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1969 Supreme(AP) 124

Andhra Pradesh High Court
Judges : K.RAMACHANDRA RAO
Padmanabha Talkies - Appellant
Versus
Gowthami Pictures - Respondent
Decided On : 09-17-69

A court cannot allow an amendment which would take it out of its jurisdiction. However, the court can return the plaint along with the application for amendment for presentation to the proper court.

Headnote:

CIVIL PROCEDURE CODE, 1908 - SECTION 115 - AMENDMENT OF PLAINT - COURT'S JURISDICTION - PROCEDURE TO BE FOLLOWED WHEN AMENDMENT WOULD TAKE THE SUIT OUT OF ITS JURISDICTION - SPECIFIC RELIEF ACT, 1963 - SECTION 40(2) - AMENDMENT OF PLAINT TO INCLUDE CLAIM FOR DAMAGES IN SUIT FOR PERPETUAL INJUNCTION - STATUTORY DUTY OF COURT TO ALLOW AMENDMENT.

Fact of the Case:

Plaintiff filed a suit for a permanent injunction restraining the defendants from screening any picture other than "nirdhosi" during a certain period. The defendants disobeyed the interim order passed by the court and terminated the screening of "nirdhosi" and took up the screening of another picture. The plaintiff filed an application for amendment of the plaint to include a prayer for damages for breach of the suit contract committed by the defendants.

Finding of the Court:

The District Munsif returned the plaint for presentation to the proper court as the amendment would take the suit out of its jurisdiction. The Sub-Court allowed the application for amendment.

Issues: 1. Whether the District Munsif was competent to allow the amendment which would take the suit out of its jurisdiction? 2. Whether the Sub-Court had jurisdiction to consider the application for amendment and allow it? 3. Whether the amendment introduced a new or inconsistent case?

Ratio Decidendi: 1. A court cannot allow an amendment which would take it out of its jurisdiction. 2. The District Munsif could not have allowed the amendment as it would have taken the suit beyond its pecuniary jurisdiction. 3. The District Munsif was justified in returning the plaint along with the application for amendment for presentation to the proper court. 4. The Sub-Court had jurisdiction to consider the original claim and the claim sought by the amendment together, as the suit would be within its jurisdiction. 5. The amendment did not introduce a new or inconsistent case as both the relief of injunction and the relief of damages flowed out of the same contract.

Final Decision: The revision petition is dismissed with costs.

K. RAMACHANDRA RAO, J.

( 1 ) THIS is a petition under Section 115 C. P. C. for revising an order of the learned Subordinate Judge, Vijayawada in I. A. No. 3602 of 1968, in an unnumbered suit allowing an amendment of the plaint. The facts in brief are as follows : defendants 1 and 2 are the petitioners herein. The plaintiff is the sole respondent. I shall refer to thke ranks of the parties as plaintiff and defendants lor convenience sake. The plaintiff filed o. S. No. 140/67 on the file of the District Munsif s Court, Vijayawada against three defendants for a permanent injunction restraining them from screening any picture other than nirdhosi during the period of 100 days and also the period during which the daily collections from the said picture did not fall below the hold over figure of Rs. 250/- per day for two consecutive days in fair weather. Along with the said plaint, the plaintiff filed I. A No. 267/67, for the grant of a temporary injunction. Aninterim order was passed directing that status quo should be maintained. Subsequently a final order waspassed granting a temporary injunction restraining the defendants from screen ing any other picture. As the Subordinate Judge s Court was closed during the summer vacation, the defendants preferred an appeal to the High Court against the said final order and moved for suspension of the temporary injunction This Court directed that the appeal should be received and retransmitted and passed an interim order ot suspension of the temporary injunction. One of the main objections raised by the defendants to the grant of temporary injunction by the munsif Court in the Counter affidavit filed in I. A. No. 267/67 as well as the affidavit filed in support of the suspension of the injunction and in the written statement is that the compensation in money would afford adequate relief to the plaintiff and that the grant of injunction was not necesssary or proper in the circumstances of the case. It was alleged that even before the final orders were passed in I. A. No, 267/67 by the District Munsif s court, the defendants disobeyed the interim order passed by that Court and terminated the screening of the picture nirdhoshi and took up the screening of another picture by name alu Magalu". In view of the defence taken by the defendants that the injunction was not the proper remedy and that compensation in money would afford adequate relief and in a sumuch as the defendants had by their act of terminating the screening of the picture nirdboshi and taking up the screening of the other picture, brought about a new state of facts, the plaintiff filed an application I. A. No. 3602/68, for amendment of the plaint for including a prayer for damages for breach of the suit contract committed by the defendants. The relief of damages was valued at rs. 12,500/- and a Court fee of Rs. 935/-was paid thereon. This application for amendment was opposed by the defendants on various grounds. Inasmuch as the amendment would take the suit out of the jurisdiction of the District Munsif Court the learned District munsif returned the plaint for presentation to the proper Court.

( 2 ) THEREAFTER the plaintifi presented the plaint along with the application for amendment to the Sub-Court, Vijayawada. The Sub- court took up the application for amendment for consideration in the first instance even before the suit was numbered and held that the amendment was necessitated by an event brought out by the defendant themselves, that the relief of damages claimed as an alternative relief was warranted by statutory provisions of Section 40 (2) of the Specific Relief Act and that the amendment would dot introduce any new or inconsistent case and accordingly allowed the application for amendment as prayed for. The defendants have now come up in revision to this Court.

( 3 ) SRI T. Anantha Babu, learned counsel for the petitioners before me raised a new point namely that the learned District Munsif having found that the ame









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