Introduction:
Money Recovery Suit in West Bengal is a vital topic to be discussed here. Nowadays we see that there are many disputes relating to recovery of money. There are many individuals who take money for some purpose from others and sometimes they misbehave or don’t want to refund the money. In such types of cases, one can take legal actions against the debtor or an individual who has not refunded or returned the amount taken by him as a loan or in other forms. The aggrieved party or the party who has given money to a person in need can recover the amount along with interest if he has evidence in the form of promissory note or agreement or any other evidence which is necessary or important to show before the court to recover the amount. There are different Acts which contain different provisions to recover the money. There are civil as well as criminal remedies to recover the money.
“Rule 1 Order XXXVII of Code of Civil Procedure 1908 “Court and classes of suits to which the Order is to apply”
“(1) This Order shall apply to the following Courts, namely”:-
“(a) High Courts, City Civil Courts and Courts of Small Causes: and”
“(b) other Courts:”
“(2) Subject to the provisions of sub-rule (1), the Order applies to the following classes of suits, namely”:-
“(a) suits upon bills of exchange, hundies and Promissory notes:”
“(b) suits in which the plaintiff seeks only to recover a debt or liquidated demand in money payable by the defendant, with or without interest, arising,”
“(i) on a written contract, or”
“(ii) on an enactment, where the sum sought to be recovered is a fixed sum of money or in the nature of a debt other than a penalty; or”
“(iii) on a guarantee, Where the claim against the principal is in respect of a debt or liquidated demand only.”
“Rule 2 Order XXXVII of Code of Civil Procedure 1908 “Institution of summary suits”
“(1) A suit, to which this Order applies, may if the plaintiff proceed desires to desires hereunder, be instituted by presenting a plaint which shall contain,”
“(a) a specific averment to the effect that the suit is filed under this Order;”
“(b) that no relief, which does not fall within the ambit of this rule; has been claimed in the plaint; and”
“(c) the following inscription, immediately below the number of the suit in the title of the suit, namely”:-
“(Under Order XXXVII of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908).”
“(2) The summons of the suit shall be in Form No. 4 in Appendix B or in such other Form as may, from time to time, be prescribed.”
“(3) The defendant shall not defend the suit referred to in sub-rule (1) unless he enters an appearance and in default of his entering an appearance the allegations in the plaint shall be deemed to be admitted and the plaintiff shall be entitled to a decree for any sum, not exceeding the sum mentioned in the summons, together with interest at the rate specified, if any, up to the date of the decree and such sum for costs as may be determined by the High Court from time to time by rules made in that behalf and such decree may be executed forthwith.”
“Rule 5 Order XXXVII of Code of Civil Procedure 1908 “Power to order bill, etc., to be deposited with officer of Court”
“In any proceeding under this Order the Court may order the bill, hundi or note on which the suit is founded to be forthwith deposited with an officer of the Court, and may further order that all proceedings shall be stayed until the plaintiff gives security for the costs thereof.”
“Rule 6 Order XXXVII of Code of Civil Procedure 1908 “Recovery of cost of noting non-acceptance of dishonoured bill or note”
“The holder of every dishonoured bill of exchange or promissory note shall have the same remedies for the recovery of the expenses incurred in noting the same for non-acceptance or non-payment, or otherwise, by reason of such dishonour, as he has under this Order for the recovery of the amount of such bill or note.”
Anyone can file a suit under Order 37 of the Civil Procedure Code, this Order explains about the summary suit through which one can recover money and suit can be instituted under Order 4 of the Civil Procedure Code. This suit can be instituted in the jurisdiction of the defendant where he resides or where he carries on his business or works for his gain or in a place where the cause of action arises. The aggrieved party must remember that after determining the territorial jurisdiction they should determine the pecuniary jurisdiction and for this purpose, they should calculate the amount which they want to recover from the debtor to determine the pecuniary jurisdiction and after doing so they can easily file the suit in the proper court.
There is a condition under the Civil Procedure Code that the suit must be filed within 3 years from the date of cause of action otherwise the suit will be time-barred.
At first, the aggrieved party should send a letter to the debtor mentioning the necessary things such as the amount to be recovered, date of refund of the amount and so on. If the debtor fails to comply with the letter then the plaintiff or the aggrieved party will send a legal notice to the debtor and if the debtor again fails to comply with the notice then he will take legal action against him.
This suit is filed in a plaint and this plaint contains the necessary information about the case and it also mentions the amount along with interest which he will recover from the debtor. This plaint should be attached with the necessary documents, affidavit along with proper verification of the facts. When the plaintiff files the suit by the way of plaint and according to the laws, he should also pay court fees otherwise the suit will be returned to the plaintiff. When the plaint is accepted by the court, the court examines the plaint or suit and also checks the admissibility of the plaint and then it gives a summon which has to be delivered to the debtor or the defendant then the defendant files his written statement within a specified time. Now the court hears both the parties and delivers the judgement.
Section 420 in the Indian Penal Code:
“Cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property.—Whoever cheats and thereby dishonestly induces the person deceived to deliver any property to any person or to make, alter or destroy the whole or any part of valuable security, or anything which is signed or sealed, and which is capable of being converted into a valuable security, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine.”
The aggrieved party can file a criminal case in the criminal court under Section 420 of the Indian penal Code. This Section defines cheating. If the plaintiff thinks that he will file a criminal case then he could do so according to section 420 of IPC. The plaintiff has to lodge an FIR in the police station then the police will conduct an investigation on the matter then a case is instituted against him in the competent court under Section 420 that is cheating. The punishment which is mentioned under this Section is that any person found guilty will be imprisoned for the term which may extend to seven years and also liable to fine. The cases or suits related to this matter is generally filed in the city civil courts, courts of small causes or any other courts which are specified by the High Court. Any individual or person can approach the High Court for an appeal if he or she is not satisfied with the decision of the inferior court where he or she filed the case in his or her jurisdiction.
Case Analysis:
“Sh. Abhishek Kumar Singh vs Ms. Ritu Singh on 20 November, 2018 Delhi District Court”
In this case, the plaintiff and the defendant are two friends. Defendant borrowed money from the plaintiff many times but he did not refund the money and the plaintiff requested the defendant to pay back the amount taken by him but it resulted in no action. Then the plaintiff filed a money suit in the Delhi District Court. The court directed that the defendant should return the amount taken by him in need and no interest will be paid since both the parties were friends so there were no commercial transactions made by them and cost of the suit is awarded in favour of the plaintiff.
“Mr.Ullas Gurudas vs Smt.ShireenMonica.S on 10 January, 2020 Bangalore District Court”
The plaintiff and the defendant, in this case, are office colleagues. Here, it is said that the defendant had taken money from the plaintiff but failed to return the amount after requesting several times then the plaintiff filed a money suit to recover the amount given by him to the defendant. The court here said that the defendant is liable to pay the amount along with interest at the rate of 12% per annum.
“M/S. Babulal Hiralal& Co vs M/S. N.K. Industries on 4 January, 2019Bangalore District Court”
In this case, it is seen that the defendant purchased the paper and board materials from the plaintiff’s client. The defendant did not pay the whole sum of money for the materials and he was due to pay the amount. After several messages and contacts, the defendant urged for time to make the payment to the plaintiff and then the plaintiff forwarded a legal notice to him and filed a suit in the court. The court directed the defendant to return the amount along with interest at the rate of 24% per annum.
Conclusion:
Here, we have discussed some basic steps for recovery of money through suits in West Bengal and Kolkata. There are different procedures to file money recovery suits in West Bengal. The above explanation provides different provisions to file a money recovery suit under different Laws or Acts. These days we see many cases related to the matter of recovery of money and it becomes hard to recover the amount. So, it is better to consult with a local lawyer or an expert to get solutions on these matters.