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1981 Supreme(Kar) 148

Karnataka High Court
SRI SWAMY VIVEKANANDA VIDYASHALA, SECRETARY - Appellant
Versus
S.N.THUNGA BAI - Respondent
Decided On : 06-12-81

The main legal point established in the judgment is that where there is a misdescription of parties, the court can allow an amendment at any time, and the question of limitation would not arise in such a case.

Headnote:

Amendment - Karnataka rent Control Act, 1961 - Or. VI, R. 17 - [Karnataka rent Control Act, 1961] - [Or. VI, R. 17] - The court discussed the provisions of Or. VI, R. 17 CPC and its limitations on permitting amendments of pleadings. It highlighted the conditions under which an amendment should not be permitted, such as if it introduces a totally different case or takes away a legal right accrued by lapse of time. The court also emphasized the concept of misdescription of parties and the permissibility of amending the plaint to correct such misdescriptions. The judgment emphasized that where there is a misdescription of parties, the court can allow an amendment at any time, and the question of limitation would not arise in such a case. The court's decision was influenced by the interpretation of these provisions and the determination that the amendment sought was to rectify a misdescription of the parties, not to introduce a new and inconsistent case.

Fact of the Case:

The respondents initiated a proceeding against the petitioners under the Karnataka Rent Control Act, 1961, seeking an amendment of the cause title to correct the addresses of the petitioners. The petitioners challenged the correctness of the order permitting the amendment, contending that it changed the nature of the case beyond the powers conferred under Or. VI, R. 17 CPC.

Finding of the Court:

The court found that the amendment sought was to rectify a misdescription of the parties, not to introduce a new and inconsistent case. It held that the court below rightly allowed the amendment, and the petition was dismissed.

Issues: The issues involved the permissibility of the amendment under Or. VI, R. 17 CPC, and whether the amendment changed the nature of the case beyond the powers conferred on the court.

Ratio Decidendi: The court emphasized the concept of misdescription of parties and the permissibility of amending the plaint to correct such misdescriptions. It highlighted the conditions under which an amendment should not be permitted and the interpretation that where there is a misdescription of parties, the court can allow an amendment at any time.

Final Decision: The petition was dismissed, affirming the court below's decision to allow the amendment sought.

N. D. VENKATESH, J.

( 1 ) THE respondents, who have initiated a proceeding against these petitioners under the provisions of the Karnataka rent Control Act, 1961, in H. R. C, No 309 of 1975 on the file of the VIII Addl. Civil Judge, Bangalore City, sought for an amendment of the cause title of their petition to make certain corrections in the addresses of these petitioners who are arrayed as opponents therein That application was allowed The petitioners are challenging the correctness of that order (vide the order dated 6-8-1980 of the court below on I. A. 7 and 8 ).

( 2 ) THE contention of the petitioners in this petition is that the amendment has completely changed the very nature of the case and the order of the Court below permitting suoh an amendment was in excess of the powers conferred on it under Or. VI, R. 17 CPC.

( 3 ) NOW, under Or. VI, R. 17 an amendment of pleading should not be permitted if such an amendment, (i) is not necessary for deciding the real question in controversy; (ii) takes away from the defendant a legal right which has accrued to him by lapse of time; (iii) introduces a totally different, new, and inconsistent case or in effect it substitutes one distinct cause of action for another or changes the character of the suit; or (iv) if the application is not made in good faith.

( 4 ) IN the instant case what the landlords say is that there has been a misdescription of the tenants in their application, that that was required to be corrected and, therefore, they had made that request. The prties, who are arrayed as respondents to the petition in the court below, are : (i) the Secretary, Sri Swamy vivekananda Vidyashala and - (ii) the headmaster, Sri Swamy Vivekananda vidyashala According to the landlords, though the persons who had taken this premises on lease and were in occupation of the same were the secretary and the Head-Master of that instituation. the name of the institution is not Sn Swamy Vivekananda Vidyashala but is Sri Swamy Vivekananda Education and Cultural Society. He requested that the words Sri Swamy Vivekananda Vidyashala appearing after the words the Secretary and the Head-Master respectively in the cause-title be struck off and in the place of those words "sri Swamy Vivekananda Education and Cultural Society" be added. Further, he seeks a consequential amendment in para 4 of the petition as set out in his application seeking the amendment.

( 5 ) WHAT may amount to misdescription of the party is stated as follows in (in para-15 ). "a case can properly be said to be a case of misdescription when the party, really intended to be impleaded, had always been the same and such intention appeared clearly from the body of the plaint in spite of the inaccurate description in the cause title and what an amendment does, in such cases, is not to add a new party to the suit or substitute a new party for the original one, but to make the identity of the party originally impleaded clearer by amending or rectifying the inaccurate description. When the same person, whether an individual or a legal entity, remains the defendant but only the name is altered, there is a case of amending a misdescription. But where a new legal entity is substituted for another, it cannot correctly be said that the original error was a mere misdescription and that, by the amendment, no change of a substantial character affecting the right of any party is being effected. "in this connection the landlord's say that it was the Secretary of that institution and the Head-Master of that school who had negotiated and taken this premises on lease assumes significance As persons who had obtained the premises on lease they were already on record It is nobody's case that Sri Swami Vivekananda vidyashala is a legal entity. The legal entity is Sri Swami Vivekananda Education and Cultural Society. There is no substitution of one legal entity in the place of another already brought on record. In the circumstances we can say that in the inst




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