TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2017 (9) TMI 1731
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....led a civil suit being O.S. No. 481 of 2007 against respondent Nos. 1 to 34 herein (defendant Nos. 1 to 33) in the Court of District Judge, Ranga Reddy District Court. 5) The suit was for specific performance of agreement of sale dated 28.12.1995 said to have been entered into between the parties in respect of agricultural land totally admeasuring AC. 51.29 guntas in (Sy.Nos. 262-274) situated at Pappalguda village of Rajendranagar Mandal, Ranga Reddy District (hereinafter referred to as the "suit land"). 6) Originally, the plaintiff had filed suit only against defendant Nos. 1 to 9 but later on defendant Nos. 10 to 33 made an application for being joined as defendant Nos. 10 to 33 in the civil suit as according to them, they had an interest in the subject matter of the civil suit and also in its decision and, therefore, they were necessary parties to the suit. Their prayer was allowed. The defendants then contested the suit. 7) During the pendency of civil suit, on 22.08.2007, the parties (plaintiff and defendants) settled the matter in relation to the suit land and accordingly entered into written compromise. 8) A joint compromise petition signed by all the parties to the sui....
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....and 227 of the Constitution of India to challenge the award dated 22.08.2007 as held by this Court in State of Punjab & Anr. Vs. Jalour Singh & Ors., (2008) 2 SCC 660 . 14) The Trial Court, by order dated 24.07.2013 allowed the application filed by the defendants and rejected the plaint by invoking powers under clause (d) of Rule 11. It was held that the filing of the civil suit to challenge the award of Lok Adalat is impliedly barred and the remedy of the plaintiffs is to challenge the award by filing writ petition under Article 226 or/and 227 of the Constitution in the High Court as held by this Court in the case of State of Punjab (supra). 15) The plaintiffs, felt aggrieved, filed an appeal before the High Court. The High Court, by impugned order, allowed the appeal, set aside the order of the Trial Court and restored the suit on its file for its disposal on merits in accordance with law. The High Court held that since the suit is founded on the allegations of misrepresentation and fraud, it is capable of being tried on its merits by the Civil Court. 16) Against this order, the defendants have felt aggrieved and filed this appeal by way of special leave before this Court. 17....
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....son aggrieved of the award passed by the Lok Adalat under Section 20 of the Act. In that case, the award was passed by the Lok Adalat which had resulted in disposal of the appeal pending before the High Court relating to a claim case arising out of Motor Vehicle Act. One party to the appeal felt aggrieved of the Award and, therefore, questioned its legality and correctness by filing a writ petition under Article 226/227 of the Constitution of India. The High Court dismissed the writ petition holding it to be not maintainable. The aggrieved party, therefore, filed an appeal by way of special leave before this Court. This Court, after examining the scheme of the Act allowed the appeal and set aside the order of the High Court. This Court held that the High Court was not right in dismissing the writ petition as not maintainable. It was held that the only remedy available with the aggrieved person was to challenge the award of the Lok Adalat by filing a writ petition under Article 226 or/and 227 of the Constitution of India in the High Court and that too on very limited grounds. The case was accordingly remanded to the High Court for deciding the writ petition filed by the aggrieved pe....
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....correct approach of the High Court to deal with the issue in question to which we do not concur. 30) We also do not agree with the submissions of Mr. Adinarayana Rao, learned senior counsel for the respondents when he urged that firstly, the expression "law" occurring in clause(d) of Rule 11 Order 7 does not include the "judicial decisions" and clause (d) applies only to bar which is contained in "the Act" enacted by the Legislature; and Secondly, even if it is held to include the "judicial decisions", yet the law laid down in the case of State of Punjab (supra) cannot be read to hold that the suit is barred. Both these submissions, in our view, have no merit. 31) Black's Law Dictionary (Ninth Edition) defines the expression "law". It says that "Law" includes the "judicial precedents" (see at page 962). Similarly, the expression "law" defined in Jowett's Dictionary of English Law (Third Edition Volume-2, (pages 1304/1305) says that "law is derived from judicial precedents, legislation or from custom. When derived from judicial precedents, it is called common law, equity, or admiralty, probate or ecclesiastical law according to the nature of the Courts by which it was original....
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....nd held as under: "18................The law laid down by the highest court of a State as well as the Supreme Court, is the law. In fact, Article 141 of the Constitution of India categorically states that the law declared by the Supreme Court shall be binding on all Courts within the territories of India. There is nothing even in the C.P.C. to restrict the meaning of the words "barred by any law" to mean only codified law or statute law as sought to be contended by Mr. Patil. In the view that I have taken, I am supported by a decision of the Gujarat High Court in the case of Hermes Marines Ltd....................................." "19. One must also not lose sight of the purpose and intention behind Order VII Rule 11(d). The intention appears to be that when the suit appears from the statement in the plaint to be barred by any law, the Courts will not unnecessarily protract the litigation and proceed with the hearing of the suit. The purpose clearly appears to be to ensure that where a Defendant is able to establish that the Plaint ought to be rejected on any of the grounds set out in the said Rule, the Court would be duty bound to do so, so as to save expenses, achieve expedi....