There is no gainsaying, procedural justice is imbibed to provide further impetus to substantive justice. We must be mindful of legislative intention to provide for certainty and clarity. In name of substantive justice, providing unlimited and unrestricted rights in itself will be detrimental to certainty and would lead to state of lawlessness. In this regard, Court needs to recognize and harmoniously stitch two types of justice.
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Hon’ble Justice N.V. Ramana
Ashok Kumar Kalra, [SLP (Civil) No. 23599 of 2018]
Order 8, Rule 6A does not put an embargo on filing the counter-claim after filing the written statement. It is not mandatory for the counter-claim to be filed along with the written statement. Courts in such cases have discretion. In any case, not after framing of the issues and after the suit has proceeded substantially.
In exceptional circumstances, to prevent multiplicity of proceedings and a situation of effective retrial, Court may entertain a counter-claim even after framing of issues, so long as Court has not started recording evidence. This is because there is no significant development in legal proceedings between framing of issues and commencement of recording of evidence. If a counter-claim is brought during such period, a new issue can still be framed by Court, if needed, and evidence can be recorded accordingly, without seriously prejudicing rights of either party.
Hon’ble Justice Mohan M. Shantanagoudar
Ashok Kumar Kalra, [SLP (Civil) No. 23599 of 2018]
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The only method of harmonizing the underlined is by holding, if ‘no significant development’ has happened in the suit, the suit has ‘not proceeded substantially’. 
The Last Word 
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