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Akkiraju Panduranga Rao & Anr. v. Gundlapally Ranga Rao

Civil Appeal · 2026 INSC 428Decided 16 Apr 2026
C.A. No.-004545-004546 - 2026
Justice B.V. Nagarathna · Justice Ujjal Bhuyan

Background

The appellants, owners of certain agricultural land, sued their neighbour for a permanent injunction restraining interference with their possession. After the neighbour filed his written statement disputing the boundaries described, the appellants sought to amend the suit's property schedule to correct an inadvertent omission of one survey number's boundaries: a request the trial court allowed twice (once for the plaint, once for the related injunction application). The High Court of Telangana reversed both amendments on revision, holding they would change the nature of the property and introduce a new cause of action, and questioning the appellants' bona fides since the amendment came only after the respondent's written statement.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held the High Court was wrong to set aside the trial court's orders. Applying the settled two-part test under Order VI Rule 17 CPC (whether the amendment is necessary to determine the real question in controversy, and whether it can be allowed without injustice to the other side) the Court found the boundary correction was genuinely necessary to determine the appellants' entitlement to injunctive relief, and caused no real prejudice since the respondent could still file an additional written statement in response. The Court reiterated that amendment applications should be decided with a liberal approach rather than technicality, since the purpose of the rule is to avoid multiplicity of litigation; the fact that the amendment came after the written statement (but before trial began) did not by itself show mala fides. It restored the trial court's orders allowing the amendment.

Lesson Learnt

Courts are expected to take a liberal, non-technical approach to allowing amendments of pleadings before trial begins, so long as the amendment is genuinely needed to resolve the real dispute and does not unfairly prejudice the other side: merely filing the amendment after the opponent's written statement is not, by itself, proof of bad faith.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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