TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2019 (3) TMI 2057
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....ndabai is the wife of Barku. (c) Bhausaheb and Ramesh are the two sons of Barku and Kondabai. Lahanabai is the daughter of the said couple. (d) Ramesh has passed away in an accident on 08.04.2000 and Kusumbai is the surviving widow along with the two daughters, Swati and Mangal. (e) Regular Civil Suit No. 447/2000 was preferred by the Petitioners (Kusumbai, Swati and Mangal) seeking partition and separate possession of the ancestral joint family properties. The present Respondents (Bhausaheb, Kondabai and Lahanabai) were arrayed as the Defendants in the said suit. (f) RCS No. 447/2000 was compromised in the Lok Adalat on 02.09.2002. Survey No. 104 AA in Vadjai area admeasuring 1 H 55 R =3 Acres 35 Gunthas was handed over to Kondabai and Lahanabai. (g) There were several other properties, which were partitioned by the compromise award, but are not being referred to in this order as they are not connected with the subsequent suit. (h) RCS No. 730/2017 was filed by Bhausaheb arraying Kondabai and Lahanabai as the Defendants on 30.06.2017. The Petitioners were excluded. (i) The Defendants (Kondabai and Lahanabai) appeared suo moto in the Trial Court and the suit was liste....
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....lat Award. 8. The parties to the compromise or settlement, which is the basis for award of Lok Adalat, no doubt entitled to challenge the award on any of the grounds referred to herein above grounds. Ordinarily, a third party cannot challenge the award in a writ petition even if such award causes prejudice. The remedy of such party would be to institute a separate suit or proceeding for necessary redressal and seek appropriate decree of declaration by filing a suit within the period of limitation prescribed under law. Under Section 34 of the Specific Relief Act, 1963, any person entitled to legal character or any right as to any property, may file a suit for declaration. Under this provision, any person can even institute a suit for declaration that the decree passed by Civil Court in an earlier suit is not binding on him. When a civil Court can even declare that an earlier decree of the Court is not binding on the party before it, we do not see any objection for a third party to institute a suit in a civil Court seeking a declaration that the award of Lok Adalat is not binding on him/her subject to the law of limitation. We however hasten to add that there may be extraordinary c....
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.... means settlement of differences by mutual concessions. It is an agreement reached by adjustment of conflicting or opposing claims by reciprocal modification of demands. As per Tertnes de la Ley, 'compromise is a mutual promise of two or more parties that are at controversy'. As per Bouvier it is 'an agreement between two or more persons, who, to avoid a law suit, amicably settle their differences, on such terms as they can agree upon'. The word 'compromise' implies some element of accommodation on each side. It is not apt to describe total surrender. (See NFU Development Trust Ltd., Re (2) (1973) 1 All ER 135: (1972) 1 WLR 1548 (Ch D)). A compromise is always bilateral and means mutual adjustment. 'Settlement' is termination of legal proceedings by mutual consent." 9. In the instant case, RCS No. 730/2017 was filed on 30.06.2017 and the Defendants appeared suo moto in the said matter. It was immediately placed in the list of matters, which could be taken up in the Lok Adalat after 08 days, scheduled on 08.07.2017. On the said date, the suit was compromised with reference to the properties mentioned above. Prima facie, a fraud is played by the Plain....
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.... learned Advocates submit that despite their best efforts, they could not locate any judgment, directly on this law point, delivered by this Court or by the Honourable Supreme Court. It is conceded that the judgment delivered by the High Court of Andhra Pradesh in the matter of Batchu Subba Lakshmi (supra) is the only judicial pronouncement available dealing with a third party being aggrieved by the Lok Adalat award on the ground of fraud and his/her exclusion from such proceedings, which culminated into the Lok Adalat award. 14. The learned Advocate for the Petitioners, who are the third parties, relies upon the judgments delivered by the Honourable Supreme Court in Bhargavi Constructions (supra) and State of Punjab (supra) to contend that when any aggrieved party can approach the High Court for challenging the Lok Adalat award, such "aggrieved party" would also include a "third party" as like the Petitioners herein. 15. While hearing the learned Advocates for the respective sides, notwithstanding that prima facie the contention of fraud is sustainable, I have perused the record and have found that the property situated in Survey No. 104 which is known as Vadjai area, was the su....