A defendant in a suit may, in addition to his right of pleading a set-off under R. 6, set up, by way of counter-claim against the claim of the plaintiff, any right or claim in respect of a cause of action according to the defendant against the plaintiff either before or after the filing of the suit before the defendant has delivered his defence or before the time limited for delivering the defence has expired, whether such counter-claim is in the nature of a claim for damages or not: Provided that such counter-claim shall not exceed the pecuniary limits of the jurisdiction of the court.
Such counter-claim shall have the same effect as a cross-suit so as to enable the court to pronounce a final judgment in the same suit, both on the original claim and on the counter-claim.
The plaintiff shall be at liberty to file a written statement in answer to the counter-claim of the defendant within such period as may be fixed by the court. The counter-claim shall be treated as a plaint and governed by the rules applicable to plaints (O. 8, R. 6-A).
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ADVERTISEMENTS:
The plaintiff may object to the disposal of the claim by way of counter-claim and plead for its disposal by an independent suit; and he may, at any time before issues are settled in relation to the counter-claim, apply to the court for an order that such counter-claim may be excluded and the court may, on the hearing of such application, make such order as it thinks fit. (O. 8, R. 6-C).
If the plaintiff makes default in putting in a reply to the counter-claim made by the defendant, the court may pronounce judgment against him, or make such order in relation to the counter-claim as it thinks fit. (O. 8, R. 6-E).
Where in any suit a set-off or counter-claim is established as a defence against the plaintiffs claim, and any balance is found due to the defendant, as the case may be, the court may give judgment to the party entitled to such balance. The rules relating to a written statement by a defendant shall apply to a written statement filed in answer to a counter-claim. (O. 8, Rr. 6-F and 6-G).