Trial, Summons, Hearing of suit, evidence, judgment and decree and costs (Order V, Order XVI-Order XXA)

Everyone has seen the courtroom scene on screen: a witness in the box, a lawyer pacing, a judge banging the gavel. Real trials in a Mumbai civil court look different. Evidence comes in on affidavits, dates are adjourned, and the judgment is a document that may arrive weeks after the last argument. This topic follows a suit from the moment witnesses are called to the moment the Court says who pays the costs, and asks at each stage which rule controls it.

In two minutes

After issues are framed, witnesses are summoned (Order XVI), the hearing proceeds with limits on adjournment (Order XVII), evidence is taken mainly on affidavit (Orders XVIII and XIX), and the Court delivers judgment and a decree (section 33, Order XX) with interest and costs (sections 34, 35, Order XXA).

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The full explanation, the cheat sheet, every previous-year question at every mark weight, the quiz and the answer skeletons are part of Civil Procedure Code 1908 and Limitation Act 1963 on LexBlox Semester. Sign in to unlock the subject, or read Module 1 of Legal Language and Writing free.