Supreme Court of India

Sopan Sukhdeo Sable v Assistant Charity Commissioner

(2004) 3 SCC 13720041 min read
The case in brief30-second read
Facts
A suit concerning the management of a public trust was met with an application under O.VII R.11 for rejection of the plaint.
Issue
How the court should examine a plaint on an application under O.VII R.11.
Held
The court must read the plaint as a whole, with the documents relied on, and take the averments as correct. The defence is not to be considered. Clever drafting that creates an illusion of a cause of action is to be seen through, but O.VII R.11 does not justify rejecting only a part of the plaint.
Principle
The plaint is read as a whole and on its own averments; there is no partial rejection under O.VII R.11.
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Facts

  • A suit concerning the management of a public trust was met with an application under O.VII R.11 for rejection of the plaint.

Issue

  1. How the court should examine a plaint on an application under O.VII R.11.

Held

  • The court must read the plaint as a whole, with the documents relied on, and take the averments as correct. The defence is not to be considered. Clever drafting that creates an illusion of a cause of action is to be seen through, but O.VII R.11 does not justify rejecting only a part of the plaint.

Ratio decidendi

Under O.VII R.11 the court reads the plaint as a whole, with the documents relied on, and takes the averments as correct; the defence is irrelevant. Clever drafting that creates an illusion of a cause of action is to be seen through, but the rule does not permit rejecting only part of a plaint.

Exam use

How to use it in an answer

  • Rejection of plaint: Cite for the approach to O.VII R.11: the whole plaint, with the averments taken as true.
  • No partial rejection: The plaint survives or falls as a whole.
  • *Read with T. Arivandandam v T.V. Satyapal:* both cases tell the court to see through clever drafting.
  • Key line for exam: "In Sopan Sukhdeo Sable, the Supreme Court held that the plaint is read as a whole on its own averments, and there is no partial rejection under O.VII R.11."

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Citation

Sopan Sukhdeo Sable v Assistant Charity Commissioner (2004) 3 SCC 137

Reported: https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1841885/. This is an educational summary, not the judgment itself. Cite the reported version in professional or academic work.