Order 7 rule 11

An application under Order 7, Rule 11 of the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC) for the rejection of a plaint can be filed at any stage of the proceedings, including before registration of the plaint or after summons to the defendant, but before the conclusion of the trial.

After service of summons to defendant and settlement of issues an application u/o VII Rule 11 CPC may be filed by the defendant for rejection of suit on either of the conditions provided in the rule. 

After service of defendant, he can file application under order 7 rule 11 cpc.

Application  u/ order 7 rule 11 CPC can be filed by defendant from the day he put his appearance in court and before concluding  the case.

Order 7 Rule 11 of CPC deals with rejection of plaint. So, an application under Order 7 Rule 11 of CPC may be filed after institution of suit, any time after copies of the plaint are served to the defendants. 

There were a few conflicting judgments on Order 7 Rule 11 of CPC. 

The following judgment delivered by Dr. D.Y. Chandrachud and M.R. Shah in 2021 clarifies a few points. 

Supreme Court of India
Srihari Hanumandas Totala vs Hemant Vithal Kamat on 9 August, 2021
Equivalent citations: AIR 2021 SUPREME COURT 3802, AIRONLINE 2021 SC 474
Author: D.Y. Chandrachud
Bench: D.Y. Chandrachud, M.R. Shah
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
Civil Appeal No 4665 of 2021
Arising out of SLP (C) No.3899 of 2021
Srihari Hanumandas Totala . . . Appellant
Versus
Hemant Vithal Kamat & Ors . . . Respondents

In the above judgment delivered by Dr. D.Y. Chandrachud and M.R. Shah, it was held that, "An application under Order 7 Rule 11 must be decided within the four corners of the plaint."

Order 7 Rule 11 (d) of CPC says:

QUOTE

11. Rejection of plaint.— The plaint shall be rejected in the following cases:

(a) 

(b)

(c)

(d) where the suit appears from the statement in the plaint to be barred by any law.

UNQUOTE

"STATEMENT IN THE PLAINT" is the key to understand Order 7 Rule 11 (d). 

Statements made in the plaint alone must be the grounds for rejection of plaint. 

So, while drafting an application under Order 7 Rule 11 of CPC, the focus must be only on the statements made in the plaint. At the most, the documents filed along with the plaint may be considered. 

Even if the defendants filed their written statements and even if the parties adduced their evidence, they cannot be considered while deciding an application filed under Order 7 Rule 11 of CPC. Statements made in the plaint alone must be considered while rejecting a plaint under Order 7 Rule 11 of CPC. 

The above point must be kept in mind by the defendants while drafting their application under Order 7 Rule 11 of CPC. Similarly, the judge also must consider the statements made in the plaint only while deciding the application under Order 7 Rule 11 of CPC. 

Written statements filed by defendants and the evidence filed by the parties may be considered only at the time of delivering final judgment in the suit. 

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