever to defend the present suit by any stretch of imagination, or that the suit rightly deserves to be decreed. The contents of the preliminary submissions and objections may be read as part and parcel of this reply, and, for the sake of brevity, the same are not repeated herein.
17.That the contents of paragraph 17 of the plaint are wrong and are hereby denied. The contents of the preliminary submissions and objections may be read as part and parcel of this reply, and, for the sake of brevity, the same are not repeated herein.
18.That the contents of paragraph 18 of the plaint are wrong and are hereby denied. It is denied that the cause of action for filing the present suit arose in favour of the plaintiff and against the defendant when the defendant placed various orders for delivery of the goods. It is further denied that the cause of action arose on Date of last invoice, when the plaintiff raised the last invoice upon the defendant; that the cause of action further arose on Date of issuance of legal notice (cause of action), when the plaintiff issued the legal notice upon the defendant; and that the said legal notice was delivered to the defendant on Date of delivery of legal notice (cause of action). It is further denied that, since then, the defendant has made no payment, and that an outstanding amount of Total outstanding amount inclusive of interest and legal expenses, inclusive of interest and legal expenses as mentioned in paragraph 17, remains due from the defendant. It is further denied that the pre-litigation mediation process failed, wherein the defendant appeared before the concerned authorities but failed to pay the outstanding amount. It is further denied that the suit is, therefore, within the period of limitation. The contents of the preliminary submissions and objections may be read as part and parcel of this reply, and, for the sake of brevity, the same are not repeated herein.
19.That the contents of paragraph 19 of the plaint are legal in nature and require no reply on merits. For the sake of brevity, the contents of the preliminary submissions and objections may be read as part and parcel of this reply and are not repeated herein.
20.That the contents of paragraph 20 of the plaint are wrong and are denied. For the sake of brevity, the contents of the preliminary submissions and objections may be read as part and parcel of this reply and are not repeated herein.
21.That the contents of paragraph 21 of the plaint are wrong and are denied. For the sake of brevity, the contents of the preliminary submissions and objections may be read as part and parcel of this reply and are not repeated herein.
22.That the contents of paragraph 22 of the plaint are wrong and are denied. It is denied that the Defendant placed orders from the registered office of the Plaintiff, i.e., Defendant's registered office address. It is further denied that the ledger account is kept and maintained at the registered office of the Plaintiff. It is further denied that the Defendant made any acknowledgements or commitments at the registered office of the Plaintiff. It is further denied that the retail invoices, being an executed agreement along with the terms and conditions, specifically stipulated that all disputes shall be subject to the jurisdiction of Gurugram. It is further denied that the cause of action arose at the registered office, and consequently it is denied that this Hon'ble Court has territorial jurisdiction to entertain and decide the present suit. For the sake of brevity, the contents of the preliminary submissions and objections may be read as part and parcel of this reply and are not repeated herein.
23.That the contents of paragraph 5 of the plaint are wrong and are denied. For the sake of brevity, the contents of the preliminary submissions and objections may be read as part and parcel of this reply and are not repeated herein.
24.That the contents of paragraph 6 of the plaint are legal in nature and, hence, require no reply. For the sake of brevity, the contents of the preliminary submissions and objections may be read as part and parcel of this reply and are not repeated herein.
It is respectfully submitted that the present suit is absolutely false, frivolous, baseless, misconceived and vexatious, besides being unsustainable in law, and therefore the same is liable to be dismissed with compensatory costs.
The prayer paragraph of the plaint, along with its sub-paragraphs, is absolutely wrong and is specifically denied. Hence, the Plaintiff is not entitled to any of the reliefs claimed therein.
P R A Y E R
It is, therefore, most respectfully prayed that this Hon'ble Court may dismiss the plaint of the Plaintiff with heavy costs in favour of the answering Defendants and against the Plaintiff, for unnecessarily dragging the answering Defendants into frivolous litigation, in the interest of justice, equity and having regard to the circumstances of the case.
Pass such further order or orders as this Hon'ble Court may deem fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of the case, and which may be passed in favour of the answering Defendant, in the interest of justice.
It is prayed accordingly.
DEFENDANTS
Place of verification
DATEDTHROUGH
COUNSEL
VERIFICATION :-
Verified at Place of verification on this Date of verification of written statement day of Month and year of verification of written statement that the contents of paragraphs 1 to 24 of the written statement are true and correct to the Defendant's knowledge, derived from legal information received and believed to be true, and further, that the contents of paragraphs 1 to Number of paragraphs of preliminary submissions of the preliminary submissions are true and correct to the Defendant's knowledge, derived from legal information received and believed to be true.
The last paragraph is the prayer made to this Hon'ble Court.
DEFENDANTS
IN THE COURT OF MS. Name of Civil Judge (first cause title), LD. CIVIL JUDGE (JUNIOR DIVISION), GURUGRAM.
SUIT (COMM.) NO. Suit number (first cause title) OF Year in suit number (first cause title).
IN THE MATTER OF :-
Plaintiff's name (affidavit cause title): PLAINTIFF
VERSUS
Defendants' names (affidavit cause title): DEFENDANTS
AFFIDAVIT
Affidavit of Sh. Name of authorised representative / director (first affidavit), Authorised Representative / Director of M/s. Plaintiff company's name (first affidavit), having its registered office at Registered office address (first affidavit), who solemnly affirms and declares as under:
1.That I am the Director / Authorised Representative of Defendant No. 1 company, which is Defendant No. 2 in the above case, and I am thoroughly conversant with the facts and circumstances of the case, pursuant to the information provided to me, and am competent to swear this affidavit.
2.That the accompanying written statement to the plaint has been drafted by my counsel as per my instructions, and the contents thereof have been duly read over and explained to me. Having fully understood the contents thereof, I state that the facts contained therein are true and correct to my knowledge.
DEPONENT
VERIFICATION :-
Verified at Place of verification on this Date of verification (first affidavit) day of Month and year of verification (first affidavit) that the contents of the above affidavit are true and correct to my knowledge, that no part of it is false, and that nothing material has been concealed therefrom.
DEPONENT
IN THE COURT OF MS. Name of Civil Judge (second cause title), LD. CIVIL JUDGE (JUNIOR DIVISION), GURUGRAM.
SUIT (COMM.) NO. Suit number (second cause title) OF Year in suit number (second cause title).
IN THE MATTER OF :-
Plaintiff's name (second affidavit cause title): PLAINTIFF
VERSUS
Defendants' names (second affidavit cause title): DEFENDANTS
AFFIDAVIT
Affidavit of Sh. Name of director (second affidavit), Director of M/s. Defendant company's name (second affidavit), having its registered office at Registered office address (second affidavit), who solemnly affirms and declares as under:
1.That I am Defendant No. 3 in the above case and am thoroughly conversant with the facts and circumstances of the case, pursuant to the information provided to me, and am competent to swear this affidavit.
2.That the accompanying written statement to the plaint has been drafted by my counsel as per my instructions, and the contents thereof have been duly read over and explained to me. Having fully understood the contents thereof, I state that the facts contained therein are true and correct to my knowledge.
DEPONENT
VERIFICATION :-
Verified at Place of verification on this Date of verification (second affidavit) day of Month and year of verification (second affidavit) that the contents of the above affidavit are true and correct to my knowledge, that no part of it is false, and that nothing material has been concealed therefrom.
DEPONENT