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1995 Supreme(Del) 153

High Court Of Delhi
VINOD GUPTA - Appellant
Versus
BRAHAM VIRA GUPTA - Respondent
First Appeal (OS) 23 of 1995
Decided On : 02/10/1995

Advocates Appeared:
L.D.ADLEKHA, RIPU ADLAKHA

An order passed by a Single Judge under Section 5(2) of the Delhi High Court Act, 1966, is not a "judgment" appealable within the meaning of Section 10 of the Act unless it has the traits or the quality of finality and decides matters of moment or affects vital and valuable rights of the parties.

Headnote:

{'KEYWORD': 'Delhi High Court Act, 1966 - Section 10 - Appealability of Order - Interlocutory Order - Judgment', 'SUBJECT': 'Appealability of an order passed by a Single Judge under Section 5(2) of the Delhi High Court Act, 1966.', 'ACT SECTION LIST': ['Delhi High Court Act, 1966 - Section 10', 'Civil Procedure Code - Order 6 Rule 5', 'Civil Procedure Code - Order 11 Rule 14', 'Civil Procedure Code - Section 151', 'Civil Procedure Code - Order 43 Rule 1']}

Fact of the Case:

The appellants, defendants in a suit for partition of a Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) property, filed an application under Order 6 Rule 5 and Order 11 Rule 14 read with Section 151 of the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC), seeking a direction to the plaintiff to supply copies of the documents mentioned in the application and furnish better particulars. The application was dismissed by the learned Single Judge.

Finding of the Court:

The Court held that the order in appeal is not a "judgment" appealable within the meaning of Section 10 of the Delhi High Court Act, 1966, as it does not have the traits or the quality of finality and does not decide matters of moment or affect vital and valuable rights of the parties.

Issues: Whether the order passed by the learned Single Judge in exercise of jurisdiction conferred by Sub-Section (2) of Section 5 of the Delhi High Court Act is a "judgment" from which an appeal lies to a Division Bench of the Court.

Ratio Decidendi: The Court relied on the Supreme Court's decision in Shah Babulal Khimji v. Jayaben D. Kania, AIR 1981 SC 1786, which held that every interlocutory order, not covered by Order 43 Rule 1 CPC, cannot be regarded as a "judgment" appealable within the meaning of Section 10 of the said Act, but only those, which have the traits or the quality of finality, even when they relate to ancillary proceedings, but decide matters of moment or affect vital and valuable rights of the parties and which work serious injustice to the party concerned are "judgments" within the meaning of Section 10 of the Act and are appealable.

Final Decision: The Court dismissed the appeal, holding that the impugned order does not fall within the ambit of "judgment" appealable under Section 10 of the Delhi High Court Act, 1966.

K. Jain,j

( 1 ) THIS appeal under Section 10 of the Delhi High Court Act, 1966 (for short the Act) is preferred TO, by defendants No. 1 to 4, in the suit, against the order of the learned Single Judge dated 28 September, 1994 whereby appel- lants application, IA 331 /94 (wrongly noted as IA 313/93) in Suit No. 3626/92. ^ Order 6 Rule 5 and Order II Rule 14 read with Section 151 of the CPC, seeking a direction to respondent No. I/plaintiff to supply copies of the documents mentioned in the application and furnish better particulars, was dismissed.

( 2 ) IN the suit defendant Nos. 1i and 5 are the sons of the plaintiff. Defendants 2 to 4 are the wife and two minor sons of defendant No. I, defendant Nos. 6 and 7 are the wife and minor son of defendant No. 5 and defendant No. 8 is the unmarried daughter of the plaintiff. Plaintiff s case is that he started publishing business in the year 1946; all that he earned was his individual acquisition; with a view to provide his progeny aforesaid and to reduce the taxation burden, he constituted Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) in the named of Braham Vira Gopta and Sons and to provide nucleus for it, threw money it; purchased a plot No. E 3, Greater Kailash-ll, New Delhi, later sold it and purchased plot No. E-550, Greater Kailash-ll, New Delhi, by throwing further money into the family hotchpot, constructed a house thereon, which is an HUF property. Besides he has selfacquired property also as mentioned in the plaint. Defendant No. 5, one of the members of the HUF, vide his registered letter dated 11 April, 1991 (Annexure A to the plaint), demanded partition of the H. U. F. property, whereupon, the plaintiff as Karta of the family effected partition and informed defendant No. 5 vide his letter dated 20 April, 1991 (Annexure B to the plaint), copies endorsed to defendants No. I and 8, enclosing a proposed plan, earmarking the portions allotted to the share of each member of the HUF in the questioned house, thus, dividing it by metes and bounds. Whereafter letter dated 23 April, 1991 was received by the plaintiff from defendant No. I challenging the plaintiff s right to effect partition and describing the partition made as unfair, resultant where to, the plaintiff, claiming to have a right to effect partition of the HUF assets and properties, amongst the members of the family, filed the suit for; (i) declaration that the partition of the property in question as effected by him in his capacity as father and Karta / Manager of the HUF and recorded in the partition plan of the property, is final and binding on all the members/parties to the suit; (ii) restraining defendant No. I from attempting to take possession or trespassing into any portion of the suit property, which has not been specifically allotted to him by partition plan; and (iii) in case prayers (i) and (ii) as above, are not granted, for partition of the suit property by discharging HUF liabilities for the funds provided, with interest.

( 3 ) ON being served, the appellants did not file the written statement but instead moved the afore-noted application seeking better particulars and production of documents, to enable them to file a proper written statement. It was averred that the plaint is vague inasmuch as the relevant documents in support of plaintiff s claim relating to the creation of the HUF, his putting some money into the family hotchpot, particulars of the persons constituting the HUF, the alleged disruption of the HUF,cost of construction of the property and utilisation of the HUF funds had neither been filed with the plaint nor their copies supplied to the appellants. The application was resisted by the plaintiff. The learned Single Judge, observed that appellant No. I, if at all has any share in the property is on account of averments made in the plaint of the plaintiff that the property in dispute is a joint HUF property and his right to have a share in the property is on the basis of the said averment in the plaint






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