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1976 Supreme(Guj) 61

Gujarat High Court
Judgename :N.H.BHATT
AHER RANA UKA - Appellant
Versus
MER VEJA DUDA - Respondent
SECOND APPEAL 465 of 1975
Decided On : 07/19/1976

Advocates Appeared: D.G.KARIA, K.N.BHABHA, Sirish Joshi

Headnote:

Evidence Act - Section 115 - execution proceedings - Analogy of the law of contract - Appellate Judge provisions of Order regarding withdrawal do not apply to execution proceedings and he accepts legal position that execution proceedings can be successfully filed for satisfaction of decree - He applied analogy of law of contract and held that when there is a contract between two parties and one of parties refuses to perform his part of contract then other side is discharged from his liability - Applying that principle to a case of this type can we say that when decree-holder refused to accept delivery of garlic which he was entitled and bound to take as per decree passed in his favour judgment-debtor was discharged from that liability - That is only view that can be taken in a case of this type - This principle can have application if and only if by his conduct or representation judgment-creditor had made judgment-debtor alter his position substantially to his disadvantage – Held, Judgment-debtor is not in any way prejudiced in his rights - Application of the principle of estoppel therefore is absolutely unwarranted Sec. 115 of the Evidence Act with all of its ingredients is to be borne in my mind when such a plea is raised - Prevented his client from delivering specific goods to court itself Day in and day out court find decretal amounts or other specific goods being produced before executing court which records satisfaction under Order Rule of Civil Procedure Code and records that decree is satisfied - If judgment-creditor did not then take away goods from court he would have to thank himself alone if goods get deteriorated - Court which recorded compromise was bound to take note of accord and satisfaction or its adjustment and make a necessary entry in register - Principles of estoppel has no place whatsoever in this background – Order accordingly

N. H. BHATT, J.

( 1 ) * * * *

( 2 ) IT is interesting to note that even according to the learned appellate Judge provisions of Order 22 regarding withdrawal do not apply to execution proceedings and he accepts the legal position that execution proceedings can be successfully filed for the satisfaction of the decree He however applied the analogy of the law of contract and held that when there is a contract between two parties and one of the parties refuses to perform his part of the contract then other side is discharged from his liability. Applying that principle to a case of this type can we say that when the decree-holder refused to accept delivery of garlic which he was entitled and bound to take as per the decree passed in his favour the judgment-debtor was discharged from that liability? That is the only view that can be taken in a case of this type. The learned appellate Judge however has over-looked one very important circumstance in this connection. If the judgment-creditor refused to take delivery it was perfectly open to the judgment-debtor to present the goods to the execut- ing court which in that case would have issued a notice to the judgment- creditor to go to it and have the delivery. On the goods being delivered to the court satisfaction of the decree would have been recorded and there would have been an end to the whole chapter. What is true of a contract cannot necessarily be true of a decree. Contract merges into a decree which is to be carried to its satisfaction by the process envisaged by Order 21 of the Civil Procedure Code. The law of contract has no place in the picture.

( 3 ) REFERENCE to the principles of estoppel is also absolutely irrelvant. This principle can have application if and only if by his conduct or representation the judgment-creditor had made the judgment-debtor alter his position substantially to his disadvantage. Had it been so it could have been said that judgment-creditor who had made the judg- ment-debtor change his position to his detriment because of acting on the representation of the judgment-creditor would be estopped from going behind the action of the judgment-debtor. Nothing of the sort is alleged here. Garlic is still in the custody of the judgment-debtor and if the goods are not there at least their price is with him. The judgment-debtor is not in any way prejudiced in his rights. The application of the principle of estoppel therefore is absolutely unwarranted Sec. 115 of the Evidence Act with all of its ingredients is to be borne in my mind when such a plea is raised.

( 4 ) MR. Joshi the learned advocate for the judgment-debtor however contended that if the judgment-creditor had accepted the delivery his client would have been exonerated from the liability. It is true. But what prevented his client from delivering the specific goods to the court itself Day in and day out we find the decretal amounts or other specific goods being produced before the executing court which records satisfaction under Order 21 Rule 2 of the Civil Procedure Code and records that the decree is satisfied. If the judgment-creditor did not then take away the goods from the court he would have to thank himself alone if the goods get deteriorated. The learned appellate Judge in order to invoke the provisions of principles of estoppel has referred to one case of GANGA BISHUN MARW- ARI V. RAGHNATH PRASAD A. I. R. 1930 PATNA 615. It is a case of a compromise which was entered into before the executing court itself. The court which recorded the compromise was bound to take note of the accord and satisfaction or its adjustment and make a necessary entry in the register The principles of estoppel has no place whatsoever in this background


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