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2006 Supreme(Guj) 207

Gujarat High Court
Judgename :P.B.MAJMUDAR
TRIKAMLAL MAIIILAL PATCL - Appellant
Versus
UTTAR GUJARAT VIJ COMP.LTD - Respondent
Civil Revision Application 647 Of 1998
Decided On : 03/20/2006

Advocates Appeared: Bharat Jani, R.C.Jani

Headnote:

Civil Suit - Civil procedure Code - Section 115 - Petitioner herein has challenged orders passed by executing Court decreed suit of plaintiff with cost and interest - On basis of said decree - Execution Petition was filed by Gujarat Electricity Board against present petitioner who is legal heir of original defendant - In execution proceedings present petitioner appeared before Court and sought time to file reply applicant herein filed a reply to archest and also filed an application praying for stay of Archest and for time to prefer appeal - On the said application Trial Judge passed the following order - Advocate for plaintiff was heard and order for warrant has been passed and order passed on is not appealable and order has been passed and application given by advocate of defendant on default is not as per provision of law – Held, There is no question of going behind the decree in examining whether decree is against a dead person or not and - If defendant died during pendency of suit whether his heirs were brought on record - It is not a case where original defendant died after hearing of suit was concluded - In aforesaid order of Single Judge it is also observed that there is evidence on record to suggest that on first returnable date defendant expired - There is nothing on record to show that plaintiff had taken any steps to bring heirs of defendant on record - In fact suit could be said to have been abated as suit cannot be preceded against a dead person – Therefore proceedings in said suit cannot be said to be a valid proceedings - Judge has committed an apparent error in coming to conclusion that executing court cannot go behind decree - In present case there is no such case as judgment and decree itself is a nullity - Trial Court ought to have at least appreciated that if in title the name of original defendant is mentioned and names of heirs are not mentioned execution proceedings cannot go against a person who is not named in judgment or who is not brought on record of case – Order Accordingly (Para 9)

P. B. MAJMUDAR, J.

( 1 ) BY filing this Revision Application under Section 115 of the Code of Civil procedure, the petitioner herein has challenged the orders passed by the executing Court below Exh. 1 and order dated 7. 4. 1998 below exh. 25 both in regular Darkhast No. 19 of 1997.

( 2 ) GUJARAT Electricity Board instituted a suit, being Civil Suit No. 70 of 1990, against one Patel Manilal Nagardas for recovery of Rs. 10,528-25 with interest at 15% p. a. . Learned Civil Judge J. D. , sidhpur issued summons returnable on 26. 4. 1990. Ultimately, by judgment and order dated 15. 1. 1991. learned Civil judge J. D. , Sidhpur decreed the suit of the plaintiff with cost and interest at 12% p. a.

( 3 ) AT this stage, it is required to be noted that the said Patel Manilal Nagardas expired on 26. 4. 1990, i. e. on the first returnable date. Yet, in paragraph 2 of the judgment and order passed by the learned trial Judge, it is observed that the defendant appeared and sought time often to file written statement and the Court granted time in the interest of justice but the defendant has not filed any written statement, the suit was ordered to he proceeded ex pane.

( 4 ) ON the basis of the said decree. Execution Petition No. 19 of 1997 was filed by the Gujarat Electricity Board against the present petitioner, who is the legal heir of the original defendant Palel manila! Nagardas. In the execution proceedings, the present petitioner appeared before the Court on 10. 3. 1998 and sought time to file reply. On 24. 3. 1998, the applicant herein filed a reply to the darkhast and also filed an application Ex. 23 praying for stay of the Darkhast and for time to prefer appeal. On the said application Exh. 23, the learned Trial Judge passed the following order : "heard the learned advocate for the parlies. Looking to the facts of the case and application given, the stage of the reply of darkhast has been closed on 30/10/98 and the matter was for hearing of plaintiff and on call learned advocate of defendant was absent. Hence the learned advocate for plaintiff was heard and order for jungam warrant has been passed. And the order passed on 24/3/98 is not appealable and the order has been passed and the application given by the learned advocate of defendant on default is not as per the provision of law. Hence the application is rejected. "

( 5 ) THEREAFTER, on 25. 3. 1998, the present petitioner appeared before the Court and filed an application pointing out that the patel Manilal Nagardas expired on 26. 4. 1990, and the judgment and order dated 15. 1. 1991 being against dead person, is a nullity and the execution proceedings is required to be stayed. The learned Judge rejected the application on the ground that the executing court cannot go behind the decree, and the order of issuance of jangam warrant cannot be cancelled. The Trial judge also found that heirs of the deceased were given ample opportunity to file reply but they have not filed any reply. The Trial judge also found that if the decree is passed against a particular person and if he is dead, his heirs are required to file appropriate reply in execution petition. The learned Trial Judge rejected the application against which the legal heirs of deceased defendant Patel Manilal Nagardas has filed the present Revision.

( 6 ) WHEN this Revision Application came up before a Co-ordinate Bench of this court [coram : C. K. Buch, J] the learned single Judge observed as under in his order dated 6. 10. 2005:-"it appears from record that the respondent-Gujarat Electricity Board had filed a Suit for recovery, etc. against one manilal Narandas Patel of village Kalyana, tal. Sidhpur. The summons of the Suit was made returnable on 26th April, 1990. There is evidence on record which is found prima facie satisfactory that on that very day the defendant had expired. So obviously he could not have appeared before the Court. Recording absence of served defendant, the court proceeded with the Suit and passed a d





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