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2024 Supreme(Pat) 1136

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
SANDEEP KUMAR, J.
Civil Misc. Jur. No.157 of 2020
(10.12.2024)
Sudarshan Prasad ... Petitioner
vs.
Smt. Rajpati Devi ... Respondent

Advocates Appeared:
For the Petitioner: Mr. Bal Bhushan Choudhary.
For the Respondent: M/s Rajendra Prasad, Sr. Adv., Pramod Kumar, Ritesh Kumar.

Headnote:

Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 – Order 21, Rule 10 read with Limitation Act, 1963 – Article 136 – Execution of decree – Period of Limitation – Judgment debtor – petitioner submitting that the ex parte decree was passed on 9.1.1998 and the period prescribed for execution of a decree being 12 years, it already expired on 9.1.2010 itself and hence Execution Case No. 01/2018 was time-barred – The respondent – Decree holder taking the plea that period of limitation should be counted from the date when the decree becomes enforceable, meaning thereby, if any appeal or revision is pending against the judgment of trial court or the original court, such judgment and decree cannot be said to be enforceable because the matter between the parties is sub judice and the same should not be presumed to be finally settled unless the said appeal or revision is decided – It is well settled that it is the substance of the petition/application and not the mere nomenclature of the case chosen by the parties that has determinative value – If any order is challenged before a superior court then it is an appeal against the order of the lower court and the mere nomenclature will not change the nature of the appeal – In the present case also, the ex parte decree of the Munsif was challenged before the learned District Judge by filing a Miscellaneous Appeal, which was dismissed and the same was thereafter challenged/appealed before the High Court under Civil Revisional Jurisdiction – Though the nomenclature is Civil Revision but, in fact, it is an appeal against the order passed by the District Judge – In the present case, against the order of appeal, a revision petition has been filed before the High Court and in the revision, the order of the appeal has been affirmed and therefore, the decision of the Subordinate Court i.e. Munsif has merged in the decision of the superior forum i.e. in the order of the High Court and therefore, the same is capable of enforcement in the eye of law – Dismissal of the civil revision will amount to merger of a decree and the same cannot be said to be barred by limitation – Therefore, once it is held that the appellate decree has merged with the revisional order, the period of limitation for execution of decree will start from the date of dismissal of the civil revision and therefore, the execution case filed by the decree holder i.e. the respondent-plaintiff is well within the period of limitation no error in the impugned order – Present application dismissed. (Paras 6, 20 & 29 to 31)

Sandeep Kumar, J.—Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned counsel for the respondent.

2. In this case, the petitioner has challenged the order dated 16.12.2019 passed by the learned Munsif, Hilsa in Execution Case No.01 of 2018, by which the objection petition dated 06.04.2019 filed by the petitioner opposing the maintainability of the said execution case, has been dismissed.

3. It is the case of the petitioner that the respondent herein filed a suit for specific performance of contract in the Court of learned Munsif, Hilsa on 18.02.1994 against one Sheo Nandan Matho (defendant no.1 therein) which was registered as Title Suit No.14 of 1994. In the said suit, the present petitioner was also made as defendant No.2 as he was the subsequent purchaser. In the aforesaid suit, it was alleged that the defendant no.1 had executed a sale deed on 20.01.1993 in favour of the respondent but later failed to appear before the registering authority for admission of execution of the said sale deed. Therefore, the respondent-plaintiff had made a prayer in the suit to direct the defendant no.1 to appear before the registering authority and to admit the execution of sale deed or in alternative pass a decree for specific performance of contract. According to the petitioner, the respondent-plaintiff got the summons served upon the defendants fraudulently by suppressing the service of summons. As a result of which, the said suit was decreed ex parte on 09.01.1998 against the defendants. The defendant no.1 had challenged the ex parte decree by filing a petition under Order IX, Rule 13 of the Civil Procedure Code, which was registered as Miscellaneous Case No.13 of 1998 but the same was dismissed vide order dated 27.08.1999. The defendants thereafter challenged the said order in Miscellaneous Appeal No.23 of 1999 before the learned District Judge, which also came to be dismissed. Against the aforesaid order, the defendants then preferred Civil Revision Nos.2189 of 2000 and 2196 of 2000 before this Court, which were also dismissed vide a common order dated 31.08.2006. Thereafter, Sheo Nandan Mahto, original defendant no.1, passed away in the year 2007 leaving behind his widow Shyampati Devi, who also died in the year 2015.

4. The respondent-plaintiff filed a petition on 22.03.2016 in the said disposed of suit praying that the legal heirs of original judgment debtor be directed to admit the execution of the sale deed dated 20.01.1993. The defendant no.2 (petitioner) filed an objection in the said disposed of suit on 22.06.2016 objecting the maintainability of the petition dated 22.03.2016 filed by the respondent-plaintiff on various grounds. After hearing both the parties, the learned Munsif vide order dated 21.04.2017 disposed of the petition dated 22.03.2016 with an observation that the respondent-plaintiff should have filed execution case for the execution of the ex parte decree. Against the said order dated 21.04.2017, the respondent-plaintiff filed Civil Miscellaneous No.1034 of 2017 before this Court which was dismissed by a coordinate Bench of this Court vide order dated 05.10.2018 holding that the only way out to get the judgment and decree executed is to file an execution case. Thereafter, the respondent-plaintiff filed Execution Case No.01 of 2018 for execution of the ex parte judgment and decree dated 09.01.1998. In the said execution case, the respondent-plaintiff also filed a petition under Order XXI Rule 54 of the Code of Civil Procedure for attachment of the schedule-1 property. The defendant no.2 (petitioner) filed an objection petition dated 06.04.2019 opposing the maintainability of the execution case preferred by the respondent-plaintiff on several counts. However, the learned Munsif vide impugned order dated 16.12.2019 rejected the said objection petition dated 06.04.2019 filed by the petitioner-defendant no.2.

5. Learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that the learned Munsif after relying on the judgment of the Fu

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