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2026 Supreme(Ori) 203

IN THE HIGH COURT OF ORISSA AT CUTTACK
A.C. Behera, J.
Vikas Kumar Saha and others - Appellants
Versus
Sunil Kumar Saha and others - Respondents
RSA No.360 of 2023
Decided On : 17-03-2026

Advocates Appeared:
For the Appellant :Mr. D. Mohapatra, Sr. Advocate assisted by Mr. M.R. Pradhan, Advocate
For the Respondent:Mr. B. Bhuyan, Sr. Advocate assisted by Ms. S. Sahoo, Advocate

The court upheld the trial court's rejection of a plaint for lack of merit, affirming that no actionable claim existed due to the binding nature of an existing arbitral award.

Headnote:(A) Civil Procedure Code, 1908 - Order 7, Rule 11 - Rejection of plaint - Suit for declaration of ownership over property - Plaintiff claims title based on an award issued by a sole Arbitrator under Supreme Court's directions - The court examines if the plaint discloses cause of action or is barred by law - The trial court finds the claims to be vexatious and illusory, thereby justifying rejection - This is upheld by the appellate court. (Paras 9, 12, 16, 30)

(B) Rejection of plaint - Principles governing such rejection - Courts exercise discretion to reject a plaint if it is without merit, to prevent wasting judicial resources - A plaint must disclose a clear right to sue and should not be vexatious or frivolous. (Paras 26, 28)

Facts of the case:
The appellants, successors of the plaintiff Naresh Prasad Saha, challenged the rejection of their plaint seeking declaration for ownership over properties based on an allotment made by an Arbitrator pursuant to a Supreme Court directive. The original dispute arose between co-sharers of property allocated under Supreme Court award, which included immovable property and movable business interest. The court found that the plaintiff was not the owner of the property based upon the award's clear allotment to the defendants.

Findings of Court:
The suit filed by the appellants does not present any actionable claim, as the title to the property is barred under the existing award and is vexatious. The legal positions regarding res judicata and cause of action were affirmed, and the suit deemed as having no merit.

Issues: The primary questions included whether the trial court erred in rejecting the plaint based on the existing arbitration award and whether the plaint disclosed a sustainable cause of action.

Ratio Decidendi: The rejection of the plaint was justified because the claim is barred by the finality of the arbitral award, and the plaint contains no real cause of action that warrants judicial intervention. The court emphasized that litigation should not be permitted to proceed if it lacks merit.

Result: 2nd appeal dismissed.

Table of Content
1. predecessor plaintiffs and suit properties background. (Para 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6)
2. defendants argue for rejection of plaint based on prior awards. (Para 7 , 8)
3. trial court evaluates and rejects plaint based on merits. (Para 9 , 12)
4. appellate court confirms dismissal based on legal principles. (Para 17 , 19)
5. definition of immovable properties versus business as movable property. (Para 24 , 25 , 27)
6. second appeal dismissed without merit. (Para 30 , 31)

JUDGMENT :

A.C. Behera, J.

This 2nd appeal has been preferred against the confirming judgment.

2. The predecessor of the appellants in this 2nd appeal, i.e., Naresh Prasad Saha, was the sole plaintiff before the learned trial court in the suit vide C.S. No.290 of 2005 and after the death of Naresh Prasad Saha his legal heirs preferred the 1st appeal vide RFA No.16 of 2018 being the appellants.

The parents of the respondents in this 2nd appeal were the defendants before the learned trial court in the suit vide C.S. No.290 of 2005 and the respondents before the learned 1st appellate court in the 1st appeal vide RFA No.16 of 2018. When, during the pendency of the 1st appeal, the parents of the respondents expired, then, the respondents in this 2nd appeal were substituted in their places.

3. The properties described in Schedule-A of the plaint, i.e., Plot Not.257(gharabari, dokan ghara) A.0.16 decimals under Khata No.137 in Mouza-Baripada Town, Unit-6, Purunahatsahi in the district of Mayurbhanj are the suit properties.

4. The predecessor of the appellants in this 2nd appeal, i.e., Naresh Prasad Saha filed a suit vide C.S. No.290 of 2005 being the plaintiff against the parents of the respondents in this 2nd appeal in the court of the learned Civil Judge(Sr. Division), Baripada praying for a declaration that,

“he is the absolute owner of the suit premises described in Schedule-A of the plaint, to restrain the defendants from entering into the suit properties/premises through municipality, to injuct the defendants permanently from coming into the suit premises/properties described in Schedule-A and to pass a decree for recovery of possession of the suit properties, if he(plaintiff) is found to be dispossessed from the suit properties during the pendency of the suit.”

As per the averments made in the plaint of the plaintiff, Munilal Saha was their common ancestor. The said Munilal Saha died leaving behind his three sons, i.e., Ramdayal Saha, Raghunandan Saha and Jogeswar Saha.

Ramdayal Saha died leaving behind his six sons, i.e., Sibasankar Saha, Mangal Saha, Mohesh Saha, Sahadev Saha, Ranjeet Saha and Susil Saha. The said six sons of Ramdayal Saha were not made parties in the suit.

The 2nd son of Munilal Saha, i.e., Raghunandan Saha died leaving behind his only son Hariprasad Saha.

Hariprasad Saha and his wife Shantilata Saha died on dated 05.12.2009 and 29.11.2009 respectively leaving behind the defendant nos.1(a) and 1(b), 2(a) and 2(b) as their successors.

The 3rd son of Munilal Saha, i.e., Jogeswar Saha died leaving behind his two sons, i.e., Ganesh Prasad Saha and Naresh Prasad Saha. Naresh Prasad Saha is the plaintiff in the suit vide C.S. No.290 of 2005.

According to the case of the plaintiff Naresh Prasad Saha, there was long standing dispute between three sons of Munilal Saha, i.e., Ramdayal Saha, Raghunandan Saha and Jogeswar Saha and their litigation vide Civil Appeal No.1068 of 1999 reached before the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India. The Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in that Civil Appeal No.1068 of 1999 appointed a sole Arbitrator and the said sole Arbitrator allotted lands and buildings including the business of the parties, i.e., both the movable and immovable properties with assets and liabilities thereof between the three sons of Munilal Saha separately.

In that allotment, the market building inside Baripada town fell in the share of Hariprasad Saha(defendant no.1) and motor parts business, which was running in that market building fell in the share of the

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