IMPORTANT POINT
Application under Order VII rule 11 for rejection of plaint has to be decided only on averments in the plaint and defence projected in written statement cannot be looked into.

JUDGMENT :

A.K. Sikri, J.

In a suit filed by respondent No.1, the appellant herein (defendant No.1 in the said suit) moved an application under Order VII Rule 11 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (for short, ‘CPC’) claiming rejection of the plaint on the ground that the suit filed by respondent No.1 was barred by res judicata and also under Section 69 of the Indian Partnership Act, 1932. The Civil Judge dismissed the said application vide orders dated May 03, 2016 with the observations that without taking evidence it would not be proper to reject the plaint on the principles of res judicata as it was not permissible for the Court to look into the statements made in the written submissions while dealing with an application under Order VII Rule 11 CPC. Revision petition preferred by the appellant against the said order also stands dismissed by the High Court vide judgment dated December 12, 2016. Dissatisfied with the outcome, the appellant has approached this Court challenging the aforesaid orders of the courts below. The appellant pleads that the High Court as well as the trial court have failed to appreciate that the plaint in question did not disclose any cause of action and was barred by Order II Rule 2 of the CPC which was writ large on the record and for this no evidence is required. In order to appreciate the issue involved, it would be necessary to traverse through the relevant facts, which are as under:

2. (A) Respondent No.1 was the sole proprietor of M/s. Sen Industries – respondent No.4 herein. A piece of land in an industrial area of District Burdwan was allotted by the Asansol Durgapur Development Authority (ADDA) in the name of respondent No.4 on long term leasehold basis. Subsequently, respondent No.4 was converted into a partnership firm with the appellant, respondent No.1 and respondent No.2 – Anjan Mallick (other partner proforma respondent in these proceedings) as its partners. In the year 1994, a Memorandum of Understanding was entered into between the said partners wherein respondent No.1 agreed to retire from the said company/partnership firm in return for a payment of Rs.2,00,000/- in lieu of his shares in the firm. Accordingly, the payment was duly made and respondent No.1 executed a deed of retirement. The said company continued under the reconstituted partnership between the appellant and respondent No.2, until the latter’s retirement after which respondent No.4 continued under the sole proprietorship of the appellant.

(B) Respondent No.1 filed two separate suits prior to the title suit in question. The particulars of these two suits are as under:

(i) Title Suit, being Suit No. 103/1995, was filed by respondent No.1 in the Court of Civil Judge (Junior Division), 1st Court at Durgapur, on May 25, 1995 against the appellant and respondent No.2 praying for the following reliefs:

“a. a decree of declaration that “Sen Industries is a sole proprietorship firm and the plaintiff is the proprietor of the said firm” the Defendants are liable to retire from the firm Sen Industries.

b. A decree of permanent injunction restraining the defendants from claiming the Sen Industries as partnership.”

During the pendency of the suit, respondent No.2 also retired from the partnership business of respondent No.4 on June 26, 1996 and the partnership between the appellant and respondent No.2 stood dissolved. As per the appellant, he has been carrying on the business of respondent No. 4 as a sole proprietor ever since. On that basis, he contested the suit filed by respondent No.1.

After the trial, the trial court was pleased to dismiss the said suit vide its judgment and decree dated March 31, 1997. While doing so, a specific finding was arrived at by the Civil Judge that respondent No.4 is a partnership firm and that in view of the Memorandum of Understanding dated March 23, 1994, the suit was barred by the principles of estoppels, waiver and acquiescence. The appeal preferred by respondent No.1 against the said judgment and decre