Text of ORDER 30, RULE 1-10

ORDER XXX
SUITS BY OR AGAINST FIRMS AND PERSONS CARRYING ON BUSINESS IN NAMES OTHER THAN THEIR OWN

Rule 1. Suing of partners in name of firm.
(1) Any two or more persons claiming or being liable as partners and carrying on business in Pakistan may sue or be sued in the name of the firm (if any) of which such persons were partners at the time of the accruing of the cause of action, and any party to a suit may in such case apply to the Court for a statement of the names and addresses of the persons who were, at the time of the accruing of the cause of action, partners in such firm, to be furnished and verified in such manner as the Court may direct.

(2) Where persons sue or are sued as partners in the name of their firm under sub-rule (1), it shall, in the case of any pleading or other document required by or under this Code to be signed, verified, or certified by the plaintiff or the defendant, suffice if such pleading or other document is signed, verified, or certified by any one of such persons.

Rule 2. Disclosure of partner’s names.
(1) Where a suit is instituted by partners in the name of their firm, the plaintiffs or their pleader shall, on demand in writing by or on behalf of any defendant, forthwith declare in writing the names and places of residence of all the persons constituting the firm on whose behalf the suit is instituted.

(2) Where the plaintiffs or their pleader fail to comply with any demand made under sub-rule (1), all proceedings in the suit may, upon an application for that purpose, be stayed upon such terms as the Court may direct.

(3) Where the names of the partners are declared in the manner referred to in sub-rule (1), the suit shall proceed in the same manner, and the same consequences in all respects shall follow, as if they had been named as plaintiffs in the plaint:
Provided that all the proceedings shall nevertheless continue in the name of the firm.

Rule 3. Service.
Where persons are sued as partners in the name of their firm, the summons shall be served either—
(a) upon any one or more of the partners, or
(b) at the principal place at which the partnership business is carried on within Pakistan upon any person having, at the time of service, the control or management of the partnership business there,
as the Court may direct; and such service shall be deemed good service upon the firm so sued, whether all or any of the partners are within or without Pakistan:
Provided that, in the case of a partnership which has been dissolved to the knowledge of the plaintiff before the institution of the suit, the summons shall be served upon every person within Pakistan whom it is sought to make liable.

Rule 4. Right of suit on death of partner.
(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in section 45 of the Contract Act, 1872 (IX of 1872), where two or more persons may sue or be sued in the name of a firm under the foregoing provisions and any of such persons dies, whether before the institution or during the pendency of any suit, it shall not be necessary to join the legal representative of the deceased as a party to the suit.

(2) Nothing in sub-rule (1) shall limit or otherwise affect any right which the legal representative of the deceased may have—
(a) to apply to be made a party to the suit, or
(b) to enforce any claim against the survivor or survivors.

Rule 5. Notice in what capacity served.
Where a summons is issued to a firm and is served in the manner provided by rule 3, every person upon whom it is served shall be informed by notice in writing given at the time of such service, whether he is served as a partner or as a person having the control or management of the partnership business, or in both characters, and, in default of such notice, the person served shall be deemed to be served as a partner.

Rule 6. Appearance of partners.
Where persons are sued as partners in the name of their firm, they shall appear individually in their own names, but all subsequent proceedings shall, nevertheless, continue in the names of the firm.

Rule 7. No appearance except by partners.
Where a summons is served in the manner provided by rule 3 upon a person having the control or management of the partnership business, no appearance by him shall be necessary unless he is a partner of the firm sued.

Rule 8. Appearance under protest.
Any person served with summons as a partner under rule 3 may appear under protest, denying that he is a partner, but such appearance shall not preclude the plaintiff from otherwise serving a summons on the firm and obtaining a decree against the firm in default of appearance where no partner has appeared.

Rule 9. Suits between co-partners.
This Order shall apply to suits between a firm and one or more of the partners therein and to suits between firms having one or more partners in common; but no execution shall be issued in such suits except by leave of the Court, and, on an application for leave to issue such execution, all such accounts and inquiries may be directed to be taken and made and directions given as may be just.

Rule 10. Suit against person carrying on business in name other than his own.
Any person carrying on business in a name or style other than his own name may be sued in such name or style as if it were a firm name; and, so far as the nature of the case will permit, all rules under this Order shall apply.