Legal Dictionary of Pakistan

not guilty by statute

Hist. Under certain acts of Parliament, the pleading form for a defendant's general denial in a civil action. ( This pleading form allowed a public officer to indicate action under a statute. The officer had to write the words "by statute" in the margin along with the year, chapter, and section of the applicable statute, and the defendant could not file any other defense without leave of court. The right to plead "not guilty by statute" was essentially removed by the Public Authorities Protection Act of 1893. 4. A general denial in an ejectment action. "The general issue in ejectment is not guilty. This plea operates as follows: (1) As a denial of the unlawfulness of the withholding; i.e., of the plaintiff's title and right of possession. (2) All defenses in excuse or discharge, including the statute of limitations, are available under the general issue in ejectment." Benjamin J. Shipman, Handbook of Common-Law Pleading § 188, at 333 (Henry Winthrop Ballantine ed., 3d ed. 1923).