The judgment establishes the principle that while deciding an application under Order 7 Rule 11, the Court should only consider the averments in the plaint and the requirement of cause of action for the maintainability of a civil suit.

JUDGMENT :

(Ajay Mohan Goel, J.)

By way of this appeal, the appellants have challenged the judgment dated 30.04.2019, passed by the Court of learned District Judge (Forest), Shimla, in Civil Appeal No.18-S/13 of 2017/2015, titled The Tyali Co-operative Consumer Store/Society vs. Bansi Ram & Ors., in terms whereof, the learned Appellate Court while allowing the appeal of the respondents herein set aside the order dated 18.03.2015, passed by the Court of learned Civil Judge, Senior Division Theog, in CMA No.11 of 2006 of 2015, titled The Tyali Co-operative Consumer Store & Anr. vs. Bansi Ram & Ors., in terms whereof, an application filed under Order 7 Rule 11 read with Section 151 of the Code of Civil Procedure by the petitioners herein/defendants was allowed.

2. Brief facts necessary for the adjudication of this appeal are that respondents/plaintiffs (hereinafter referred to as the plaintiffs) have filed a suit against the petitioners/defendants (hereinafter referred to as the defendants) for Permanent Perpetual and Prohibitory Injunction. Petitioners herein filed an application under Order 7 Rule 11 read with Section 151 of the CPC for rejection of the plaint on 30.05.2014. It was averred in the application that the suit filed by the plaintiffs was not maintainable as the plaint did not disclose any cause of action and as the plaintiffs were strangers and not members of the Society and were not having any right, title and interest in the Tyali Cooperative Society, therefore, also the suit was not maintainable. It was further averred in the application that the Court was having no jurisdiction to entertain the suit in terms of the law relating to Cooperative Society and no Court including a Civil Court was having power or jurisdiction to entertain any such suit.

3. The application was resisted by the plaintiffs. In terms of order dated 18.03.2015, passed by the learned Trial Court, the application was allowed. Learned Trial Court returned the following findings while allowing the application, which are being reproduced hereinbelow:-

“11. The present application has been filed by the applicants for invoking sub clause (d) of Rule 11 of Order VIl CPC on the ground that the present suit is barred by Section 72, Section 76 and Section 92 of the Himachal Pradesh Cooperative Societies Act, 1968. A further plea has been raised for invoking sub clause (a) of Rule 11 of Order VIl CPC on the ground that the present suit does not disclose a cause of action. The question of jurisdiction and a bar created to the suit by any law for the time being in force, if it is raised in the defence plea that cannot be the ground on which the plaint can be rejected unless the attraction of such a bar is manifest from the pleadings made in the plaint. Without the aid of the defence pleadings or any other document, the statements made in the plaint themselves should make it appear that the suit is barred by any law for the time being in force as contemplated in sub clause (d) of Rule 11 of Order VII CPC. In the present case, it is evident that the elections of the Tyali Cooperative Consumer Store Limited dated 22.07.2012 has not been held to be valid in the report of Kumari Ranjana Sood Assistant Registrar Cooperative Societies dated 14" March. 2014. Further plaintiff No. 1 Narayan Singh has filed this suit claiming himself to be Secretary of Tyali Cooperative Consumer Store on the basis of election, but again he has been removed from the post of Secretary by order of District Collector Food Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Shimla dated 31.12.2014 and Sh. Arjun Bhardwaj has been appointed as Secretary-cum-salesman of the Tyali Consumer Store Limited. Further by way of letter dated 11.12.2013, the Assistant Registrar Cooperative Societies Shimla, Kumari Ranjana Sood, has appointed Sh. Sanjay Mohan inspector Cooperatives Societies Theog as administrator of the Tyali Cooperative Consumer Store Limited with direction to take over the complete charge of the Soc