SupremeToday Landscape Ad
Back
Next
Judicial Analysis Court Copy Headnote Facts Arguments Court observation
Listen Article Pause Article
judgment-img

2002 Supreme(Gau) 243

GAUHATI HIGH COURT
Aftab H.Saikia, J.
Mon Bharan Hazam -Appellant
Versus
Rati Ram Gore -Respondent
S.A.No. 148 of 1996
Decided On : 06-06-2002

Advocates Appeared:
D.K.Bhatra, R.K.Bhatra, S.K.Sanganeria, K.K.Bhatta, S.S.Sharma

The plaintiff must be diligent and file a fresh suit within the limitation period, even if there is an implied liberty to do so.

Headnote:

Limitation Act - Time Barred Suit - Section 64 - Summary

Fact of the Case:

The appellant filed a suit for alleged dispossession in 1975, withdrew it with a prayer for liberty to sue afresh, and filed a fresh suit in 1990. The courts below dismissed the suit as time-barred under Section 64 of the Limitation Act.

Finding of the Court:

The courts found that the suit filed in 1990 was beyond the 12-year limitation period prescribed by Section 64 of the Act, despite the implied liberty to file a fresh suit.

Issues: The main issue was whether the suit filed in 1990 was time-barred under Section 64 of the Limitation Act, considering the withdrawal of the earlier suit with an implied liberty to sue afresh.

Ratio Decidendi: The court held that the plaintiff must be diligent and file a fresh suit within the limitation period, even if there is an implied liberty to do so. The delay in filing the fresh suit beyond the limitation period rendered it time-barred.

Final Decision: The appeal was dismissed, and the impugned judgment was upheld, as the court found no error in the dismissal of the suit as time-barred.

A.H. SAIKIA, J.—

I have heard Mr. S.S. Sharma, learned counsel for the appellant. None appears on behalf of the Respondents despite notice.

2. This Second Appeal has been directed against the impugned Judgment and decree dated 30.4.96 (decree signed on 22.5.96) passed by the then learned Assistant District Judge, Tinsukia dismissing the T.A. No. 12/93 preferred by the plaintiff/ appellant challenging the judgment and decree dated 29.3.93 rendered by the then learned Munsiff No. 1, Tinsukia dismissing Title Suit No. 1/90.

3. Admittedly this appeal is against concurrent findings of the Courts below. Arguing this Second Appeal mainly on the following substantial question of law.

"Whether the finding of the learned appellate Court to the effect that the suit filed on 8.1.90 for alleged dis-possession of the plain tiff/appellant in the last week of August/ 1975 was time barred as per provision of Section 64 of the Limitation Act (for short the 'Act'), is perverse and illegal when the suit itself was refiled on the aforesaid date as per order dated 14.8.87 passed by the learned Munsiff who allowed the plaintiff/appellant to withdraw the suit but without granting any liberty to sue afresh in the same cause of action notwithstanding such prayer being made in the application for withdrawal of the suit". Mr. Sharma has stated that initially the Title Suit No. 12/85, re-numbered as Title •Suit 16/86, was filed in 1985 by the plaintiff/appellant against his 'Dispossession in the last week of August, 1975 by the defendant but due to certain defects in the plaint, the plaintiff/appellant preferred an application under Order 23 Rule 1 C.P.C. on 4.6.87 with the prayer -"It is therefore prayed that the plaintiff Petitioner be permitted to withdraw the suit with liberty to sue afresh on the same cause of action to meet the ends of justice". But without recording any liberty being granted to file the suit afresh, the trial court allowed him to withdraw the suit. Thereafter the plaintiff appellant refiled the instant suit on 8.1.90 being numbered as T.S.No. 1/90. According to him, the Courts below committed error of law in dismissing the suit so filed on 8.1.90 holding to be time barred when the trial Court itself allowed to withdraw the said suit on the prayer made by the appellant. Mr. Sharma has vehemently argued that non recording of any such liberty as prescribed under order 23 Rule 1 to file fresh suit cannot be a ground for dismissal of the suit being time barred, once suit is allowed to be withdrawn by the Court. It is implied that the appellant has the liberty to institute a fresh suit in respect of same subject matter because there has been no specific order of refusal of liberty to file the fresh suit that too when it is clearly mentioned in the prayer that plaintiff be allowed to withdraw the suit with liberty to sue afresh on the same cause of action to meet the ends of justice. To drive home his submissions, Mr. Sharma has relied a decision of Calcutta High Court reported in AIR 1982 Calcutta 17 (Sukumr Banerjee - vs - Dilip Kumar Sarkar, and ors). In paragraph 5 of the above cited case it was held as follows -

"It appear that Title Suit No. 284 of 1977 was permitted to be withdrawn by the learned Munsiff. The plaintiff made a prayer for liberty to bring a fresh suit. No order was given thereon, but that prayer was not refused. In the Bench case of Golam Mahomed v. Shibendra reported in (1908JILR 35 Cal 990 at p.995, it has been stated that when the plaintiff files an application to withdraw from the suit with liberty to sue afresh, on which an order was passed on the same date giving permission to withdraw the suit and although nothing was said in that order as to the plaintiffs liberty to institute a fresh suit on the same cause of action, that order ought to be read along with the application on which it was passed. It has already been indicated that prayer was not refused. Hence it is held that order has the effect of granting per





Click Here to Read the rest of this document

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
SupremeToday Portrait Ad
supreme today icon
whatsapp-icon Back to top