Liberal amendment of pleadings allowed where fraud and personal liability were already pleaded, enabling a corporate veil claim.

A pre-trial amendment to a plaint was permitted where the existing pleading already alleged fraud, diversion of funds, and personal liability of directors. The court held that expressly adding a plea for lifting the corporate veil did not introduce a new cause of action or alter the nature and character of the suit; it only elaborated an existing case. Applying the liberal approach to amendment of pleadings, the court noted that the merits of the proposed amendment were not to be finally decided at that stage and that the amendment was necessary to determine the real controversy without prejudicing the defendants.

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Issues: Whether the plaint could be amended to incorporate an express plea for lifting the corporate veil and personal liability of the directors.

Analysis: The plaint already contained allegations of fraud, diversion of funds, and personal liability against the directors. The proposed amendment did not introduce a new cause of action or alter the nature and character of the suit, but only elaborated an existing plea. The governing approach to amendment of pleadings is liberal, especially at the pre-trial stage, and the merits of the proposed amendment are not to be finally adjudicated while deciding the amendment application. Since allegations of fraud and misuse of corporate personality are circumstances in which the corporate veil may be lifted, the amendment was necessary for determining the real controversy and would not prejudice the defendants at that stage.

Conclusion: The amendment was allowed and the plaint could be amended to include the plea of lifting of the corporate veil.

Final Conclusion: The plaintiff obtained leave to amend the plaint, while the connected request for deletion of the defendant's name was treated as infructuous.

Ratio Decidendi: An amendment that merely elaborates an already pleaded case of fraud and personal liability, without changing the cause of action or the nature of the suit, should ordinarily be permitted at the pre-trial stage.

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