IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
Chandra Dhari Singh, J.
M/s M. R. Juneja I & S(p) Ltd. – Appellant
Versus
M/s R. M. Ispat Pvt. Ltd. & Others – Respondent
CS(COMM) 1604 of 2016
Decided On : 14-03-2023
Recovery of Dues - Companies Act, 1956 - Order VIII Rule 3, 4, 5 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 - Recovery of Rs.1,49,39,832/- - Companies Act, 1956 - Recovery of Rs.1,49,39,832/- - Companies Act, 1956 - Recovery of Rs.1,49,39,832/-
Fact of the Case:
The plaintiff, a registered company, filed a suit to recover Rs.1,49,39,832 along with interest from the defendants for goods supplied. The defendants failed to respond to the suit, and the court proceeded ex parte against them. The plaintiff provided evidence of the outstanding amount and the court found in favor of the plaintiff.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the plaintiff was entitled to recover the outstanding amount of Rs.1,03,03,332 along with interest. The court also specified the rate of interest and directed the defendants to pay within a specified time frame.
Issues: The issues involved were whether the plaintiff was entitled to recover the outstanding amount and the justified rate of interest on the amount.
Ratio Decidendi: The court relied on Order VIII Rule 3, 4, 5 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, which requires the defendant to specifically address each allegation of fact and provide a specific and unequivocal denial. The court also cited previous judgments to support the principle that unaddressed facts are presumed admitted.
Final Decision: The court decreed the suit in favor of the plaintiff, specifying the outstanding amount and the rate of interest, and directed the defendants to pay within a specified time frame.
JUDGMENT
Chandra Dhari Singh, J. The instant suit has been filed on behalf of the plaintiff for recovery of Rs.1,49,39,832/- (Rupees One Crore Forty Nine Lakhs Thirty Nine Thousand Eight Hundred and Thirty Two Only) alongwith mandatory injunction, inter-alia seeking the following reliefs:
"a) Pass a decree for recovery of Rs.1,49,39,832/- (Rupees One Crore Forty Nine lacs Thirty Nine Thousand Eight Hundred & thirty two only) in favour of the plaintiff and against the defendants alongwith future and pendentelite interest @ 18% p.a. from the date of filing of suit till realization.
b) Pass a decree of mandatory injunction thereby directing the direct the defendant no. 1-4 to issue form No. 3B to the Plaintiff.
c) Award costs of the suit in favour of the plaintiff and against the defendants;
d) Pass any other and further relief which this hon'ble court may deem fit and proper under the circumstances of the case."
2. The captioned suit filed on behalf of the plaintiff was originally numbered as CS(OS) 2502/2008. Since, the value of the instant suit was more than Rs.1 Crore, therefore, the said suit was renumbered as CS(COMM) 1604/2016 vide order dated 5th December, 2016.
FACTUAL MATRIX
3. The plaintiff company is duly registered under the provisions of the Companies Act, 1956 engaged in the business of trade and supply of Irons, Ingots, Billets, etc.
4. The defendant No. 1 is a private limited company having defendants No. 2 to 4 as its Directors.
5. The defendant No. 5 i.e., the State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur is a statutory body established under the provisions of State Bank of India (Subsidiary Bank) Act, 1959. However, since, no specific relief was sought against the defendant No. 5, the learned counsel appearing on behalf of the plaintiff withdrew the suit qua defendant No. 5 as it was only impleaded as a defendant since the amounts of defendants No. 1 to 4 were lying in its account.
6. The parties, i.e., the plaintiff and defendants No. 1 to 4 are associated by way of a business transaction linked to the supply/selling of various commodities related to the business of the plaintiff.
7. In adherence to the transaction above, the plaintiff supplied the goods to the defendant, subject to the condition that it shall make the payments of the supplied goods within 30 days.
8. The genesis of the dispute stem from the non-payment of Rs.1,03,03,332/- (Rupees One Crore Three Lacs Three Thousand Three Hundred and Thirty Two only) with respect to the goods supplied to the defendant company by the plaintiff.
9. Being aggrieved by the actions of the defendants the plaintiff instituted the instant suit before this Court to recover the said amount alongwith interest for the services supplied to the defendants.
10. The instant suit came up for hearing before this Court on 2nd December, 2008 whereby the Predecessor Bench of this Court was pleased to issue summons of the instant suit to the defendants.
11. The defendant No. 2 via its legal attorney entered his appearance on 15th April, 2009 and sought time to file reply to the instant suit. It has been also recorded that the summons to defendant No. 1 remain unserved on the note "...no one to receive".
12. It is matter of fact that the defendant No. 1 is a company that falls under the category of a juristic person. Thus, the same warrants to be represented through its directors and since the defendant No. 2 was a director of the same at the relevant time, i.e., when the transactions were carried between the parties, therefore, the service of the summons upon the defendant No. 2 was deemed service upon defendant No. 1 company.
13. In view of the foregoing facts, it shall not be wrong to mention herein that the service of summons upon all the defendants was duly completed. Despite the same, the defendant No. 1 company chose to remain silent upon the dispute in question and did not file written statement to the instant suit.
14. Furthermore, perusal of the orders passed by this Court in i
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In contractual disputes, pre-existing communications and legal proceedings can extend the limitation period, while evidence must be assessed on the preponderance of probabilities rather than strict s....
The plaintiff's claim based on the receipt and cheque fell within the ambit of Order XXXVII CPC, and the defendant's defense of forfeiture was rejected due to lack of evidence.
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