IN THE HIGH COURT OF RAJASTHAN
Arun Bhansali, J.
Durga Shankar Sharma & Ors. - Appellants
Versus
Pushpa Sharma - Respondent
S.B. Civil Revision Petition No. 12/2021
Decided on : 23-02-2021
Injunction - Suit for Injunction - Order VII Rule 11 CPC - Section 53-A of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 - The court discussed the provisions of Order VII Rule 11 CPC and Section 53-A of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882, and their applicability to the suit for injunction.
Fact of the Case:
The respondent filed a suit for mandatory & permanent injunction against the petitioner, alleging illegal possession and threat to take possession of a plot. The petitioner claimed to have acquired the plot through an agreement to sell and Power of Attorney.
Finding of the Court:
The court rejected the petitioner's application under Order VII Rule 11 CPC, stating that the suit for injunction was not barred based on the grounds alleged by the petitioners. The court also found that the plea based on Section 53-A of the Act, 1882, was a matter of defense and could not be considered under Order VII Rule 11 CPC.
Issues: The main issue was whether the suit for injunction was maintainable under the given circumstances and whether the plea based on Section 53-A of the Act, 1882, could be considered at the stage of the application under Order VII Rule 11 CPC.
Ratio Decidendi: The court held that the application under Order VII Rule 11 CPC should be adjudicated based on the averments made in the plaint, and the defense sought to be raised by the defendants cannot be considered for determining the application. The court also emphasized that the plea based on Section 53-A of the Act, 1882, was a matter of defense and could not be made subject matter of the application under Order VII Rule 11 CPC.
Final Decision: The revision petition was dismissed.
JUDGMENT
1. This revision petition is directed against the order dated 20/1/2021 passed by Civil Judge (South), Udaipur City, Udaipur, whereby, the application filed by the petitioners under Order VII Rule 11 CPC has been rejected.
2. The suit was filed by the respondent - plaintiff for mandatory & permanent injunction on 17/5/2014 against the petitioner no.1, her brother, in relation to plot no. 199, Block - A, Chitrakoot Nagar, Bhuvana, Udaipur. It was indicated that the defendant, her brother, was somehow trying to illegally take possession of the plot in question and was threatening the plaintiff for registering the plot in his name and has indulged in removing the gate and demolishing the wall. It was alleged that the defendant, who is a lawyer, has threatened that by concocting the documents he would take possession of the plot. Based on the said allegations, it was indicated that the cause of action finally arose on 5/5/2014 when again threat was given and extreme misbehaviour was done. Based on the said submissions, relief was claimed for permanent injunction against the defendant not to trespass over the plot in question and not to interfere with the plaintiff's possession and by way of mandatory injunction, to get the gate and wall reconstructed.
3. The plaint was got amended by impleading petitioner nos. 2 and 3, daughters of petitioner no.1, based on the subsequent event, whereby, the petitioner no.1 transferred the plot in question to petitioner nos. 2 and 3 by sale deed dated 26/5/2014.
4. Written statement was filed by the petitioner no.1 inter alia claiming that the plaintiff had executed an agreement to sell dated 25/7/2012 qua the plot in question in his favour and on 15/2/2013 the Power of Attorney was executed in his favour.
5. Further submissions were made that the consideration was paid by petitioner no.l to the plaintiff and that he has been in possession of the plot in question ever since. Thereafter, he has transferred the plot in favour of defendant nos. 2 and 3.
6. During the pendency of the suit, the petitioner first filed an application under Section 151 CPC requiring the plaintiff to pay court fees based on the market value of the property, which application was rejected, which was carried in revision before this Court, wherein, on 26/5/2015, the Court directed framing of preliminary issue on the said aspect. Based on which, issue no. 3-A was framed by the trial court, which came to be decided on 29/5/2018 by the trial court and it required the plaintiff to make payment of requisite court fees.
7. The order was challenged before this Court in S.B.Civil Writ Petition No. 14035/2018 by the plaintiff, which was allowed on 18/11/2020 by this Court and the order passed by the trial court was set aside.
8. Now the defendants have filed an application under Order VII Rule 11 CPC inter alia on the ground that simple suit for injunction was not maintainable and the same was liable to be dismissed.
9. The trial court, after hearing the parties, came to the conclusion that as to under what provision the suit was barred has not been indicated, the issues have been framed and the suit is pending at the stage of evidence since the year 2017 and consequently rejected the application.
10. It is submitted by the petitioner no.1, who has appeared in person, that the trial court was not justified in rejecting the application under Order VII Rule 11 CPC inasmuch as the defendants are in possession of the suit property and as such a simple suit for injunction cannot be maintained.
11. Further submissions have been made that only in the circumstances as laid down in the case of Anuthula Sudhakar vs. P. Buchi Reddy: (2008) 4 SCC 5941 the suit for injunction can be maintained, which are not available in the present case and, therefore, the trial court was not justified in rejecting the application.
12. Further attempts were made to rely on the provisions of Section 53-A of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 ('the Act, 1882') to cont
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