An order rejecting a plaint is deemed a decree under the Code of Civil Procedure, allowing for a regular appeal.

ORDER

Aggrieved by an order rejecting the plaint in unnumbered O.S.No. .... of

2022 on the file of the learned Principal District Judge, Namakkal, the petitioner/plaintiff has come up by way of this revision.

2. The petitioner herein filed a suit seeking specific performance of the Contract dated 25.04.2016 against the respondent in unnumbered O.S.No. .... of 2022. The Court below by impugned order rejected the plaint on the ground that the petition filed by the petitioner seeking permission of the Court to sell the property was already dismissed by the Court and also on the ground of limitation. Aggrieved by the same, the petitioner/plaintiff is before this Court.

3. As per the definition of the expression “decree” in the Code of Civil Procedure, an order rejecting the plaint is a deemed decree. It would be useful to refer the definition of the expression decree in the Code of Civil Procedure which reads as follows:-

“(2) "decree" means the formal expression of an adjudication which, so far as regards the Court expressing it, conclusively determines the rights of the parties with regard to all or any of the matters in controversy in the suit and may be either preliminary or final. It shall be deemed to include the rejection of a plaint and the determination of any question within [** *] section 144, but shall not include--

(a) any adjudication from which an appeal lies as an appeal from an order, or (b) any order of dismissal for default.

Explanation.-A decree is preliminary when further proceedings have to be taken before the suit can be completely disposed of. It is final when such adjudication completely disposes of the suit. It may be partly preliminary and partly final;”

4. Therefore, as per the definition of the expression 'decree' as found in Code of Civil Procedure, by virtue of inclusive definition, the expression 'decree' deemed to include the rejection of plaint. Once we come to the conclusion an order of rejection of plaint is a deemed decree under Code of Civil Procedure, a regular appeal will lie against any decree under Section 96 of Code of Civil Procedure. Therefore, the petitioner is not entitled to invoke the supervisory jurisdiction of this Court, when a regular appeal remedy is available under Section 96 of Code of Civil Procedure.

5. The learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that only in cases where the plaint is rejected after numbering of the suit, it can be treated as deemed decree. In the case on hand, the plaint has been rejected even without numbering and therefore, the petitioner is entitled to invoke the supervisory jurisdiction under Article 227 of Constitution of India.

6. The contention of the learned counsel for the petitioner cannot be accepted in the light of the clear wordings of Section 2(2) of Code of Civil Procedure. The definition of the expression 'decree' contains three limbs:

(i) The first limb of the definition defines the expression decree by words;

(ii) The second limb of definition is an inclusive definition, it brings an order rejecting the plaint and an order determining any one of the questions under Section 144 of CPC within the fold of definition of decree.

(iii) The third limb of definition is an exclusive definition, it excludes any adjudication from which an appeal shall lie as an appeal from an order and any order dismissing the suit for default from the purview of definition of expression 'decree'.

7. A close scrutiny of the definition of the expression 'decree' would make it clear that the draft man himself had a doubt that order of rejection of plaint may not come within the wordly definition of the expression 'decree'. Since it will not come within the definition as found in first limb of Section 2(2) of CPC, he had chosen to bring it under th