Amendment of plaint for omitted CENVAT credit allowed where it only corrected quantification of an existing claim.

An amendment to a plaint under Order VI Rule 17 CPC was permissible where it merely corrected an inadvertent omission in the quantification of an already pleaded claim, including the omitted CENVAT credit component. Because the plaint and chart had already disclosed the underlying service tax claim and the related adjustment, the amendment did not introduce a new cause of action or change the nature of the suit. The limitation objection was not decisive at the amendment stage, as it depended on factual proof to be examined at trial. The bar under Order II Rule 2 CPC also did not apply to correction of a computational omission in an existing claim.

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Issues: Whether the plaint could be amended under Order VI Rule 17 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 to include the omitted CENVAT credit component, and whether such amendment was barred by limitation or by Order II Rule 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908.

Analysis: The plaint and accompanying chart already disclosed the service tax claim and separately reflected the CENVAT credit adjustment, showing that the additional amount was part of the same underlying monetary claim and that its omission from the prayer was inadvertent. The amendment did not introduce a new cause of action or alter the basic nature of the suit. The objection based on limitation was not determinative at the amendment stage because the issue depended on factual proof and could be examined at trial. The bar under Order II Rule 2 did not apply to correction of a computational omission in respect of an already pleaded claim.

Conclusion: The amendment was rightly allowed, and the objections based on limitation and Order II Rule 2 failed.

Ratio Decidendi: An amendment that merely corrects an inadvertent omission in the quantification of an already pleaded claim, without introducing a new cause of action or changing the nature of the suit, is not barred by limitation or Order II Rule 2 at the amendment stage.

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