JUDGMENT :

Jagdish Singh Khehar, J.

Civil Appeal Nos.2308-2309 of 2016 (Arising out of SLP(C) Nos. 8536-8537 of 2008)

1. The respondent before this Court Tej Prakash Jarath filed Suit No.608 of 1992 on 09.11.1992. In the aforesaid suit, defendants Nos.3 and 4 Om Prakash Jarath (the father of the plaintiff in the suit) and Vijay Prakash Jarath (the elder brother of the plaintiff) respectively, filed written statements on 11.11.1992. Thereupon, issues came to be framed on 18.10.1993. After the framing of the issues, the petitioners before this Court (i.e. defendant Nos.3 and 4 in the original suit), filed a counter-claim on 17.06.1996 i.e. almost two and a half years after the framing of the issues.

2. The trial court, vide its order dated 28.10.1996, accepted the aforesaid counter-claim. The above order dated 28.10.1996, came to be assailed by the respondent-plaintiff-Tej Prakash Jarath through Civil Miscellaneous Writ Petition No.1266 of 2001, before the High Court of Uttarakhand at Nainital (hereinafter referred to as `the High Court’). The High Court relying upon the judgment of this Court in Rohit Singh & ors. vs. State of Bihar (Now State of Jharkhand) & Ors., (2006) 12 SCC 734, co