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2025 Supreme(Online)(Tel) 66877

IN THE HIGH COURT FOR THE STATE OF TELANGANA AT HYDERABAD
Renuka Yara, J
Avirineni Jhansi Lakshmi – Appellant
Versus
Vijayalakshmi 70 MM – Respondent
CIVIL REVISION PETITION No.2456 OF 2024



Advocates:
For the Appellants/Petitioners: Vankina, Allu & Partners
For the Respondents: Kanumuri Kalyani

A court must conduct a meaningful, not merely formal, reading of a plaint to identify whether the cause of action is illusory or the result of clever drafting. If the litigation is vexatious and a clear abuse of the judicial process, the plaint must be rejected at the earliest stage.

Headnote:(A) Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 - Order 7 Rule 11(a) and (d) - Rejection of plaint - Meaningful reading of plaint required to detect illusory cause of action - Abuse of court process - Suppression of filing of earlier suit by plaintiff - Suit filed after withdrawal of previous suit on same cause of action to obtain interim injunction - Held, if clever drafting creates illusion of cause of action, it must be nipped in the bud - Plaint rejected for lack of cause of action and abuse of process. (Paras 6, 17, 18)

(B) Transfer of Property Act, 1882 - Section 106 - Oral lease - Notice period of 15 days for eviction - Suit filed after notice period expired - Absence of genuine cause of action. (Paras 7, 8)

Facts of the case:
The petitioners sought the rejection of the plaint in a suit for perpetual injunction filed by the respondent. The petitioners alleged that the respondent suppressed the fact that a prior suit regarding the same subject matter was withdrawn without serving notice on the petitioners, and that the respondent was attempting to abuse the court process to obtain ad-interim injunctions after failing to do so in earlier proceedings. The respondent claimed that the cause of action was a mix of fact and law, and suppression of the prior suit was not a valid ground for rejection.

Findings of Court:
The Court held that the plaintiff created an illusory cause of action through skillful drafting and abused the judicial process. The timeline of withdrawing the first suit and filing the second suggested a mala fide attempt to secure injunctions. The suit was rejected for lack of a genuine cause of action pursuant to Order 7 Rule 11(a) of CPC.

Issues: Whether the plaint discloses a clear cause of action or demonstrates an abuse of the judicial process warranting rejection under Order 7 Rule 11 of CPC.

Ratio Decidendi: If a plaint uses clever drafting to create an illusory cause of action or manifests a vexatious and meritless approach, the court must exercise its power under Order 7 Rule 11 to nip such litigation in the bud at the earliest opportunity to prevent abuse of the judicial process.

Result: Civil Revision Petition allowed; suit rejected.

Table of Content
1. summary of historical facts regarding the dispute and the filing of multiple suits. (Para 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5)
2. analysis of trial court findings versus arguments on cause of action and fraud. (Para 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13)
3. court establishes the criteria for identifying illusory cause of action and abuse of process. (Para 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18)
4. final outcome and order of the court. (Para 19)

Order:

The Civil Revision Petition is preferred by the petitioners/defendants aggrieved by the order passed by the learned III Additional Junior Civil Judge at L.B.Nagar, Ranga Reddy District, in I.A.No.211 of 2023 in O.S.No.652 of 2023, dated 19.03.2024, wherein, a petition filed under Order 7, Rule

11 of CPC to reject the plaint has been dismissed.

2. Heard M/s. Vankina, Allu & Partners, learned counsel for the revision petitioners and Ms. Kanumuri Kalyani, learned counsel for the respondent/plaintiff. Perused the record.

3. Initially, the respondent/plaintiff filed suit in O.S.No.652 of 2023 seeking perpetual injunction to restrain the petitioners herein from interfering with the peaceful possession and enjoyment of suit schedule property i.e. land admeasuring Ac.0-12 Gts., in Sy.No.55, situated at Karmanghat Village, Saroornagar Mandal, Ranga Reddy District bounded by North: Defendant’s land, South: Neighbours house, East: 30 feet wide road, neighbours building and plaintiff’s plot and West:

Neighbours houses, without following due process of law. After filing of the said suit, the I.A under revision has been filed to reject the plaint for lack of cause of action. The case of the respondent is that there is no written agreement between the parties to the suit, no deposit or advance payment of any amount to the respondent, fixed amount of Rs.30,000/- is paid by the respondent to the petitioners every month from the year 2013 till August, 2023 without escalation and there is an alleged oral lease which is on month to month basis.

4. It is the case of the petitioners that the plaint is carefully drafted to create an illusion of cause of action which needs to be nipped in the bud at the earliest. Further, according to the petitioners, the respondent committed fraud on the Court by suppressing the fact that the suit in O.S.No.614 of 2023 was filed on 15.09.2023 on the file of the VI Additional Junior Civil Judge, Ranga Reddy District at L.B.Nagar. Due to non-working days of Court on Saturday, Sunday and Vinayakachavithi, the matter was heard on 20.09.2023. When the respondent failed to secure ad-interim injunction from the VI Additional Junior Civil Judge, Ranga Reddy District at L.B.Nagar on the first date of hearing on 20.09.2023, said suit i.e. O.S.No.614 of 2023 has been withdrawn on 21.09.2023. Immediately thereafter, the present suit i.e. O.S.No.652 of 2023 was filed with the same contents, same cause of action, same prayer including the typed content on suit valuation but before a District Court. The petitioners pleaded that the conduct of the respondent is highly objectionable as there is an abuse of process of the Court. It is further stated that the suit in O.S.No.614 of 2023 was withdrawn after first date of hearing i.e. 20.09.2023, on 21.09.2023 even before summons were served on the petitioners. The petitioners have withdrawn the license to respondent to park the vehicles in suit schedule property and in order to circumvent said withdrawal, the petitioner No.2 approached the Judicial Magistrate of First Class, Special (Mobile) PCR Act, Ranga Reddy District vide O.S.No.616 of 2023 and the matter was first heard on 10.10.2023. On that day, summons in the present suit were received by the petitioners and on enquiry, the objectionable acts of the respondent were discovered. Since the respondent approached the Court with unclean hands by blatant abuse of process of Court, the petitioners prayed that the plaint be rejected.

5. The respondent herein opposed the I.A denying the averments of the petition alleg

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