Pleading amendments must be tested on permissibility alone, not on disputed benami exemption claims or merits at the amendment stage.

At the stage of an Order VI Rule 17 CPC amendment application, the court must confine itself to the permissibility of the proposed pleading change and not decide contested merits or statutory entitlement questions requiring evidence. The trial court erred by examining benami-related objections and the claimed exception under Section 2(9)(A)(iv) of the Prohibition of Benami Transactions Act while rejecting the amendment. Those issues were left open for consideration on evidence or by the competent forum if necessary. The impugned order was set aside, and the amendment application was directed to be reconsidered in accordance with law after hearing both sides.

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Issues: Whether the trial court was justified in rejecting the plaint amendment application by entering into the merits of the proposed amendment and the benami-related objections at the stage of Order VI Rule 17 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

Analysis: The proposed amendments had to be tested only on the parameters governing amendment of pleadings. The trial court was not required to decide, at that stage, whether the applicant would ultimately succeed in claiming the benefit of the statutory exception under Section 2(9)(A)(iv) of the Prohibition of Benami Transactions Act, 1988, or whether the suit would have to be transferred under the Act. Those questions involved factual and legal issues that could be examined on evidence or by the competent forum, if necessary. By adjudicating the merits of the exemption claim while considering amendment, the trial court exceeded the limited scope of its enquiry.

Conclusion: The rejection of the amendment application was unsustainable, and the matter required reconsideration by the trial court in accordance with law.

Final Conclusion: The original petition succeeded, the impugned order was set aside, and the amendment application was directed to be reconsidered expeditiously after hearing both sides, including the objections based on the Benami Transactions Act.

Ratio Decidendi: At the stage of considering an application for amendment of pleadings, the court must confine itself to the permissibility of the amendment and must not decide contested merits or statutory entitlement questions that require evidence or adjudication by the competent forum.

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