Else she will pass more ‘perverse orders’: Allahabad High Court restores civil suit, orders training for judge

Trial court’s order

The case arose from a family property dispute between siblings over two properties allegedly purchased by their parents. The plaintiff sought a declaration that a Will dated August 17, 1998, purportedly executed by his late father, was forged and void, and also sought recognition of a family settlement allegedly arrived at in 2003 and recorded in 2006.

The trial court had allowed the defendant’s application under Order VII Rule 11 of the Civil Procedure Code (CPC) and rejected the complaint, holding that the suit filed in 2020 was barred by limitation as the plaintiff was allegedly aware of the Will as early as 1998.

Court’s findings: Suit can’t be thrown out

• The Allahabad High Court observed that rejection of the plaint on the ground of limitation without permitting the parties to lead evidence is legally unsustainable.
• The plea regarding the date on which the plaintiffs gained knowledge of the essential facts is crucial for deciding the question of whether the suit is barred by limitation or not.
• It becomes a triable issue, and hence the suit cannot be thrown out at the threshold, unless the plaint averments themselves disclose beyond doubt that the relief claimed was barred by limitation.
• The trial court has relied upon the application under Order VII Rule 11 CPC and the documents submitted by the defendant in the suit for rejecting the plaintiff’s suit under Order VII Rule 11 CPC, which is erroneous and legally unsustainable.
• It is apparent that the relief claimed by the plaintiff was not barred by limitation.
• The trial court erred in rejecting the matter on the erroneous presumption that the plaintiff had accepted that he was aware of the alleged Will since 1998, when in fact, there was no admission of the same by the plaintiff.
• It is apparent that the trial court has passed a perverse order, without application of mind, without going through the relevant case law, in total ignorance of law, which is legally unsustainable and is liable to be set aside.

Court’s directions

The Allahabad High Court, therefore, allowed the appeal, set aside the trial court’s order, and restored the suit for adjudication on merits. It directed the trial court to decide the suit within six months.

It further directed the registrar general of the high court to send a copy of the order to the concerned judicial officer for future guidance.