546 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
To put it technically a Defendant may either :
(1) Admit
(2) Deny
(3) Deny and allege other facts.
- When a defendant denies the allegation of the Plaintiff in the Plaint, he is said to traverse it. A traverse is the express contradiction of an allegation of fact in an opponent’s pleading. It is generally a contradiction in the very terms of the allegation. It is as a rule framed in the negative ; because the fact which it denies is as a rule alleged in the affirmative. These traverses of affirmative allegations must be distinguished from a negative allegation which is in truth a positive allegation.
If a party asserts affirmatively, and it thereby becomes necessary to his case to prove that a certain state of facts does not exist, or that a particular thing is insufficient for a particular purpose, and such like—these although they resemble negatives,—are not negatives in reality : they are in truth possible averments, and the party who makes them is bound to prove them.
Plaintiff may have to prove negative in order to prove his positive assertion.
A negative averment if in truth it is a positive averment must be proved by the plaintiff.
Sale and Mortgage-Adequacy of price. Price is not inadequate ?
II. To remember that the affirmative and the negative of the issue mean the affirmative and negative of the issue in substance and not merely its affirmative and negative in form.
Illustrations :
(1) Moody and Robinson 464. Amos vs. Hughes.
Fact alleged in the Plaint.
That the defendant did not emboss the Calico in a workmanlike manner.