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1. The defects of a plaint have been declared as follows.. (It is defective, if it) relates to the property of a stranger; if it is without an object; if it does not state any quantity; if the mode of acquisition is not referred to in it; if too little or too much is written in it; and if it is unmeaning.

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2. 2 That plaint is declared by the wise to 'relate to the property of a stranger' in which joint property is referred to in a claim raised by one man alone who has no right to it, or without authorization from the other joint proprietors.

3. 3 A plaint is said to be 'without an object' when a man, actuated by hatred or anger, taxes another with the murder of a Brahman (or some other deadly sin) and revokes his own charge afterwards on being required to prove it.

4. That plaint 'does not state any quantity' in which no figure is given with regard to a certain quantity, writing, measure, field, house, or other (object).

5. That plaint 'contains no reference to the mode of acquisition' which does not say whether (the property in dispute) has been acquired by learning, or gained as profit (or interest), or purchased, or obtained by inheritance.

6. 'Too little' is said to be written in that plaint in which the year, month, fortnight, lunar day, and day of the week is not referred to.

7. 7 'Too much' may be said to be written in that plaint in which (the plaintiff) after having caused the plaint to be written goes on to mention the witnesses at once, without waiting for the answer (of the defendant) to be delivered.

8. 8 That plaint is declared to be 'unmeaning'

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which is rendered unclear by the mode of writing (exhibited in it), though the claimant's previous statements be (duly) entered in it.

9. 9 Let him avoid, as a mere semblance of a declaration, (a plaint the tenour of) which is unnatural, not connected with an injury, senseless, purposeless, incapable of being proved, or at variance (with possibility, or with justice).

10. 10 That suit which is prohibited by the king, or opposed to the interests of the citizens, or of the whole kingdom, or of the constituent elements of the state,

11. As well as (those suits) which are opposed to the interests of a town or village, or of eminent persons: all such suits are declared to be inadmissible.

12. 12 A plaint in which several different subjects are mixed up together can have no effect.

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13. 13 That plaint is declared to be inadmissible in which the order (of the words) is inverted, or the arrangement confused, or scattered what belongs together, or which is meaningless, or relative to bygone times, or unapproved.

14. The order (of the words) is said to be inverted in that plaint the meaning of which is rendered unclear by the omission (of certain words) in their proper place, and which is not accepted (in consequence).

15. When the original claim is forsaken and replaced by a different proposition, the plaint is declared to be meaningless, and the previous claim is not carried.

16. When a claim is raised in regard to certain property long after the expiration of the proper time, the plaint is said to relate to bygone times, though evidence be forthcoming.

17. 17 That suit in which the claim relates to one thing, and the judicial investigation to another, is declared to be unapproved, because the trial is inconsistent.

18. When the plaintiff in his written claim confounds

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the charge with the evidence, such a claim also cannot take effect, because the proper order of propositions is violated in it.

19. That plaint should be utterly rejected in which two claims are entered at once, one reasonable, and the other unreasonable.

20. Should a man make mutually conflicting statements in a plaint, his claim cannot succeed because of its being vitiated by inconsistent assertions.

21. 21 When a man though capable (of proving his claim) omits to prove it for twenty or ten years, after the plaint has been lodged by him, his declaration becomes futile (in consequence).

22. 22 (The plaintiff) may amend the plaint while the answer has not been delivered. When the plaint has been answered, the corrections must cease.


236:2 That plaint is meant in which a stranger or one not authorized by his partners claims the property of a fellowship. Vîram.

236:3 That plaint is said to be without an object which is dropped afterwards by the claimant himself. Vîram.

236:7 'Witnesses,' or evidence generally. Vîram.

236:8 There is another reading, ubhayam pûrvam, under which the p. 327 claimant is stated to have proffered both the accusation and the answer. Vîram.

237:9 Vy. K.; M. Macn. I, 4, 10 (uncertain). 'Unnatural,' such as e.g. That person has taken my rabbit's horn and refuses to restore it. 'Not connected with an injury,' as, That man is doing his business in his own house by the light of a lamp which is burning in mine. 'Senseless' (a number of syllables strung together), without any intelligible meaning, as, e.g. kakatapam or gadadagavam. 'Purposeless,' as, This man, Dedavatta, is warbling a melodious song before my house. 'Incapable of being proved,' as, Devadatta mocks me by a frown. Such an assertion as this is incapable of being proved, because it does not admit of proof. Owing to the transient nature of the act, witnesses are not available, much less can documentary evidence be resorted to; nor would it be proper to perform an ordeal, on account of the trifling nature of the charge. 'At variance' (with possibility), as, A dumb man has cursed me. Or, 'at variance' with the interests of a town or kingdom. M.

237:10 10, 11. Vy. K.; M. Macn. I, 4, 11 and May. p. 10 (uncertain).

237:12 V. T.; M. Macn. I, 4, 12, &c. (uncertain). Each subject shall p. 238 be examined in its turn, not all subjects at the same time. A plaint referring to many distinct articles or to several different accusations is not faulty under this rule. M.

238:13 13-20. Vîram. pp. 67, 68.

13, 14. 'The order is inverted,' i.e. several syllables are inverted in position in the written charge. Vîram, Smritik.

13. 'The arrangement is confused,' when the natural order of the sentence is interrupted and the sense vitiated in consequence. Vîram., Smritik.

13. 'Scattered what belongs together,' i.e. the several parts of a proposition are not put together. Ibid.

238:17 'Because the trial is inconsistent,' because the different parts of the suit do not agree. Smritik.

239:21 Smritik. upekshâ yatra sâdhyasya vimsatim dasa vâ samâh | saktenâpi krite vâde tasya paksho mrishâ bhavet ||

239:22 Vîram. p. 20.

Next: III. The Answer