Definition
The bundle of material facts that gives a plaintiff the right to sue and obtain relief from the court.
Every fact material for the plaintiff to prove to establish the right to the relief claimed — if the plaint discloses no cause of action, it shall be rejected.
Statutory Definition
Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (CPC), Order VII Rule 1(e) (plaint must disclose cause of action); Order VII Rule 11 (rejection of plaint disclosing no cause of action).
Etymology & Origin
From Latin 'causa' (a reason, cause, case, lawsuit) and Old French 'accion' (a proceeding, action — from Latin 'actio', a doing, action — from 'agere', to do). 'Cause of action' is literally the 'cause' (the factual reason) that authorises the 'action' (the lawsuit). In Roman law, 'causa' also meant a legal case or legal ground — from which 'cause' in the sense of 'case' or 'grounds for suit' derives.
Full Legal Analysis
A cause of action is the bundle of essential facts which, if proved, gives a plaintiff the legal right to obtain relief from the court. It comprises every fact that the plaintiff must prove to establish the right to the remedy claimed. The Supreme Court in Sidramappa v. Rajashetty AIR 1970 SC 1059 defined cause of action as 'every fact which, if traversed, it would be necessary for the plaintiff to prove in order to support his right to a judgment of the court.' The cause of action is not the evidence by which these facts are proved — it is the facts themselves that constitute the right to sue.
Components of a cause of action: (1) The right or duty that was violated — the plaintiff's legal right or the defendant's legal duty; (2) The breach or violation — the act or omission by the defendant that violated the right/duty; and (3) The resulting damage — the harm suffered by the plaintiff as a consequence. In some actions (like injunctions), damage is not a prerequisite — the breach itself creates the cause of action. In tort, all three components are generally necessary: right, breach, and damage (unless the wrong is actionable per se, like trespass, which needs no proof of damage).
The Supreme Court definitively defined 'cause of action' for the purpose of determining the place of suing (jurisdiction): the cause of action is the bundle of facts which it is necessary for the plaintiff to prove, if traversed, in order to support his right to a judgment of the court. It is not limited to the facts on which the plaintiff's claim is based — it includes all the facts that form the foundation of the suit. The Court also held that a cause of action may arise at more than one place — where different facts constituting the cause of action occurred in different places (as in a breach of contract case where the contract was signed in one place and the breach occurred in another), the suit may be instituted in any of those places. This has important implications for determining which court has territorial jurisdiction.
No cause of action — Order VII Rule 11: if the plaint does not disclose a cause of action — because the plaintiff has not stated facts showing any infringement of their legal right by the defendant — the court shall reject the plaint. This is a threshold jurisdictional matter — the court checks if the plaint, taken at face value and assuming all facts stated to be true, discloses a legal right that has been violated. If not, the plaint is rejected in limine. Courts do not look at the defendant's case or the evidence at this stage — only at the four corners of the plaint.
For advocates, cause of action issues are critical in: (1) drafting plaints — the cause of action paragraph must clearly state every material fact; (2) choosing the correct court — the cause of action (where it arose) determines territorial jurisdiction; (3) computing limitation — the limitation period begins when the cause of action accrues; (4) joinder of causes of action (CPC Order II) — separate causes of action may be joined in one suit if certain conditions are met; and (5) Order VII Rule 11 applications by defendants — challenging the very foundation of the suit.
This Term in Indian Statutes
Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, 1908
"The plaint shall be rejected in the following cases— (a) where it does not disclose a cause of action; (b) where the relief claimed is undervalued...; (d) where the suit appears from the statement in the plaint to be barred by any law."
Sidramappa: cause of action = bundle of facts to prove right to judgment; multiple places — suit in any; Order VII Rule 11: plaint rejected if no cause of action disclosed; limitation runs from accrual of cause of action; jurisdiction based on where cause of action arose
