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IN THE HIGH COURT OF CALCUTTA
Prasenjit Mandal, J.
Bimala Devi Jalan and others - Petitioners
Versus
Shree Rath Chemicals - Opposite Party
C.O. No. 2887 of 2013 with C.A.N. No. 10300 of 2013
Decided On : 6-12-2013

Advocates Appeared:
For the Petitioners:Purnasish Gupta and J.K. Mukhopadhyay, Advocate.
For the Opposite Party :Bidyut Kr. Banerjee and Arnab Roy, Advocates.

Two suits between the same parties over the same premises could be heard analogously, and the readiness of the subsequent suit could be addressed by fixing short dates and taking appropriate steps for analogous hearing if prayed for by the parties.

Headnote:

Analogous Hearing - Landlord-Tenant Dispute - The court held that two suits between the same parties over the same premises could be heard analogously, rejecting the stay of the subsequent suit and directing the trial judge to fix short dates for both suits and take appropriate steps for analogous hearing if prayed for by the parties.

Fact of the Case:

There is a dispute between landlords and a tenant, with two suits pending in different courts over the same premises. The trial judge allowed the application for stay of the subsequent suit, leading to the plaintiffs of the subsequent suit filing a civil revision.

Finding of the Court:

The court found that the nature and character of the two suits are not similar, and rejected the stay of the subsequent suit. It directed the trial judge to fix short dates for both suits and take appropriate steps for analogous hearing if prayed for by the parties.

Issues: Dispute over the stay of the subsequent suit, readiness of the subsequent suit for hearing, and the possibility of analogous hearing of the two suits by the same court.

Ratio Decidendi: The court held that the two suits could be heard analogously, rejecting the stay of the subsequent suit and emphasizing that the readiness of the subsequent suit could be addressed by fixing short dates and taking appropriate steps for analogous hearing if prayed for by the parties.

Final Decision: The impugned order for stay of the subsequent suit was set aside, and the parties were given liberty to take appropriate steps for trial of the two suits by the same court and file appropriate applications for analogous trial to minimize the time for disposal of the suits.

JUDGMENT :

Prasenjit Mandal, J.

Heard learned Advocates of both the sides.

2. Pursuant to the order dated November 22, 2013, the revisional application and the C.A.N. application are taken up together for hearing. As per order dated November 22, 2013 the question is whether the two suits pending in different Courts could be heard together analogously.

3. There is a dispute between the landlords and a tenant. The tenant filed a suit being Title Suit No.34 of 2013 for declaration of his tenancy right and permanent injunction restraining the landlords from evicting him from the premises in suit without due process of law and the said suit is pending before the leaned Civil Judge (Junior Division), 5th Court, Howrah.

4. Subsequent to that suit, the landlords preferred a suit being Title Suit No.129 of 2013 against the tenant for eviction and recovery of possession of the defendant from the premises in suit before the leaned Civil Judge (Junior Division), 3rd Court, Howrah.

5. The two suits are, therefore, between the same parties over the selfsame premises in suit. By the impugned order, the learned Trial Judge allowed the application for stay of the subsequent suit till the disposal of the Title Suit No.34 of 2013 pending before the learned Civil Judge (Junior Division), 5th Court, Howrah. Being aggrieved, the plaintiffs of the Title Suit No.129 of 2013 pending before the learned Civil Judge (Junior Division), 3rd Court, Howrah have preferred this civil revision.

6. Upon hearing the learned Counsel for the parties and on going through the materials on record, I find that the nature and character of the two suits are not similar, but, contrary to each other. It is not in the position that if the earlier suit is disposed of on contests, the fate of the subsequent suit would automatically be decided.

7. During argument Mr. Purnasish Gupta, learned Advocate appearing for the petitioners has contended that one suit is ready for hearing and another suit is at the stage of filing a written statement and an application is pending in the said suit and so, the second suit being not ready, it will not be proper for giving a direction of analogous hearing of the two suits.

8. He has also submitted that the simultaneous hearing of the two suits by the same Court may be done instead of analogous hearing. With due respect to Mr. Gupta, I am of the view that this submission cannot be accepted.

9. So far as the question of readiness of the subsequent suit is concerned, the learned Trial Judge is directed to fix short dates of the suit and he is also directed to take appropriate steps so that the two suits may be heard analogously, if prayed for by the parties. It will not be any difficult to make ready of a suit for hearing if the parties cooperate in this regard.

10. Moreover, if the landlords have enough grounds to institute a suit for eviction of a tenant, they cannot be debarred from exercising the legal rights to institute appropriate proceedings for eviction of a tenant from the premises in suit. They cannot by debarred from exercising their legal rights at all. The observations of the learned Trial Judge that the subsequent suit should be stayed because it is a settled principle of law that to avoid multiplicity of the proceeding and controversy with regard to the findings of the suits instituted on the similar property between the selfsame parties, the suit instituted at a later date is to be stayed, in my view, cannot be sustained. The real test as recorded above is whether if the earlier suit is disposed of, the subsequent suit stands disposed of automatically.

11. There being different kind of reliefs in the two suits, though the parties of the two suits are the same and the suit premises is the same and one, yet, stay of the suit for recovery of possession cannot be granted for the reasons recorded above.

12. In that view of the matter, the learned Trial Judge has acted illegally and with material irregularity in passing the impugned order, which









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