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VIKRAM NATH, PRASANNA B. VARALE
Sakina Sultanali Sunesara (Momin) – Appellant
Versus
Shia Imami Ismaili Momin Jamat Samaj – Respondent
Key Points: - The CPC after 1976 amendment requires a party denying a compromise to first approach the Trial Court under the proviso to Order XXIII Rule 3; a fresh suit is not allowed. (!) (!) - Order XLIII Rule 1-A does not create a separate right of appeal; it allows challenging the recording of a compromise within a first appeal under Section 96 after the Trial Court decides the proviso to Order XXIII Rule 3. (!) (!) - A party who was already a party to the suit and denies the compromise must use the proviso to Order XXIII Rule 3; Section 96(3) bars an appeal if the compromise is not disputed. (!) - A party not on record may pursue a first appeal under Section 96 after obtaining leave; limited supervisory jurisdiction under Article 227 remains available but has not been invoked. (!) - The Larger Bench affirmed that the present appellants’ approach (appealing under Section 96 while the compromise is disputed) is not permissible; remedies depend on whether the party is a party to the suit or not. (!) (!) - Lok Adalat awards are interdictable from appeal under Section 21(2) of the Legal Services Authorities Act, with limited supervisory jurisdiction under Article 227 remaining available. (!)
JUDGMENT :
PRASANNA B. VARALE, J.
1. These appeals filed by Sakina Sultanali Sunesara (“the appellant”) assails the judgment dated 28.08.2019 rendered by a Larger Bench of the High Court of Gujarat on a reference arising out of Appeal from Order,1[AO] Nos. 16 and 33 of 2017 and cognate AOs. The High Court concluded that a litigant who was already a party to the suit, but disputes the existence or validity of a compromise recorded under Order XXIII Rule 3 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908,2[CPC] must first approach the Trial Court; a First Appeal under Section 96 of the CPC, it held, is available only to a person who was not on the record of the suit. Following that pronouncement, the Single Judge of the High Court dismissed every pending AO on 06.09.2019 for want of maintainability. Both the reference judgment and the consequential order are impugned in these appeals.
2. The factual matrix giving rise to the appeal is as follows:
2.1. Three contiguous parcels of non-agricultural land at Siddhpur, District Patan, city survey Nos. 321, 322 and 323, together 36,354 sq. m., originally belonged to Moosabhai Mooman. On his death they devolved on his widow Noorbanu, his sons Sultan and Sha
(1) Compromise decree - A party that accepts compromise is bound by it and cannot appeal - A party that denies compromise must first raise that dispute before Trial Court - A fresh suit is no longer ....
A party aggrieved by a compromise decree has a right to challenge the compromise decree by way of an appeal or to approach the same court which passed such decree by way of an appropriate application....
An appeal against a consent decree is barred under Section 96(3) of the CPC; aggrieved parties must contest the decree's validity in the same court that issued it.
A consent decree obtained through fraud is void, and courts must investigate claims of fraud before accepting the decree as valid.
(1) No suit shall lie to set aside a decree on the ground that compromise on which decree is based was not lawful.(2) Mere clever drafting would not permit plaintiff to make suit maintainable which o....
An appeal is not maintainable from a compromise decree under Section 96(3) of CPC, and the compromise decree confers only a right in personam and is not binding on parties who are not part of the com....
A party can appeal against a compromise decree to challenge its validity despite Section 96(3) CPC barring appeals against such decrees.
(1) Breach of compromise – Only remedy available to aggrieved party is to approach court that recorded compromise under proviso to Order 23, Rule 3 of CPC.(2) When there is a statutory remedy availab....
An appeal against a decree based on disputed consent terms is maintainable under Section 96 of the CPC, bypassing the restrictions applied to true consent decrees.
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