LAW FOR ALL

The suit is filed for partition of the suit schedule property. The plaintiffs filed the present I.A. No.631 of 2010 under Order 6 Rule 17 of Code of Civil Procedure (for short 'CPC') for amendment of the plaint and the plaint schedule. On a perusal of the record, it appears that the trial is not yet commenced. It is on the record that the petitioners had amended the plaint and the plaint schedule as per the orders of this Court in C.R.P. No.3286 of 2007 dated 24.10.2008. The present I.A. is filed for amendment of the plaint and the plaint schedule stating that inadvertently they did not mention the exact extent of the plaint schedule property in the plaint as well as in the plaint schedule. The contention of the respondent (revision petitioner) is that earlier I.A.No.734 of 2006 was filed by the petitioners to amend the plaint on similar grounds and the same was dismissed and the matter was carried to this Court in the revision and as per the orders in the revision, the plaint as well as the plaint schedule property was amended, and as such, the present I.A. for amendment is unsustainable in law. Now, it is to be seen whether the present amendment can be allowed, and if it is allowed, would it alter the nature of the suit or change the cause of action? The case of the petitioners is that they did not inform their counsel before the trial Court about the extent of land acquired by the Government and the extent of land sold by them out of the extent mentioned in the plaint as well as in the plaint schedule. Having regard to the facts and circumstances of the case and also having regard to the submissions made on either side, this Court is of the considered opinion that if the present amendment is allowed, no prejudice would be caused to the respondent and that the nature of the suit would not alter and the cause of action would not change. Further, denial of such amendment will go to the very root of the matter, and as such, it is necessary to permit the petitioners to amend the plaint and the plaint schedule so as to effectively adjudicate the controversies involved in the suit once for all.