IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI
Suresh Kumar Kait, Saurabh Banerjee, JJ.
Ashwani Kumar - Appellant
Versus
Aditya Mannohar Bhide - Respondent
RFA(OS) 1 of 2022 & CM Appls. 747 of 2022 & 778 of 2022
Decided On : 31-05-2022
Important Points
Subject
Civil Law - Dispute Resolution
Headnote
(B) Law of Contract - Parties bound by terms of Settlement Agreement reached through mediation. (Paras 3, 5)
Facts of the case:
The appellant sought to deposit a substantial amount in court and requested a decree in terms of a settlement agreement executed on 20.04.2022. The dispute was referred to mediation, resulting in an amicable resolution.
Findings of Court:
The court allowed the application for refund of court fees and disposed of the appeal as compromised in light of the settlement.
Issues: The primary issue was whether the dispute had been sufficiently resolved to warrant dismissal of the appeals in light of the settlement agreement.
Ratio Decidendi: The court emphasized that parties are bound by the terms of the settlement agreement achieved through mediation and subsequently allowed for a refund of court fees, reinforcing the principles of amicable dispute resolution.
Result: Appeal disposed of as compromised.
| Table of Content |
|---|
| 1. request for court fee refund following settlement. (Para 1 , 1 , 6) |
| 2. dispute resolved by mediation agreement. (Para 2 , 3 , 4) |
| 3. court recognizes binding nature of settlement. (Para 5 , 7 , 8) |
| 4. appeal dismissed due to compromise settlement. (Para 9 , 10) |
| 5. judgment copy to be provided and uploaded. (Para 11) |
JUDGMENT (Oral) CM APPL. 20758/2022
1. By way of the present application, appellant prays as under:
"a. Permit the appellant to deposit demand draft bearing no.235487 dated 22.04.2022 for Rs.76,20,00,000/- drawn on State Bank of India with The Registrar General of this Court;
b. Pass a decree in terms of the Settlement Agreement dated 20.04.2022 executed between the parties;
c. Allow the appellant to obtain refund of the court fee of Rs.1,36,80,000/-."
2. Vide order dated 09.02.2022, the matter was referred to Delhi High Court Mediation and Conciliation Centre for parties to explore possibility of settlement through mediation.
3. Learned counsel for the parties inform that subject matter of the dispute existing between the parties has been amicably resolved in terms of Settlement Agreement dated 20.04.2022 passed by Delhi High Court Mediation and Conciliation Centre, wherein terms of settlement have been incorporated and parties shall abide by the terms thereof.
4. A report from Mediation and Conciliation Centre of this Court has been placed on record wherein it is recorded that parties have amicably resolved their disputes in terms of Settlement Agreement dated 20.04.2022.
5. Needless to say, parties shall be bound by the terms of aforesaid Settlement Agreement.
6. Learned counsel appearing on behalf of appellant submits that in the light of the fact that parties have amicably settled the dispute, the present applications be allowed and the entire court fees be refunded.
7. In view of the aforesaid submission made by the counsel for the appellant, the Registry is directed to issue a certificate in favour of the appellant for refund of full court fees.
8. In the circumstances, the present application is allowed and disposed of accordingly.
RFA(OS) 1/2022
9. In view of orders passed in CM APPL. 20758/2022, the present appeal is disposed of as compromised between the parties, in terms of the compromise/settlement agreement arrived at between them, as mentioned hereinbefore.
10. The Registry is directed to prepare a decree sheet, in terms of the compromise arrived at between the parties forthwith.
11. A copy of this judgment be provided to learned counsel appearing on behalf of the parties and be also uploaded on the website of this Court.