IMPORTANT POINT
A defendant can claim any right by way of a counter claim in respect of any cause of action that has accrued to him even though it is independent of the cause of action averred by plaintiff and have the same cause of action adjudicated without relegating defendant to file a separate suit.

JUDGMENT

K. Ramaswamy, J.-Leave granted.

Heard learned counsel on both sides.

2. This appeal by special leave arises from the judgment and order dated August 1, 1994 in Civil Revision No.1272 of 1994 of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The appellants-plaintiffs laid the suit No.896/92 before the Sub-Judge, Amritsar for perpetual injunction to restrain the respondents from interfering with their possession of the property bearing Khasra No.456, Purana Bazar, G.T. Road, Beas. On receipt of the summons in the suit, the respondent filed written statement pleading, inter alia, that they had purchased the lands in Khasra No.103/1 situated at Budha Theh, Tehsil Baba Bakala, District Amritsar, Punjab and that they are in possession and enjoyment of 18 marlas of the said land. They sought counter-claim of permanent injunction to restrain the appellants from interfering with their possession and enjoyment of the said land. The appellants had filed their replica, i.e., additional written statement contemplated under Order 8, Rule 6E, CPC disputing the averments made by the respondent in their counter-claim. They also pleaded that the counter-claim is not maintainable. An application under Order 8, Rule 6C and Section 151 CPC was filed praying to exclude the counter-claim from the written statement. The Subordinate Judge by his order dated November 11, 1993 dismissed the application. The revision came to be dismissed by the High Court by the impugned order with direction to the trial Court to decide, as an issue, whether property in dispute is the same which is the subject matter of the counter-claim and to dispose of the suit after recording findings. Thus, this appeal by special leave.

3. Shri Pramod Dayal, learned counsel for the appellant, contended that in a suit for injunction, cause of action is based upon the threat of dispossession and interference with peaceful possession and enjoyment of the suit property by the respondent. The counter-claim is referable only in relation to money suits.  In other words, in a suit for injunction, the counter-claim is not maintainable. The trial Court, therefore, ought to have excluded the counter-claim from the written statement and allowed the petition. He also contended that the direction issued by the High Court to identify the land where the counter-claim relates to and is referable to the property in dispute, is also not consistent. The counsel for the respondent Shri Harish Salve resisted the contentions and argued that the object of the Amendment in Rule 6A to G is to avoid multiplicity of proceedings and all claims whether based on same or different cause of action between parties to the suit should be tried and decided in the same proceedings as delineated in Rule 6A etc.

4. The question, therefore is: whether in a suit for injunction, counter-claim for injunction in respect of the same or a different property is maintainable? Whether counter-claim can be made on different cause of action? It is true that preceding CPC Amendment Act, 1976, Rule 6 of Order 8 limited the remedy to set off or counter-claim laid in a written statement only in a money suit. By CPC Amendment Act, 1976, Rules 6A to 6G were brought on statute. Rule 6A(1) provides that a defendant in a suit may, in addition to his right of pleading a set off under Rule 6, set up by way of counter-claim against the claim of the plaintiff, any right or claim in respect of a cause of action accruing to the defendant against the plaintiff either before or after the filing of the suit but before the defendant has delivered his defence or before the time limited for delivering his defence has expired, whether such counter-claim is in the nature of a claim for damage or not. A limitation put in entertaining the counter-claim is as provided in the proviso to sub-rule (1), namely, the counter-claim shall not exceed the pecuniary limits of the jurisdiction of the Court. Sub-rule (2) amplifies that such counter-claim shall have t