An amendment to a joint written statement cannot be made by one defendant without the consent of all other defendants who signed it, to avoid prejudice to their rights.

JUDGMENT :

Hon'ble Jayant Banerji, J. - Heard Shri Tarun Agarwal, learned counsel for the petitioners and Shri Rahul Agarwal, learned counsel appearing for both the respondents. Learned counsel for the respondents stated that the relevant records of the suit are on record and so he does not propose to file a counter-affidavit. Therefore, with the consent of the advocates for the parties, the petition was heard and judgment reserved.

2. By this petition, an order dated 26.7.2023 passed by the Additional District Judge, Fast Track Court No. 2 (14th Finance Commission), Gorakhpur, in Civil Revision No. 3 of 2023 (Shri Dwarika Prasad Kedia and another v. Smt. Chanda Kedia and another) has been challenged, whereby an order dated 16.12.2022 passed by the trial Court in Original Suit No. 458 of 2017, rejecting the amendment application 68?-2 filed by the defendant No. 1 for amending the joint written statement, was set aside and the matter was remanded to the trial Court for deciding the amendment application afresh and on its merits.

3. The background of the case, as evinced from the record of this petition, is that on 1.7.1987, an agreement was entered into between seven persons (family members) at Gorakhpur with regard to pooling their resources and joining hands for purposes of constructing godowns on land owned by Mathura Prasad Kedia (who was the party No. 1 in the aforesaid agreement) which land was situated at village Ram Nagar, Karjaha, Gorakhpur, and at other places in co-ownership in the proportions mentioned in the agreement and letting out the same on rent to be enjoyed by the parties individually in the same proportion in which they would own the godowns. It was mentioned in the agreement that the land required for construction of the godowns shall be provided by Shri Mathura Prasad Kedia, who owned the land aforesaid situated at village Ram Nagar, Karjaha, Gorakhpur. It was agreed that the entire activity relating to the construction of the godowns and letting them out on rent would be carried on on co-ownership basis with a clear stipulation that each one of the parties to the agreement and/or their successors and assigns shall have such proportions therein as specified in the agreement.

4. After death of Mathura Prasad Kedia, another agreement dated 29.1.1996 was executed between seven parties in respect of the godown and the aforesaid land. Aggrieved by certain unilateral activities being taken by some of the parties to the aforesaid agreements, the plaintiff-petitioners, who were also the signatories of the aforesaid two agreements, filed a suit seeking injunction against the defendant-respondents from letting out on rent the properties mentioned in the agreement in their own name and further restraining them from entering into any agreement on their own. The aforesaid suit was registered as Original Suit No. 458 of 2017 which was filed in the Court of the Civil Judge (Senior Division), Gorakhpur. A joint written statement dated 19.3.2018 was filed by the defendant-respondents.

5. It is pertinent to mention here that the defendant-respondent No. 1, Dwarika Prasad Kedia, was not a signatory to the agreement of 1.7.1987, but was a signatory to the agreement dated 29.1.1996. However, the defendant-respondent No. 2, Prem Lata Kedia, was a signatory to both the aforesaid agreements.

6. A temporary injunction application filed by the plaintiff-petitioners was dismissed by an order dated 23.12.2021, passed by the Additional District and Sessions Judge, Fast Track Court, Gorakhpur in Miscellaneous Appeal No. 18 of 2021 (Dwarika Prasad Kedia and another v. Smt. Chanda Kedia and another). The order of the Judge was subjected to challenge before this Court in a petition being Matters under Article 227 No. 1221 of 2022, which came to be allowed by a judgment and order dated 21.7.2022, setting aside the order dated 23.12.2021 and directing the trial Court to expedite the disposal of the Original Suit No. 458 of 2017 without being inf