Rawalpindi: The Lahore High Court (Rawalpindi Bench) has allowed a writ petition challenging the rejection of an application seeking amendment of a written statement, holding that courts must permit bona fide corrections necessary to determine the real controversy between parties.
Ch. Imran Hassan Ali, ASC, represented the successful petitioners.
Through judgement announced on 19 January 2026, Justice Jawad Hassan set aside the orders of the trial court and the appellate court, which had declined amendment under Order VI, Rule 17, of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908.
The petitioners had sought to correct what they described as inadvertent typographical errors in their written statement, where references to an “exchange deed” were mistakenly made instead of a “sale deed,” forming the foundation of their defence. The lower courts had held that the proposed amendment would change the nature of the defence and could not be allowed.
Allowing the petition, the High Court observed that the defence of the petitioners throughout was premised on a sale deed dated 21 August 1980, and the incorrect references to an exchange deed appeared to be clerical mistakes rather than an attempt to introduce a new plea or withdraw an admission. The Court held that refusal to permit such limited and necessary amendment amounted to a failure to exercise jurisdiction vested by law.
Justice Jawad Hassan reiterated that Order VI Rule 17 CPC confers wide discretion on courts to allow amendments at any stage of proceedings if they are essential for determining the real questions in controversy and do not prejudice the opposite party. He emphasised, “[P]rocedural rules are handmaids of justice and not its mistress. The object of pleadings is to define the issues, not to penalise a party for a bona fide clerical error.”
Consequently, the High Court allowed the amendment application
The judgement has been approved for reporting and can be downloaded from the Lahore High Court website by clicking here. (Opens in new tab)