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Kuldeep Singh v. Rajinder Kumar & Ors.

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal No. 10223 of 2016)Decided 20 Oct 2016
Civil Appeal No. 10223 of 2016
Justice Kurian Joseph · Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman

Background

The appellant had applied under Order 7 Rule 11 of the Code of Civil Procedure to get a long-pending civil suit (originally filed in 1981, renumbered as Civil Suit No. 903/2011) thrown out at the outset, arguing the suit disclosed no cause of action. The Delhi High Court rejected this application, holding that the pleadings in the suit could not be said to disclose no cause of action. The appellant challenged this rejection before the Supreme Court.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court noted that an earlier judgment of the Court dated 07.02.2014 in Civil Appeal Nos. 1873-1877/2014 (evidently in related/connected proceedings) had already settled that the suit could not have been rejected under Order 7 Rule 11 of the CPC. On that basis, the Court dismissed the present appeal, upholding the High Court's refusal to throw out the suit. It additionally directed the Trial Court to expedite the long-delayed suit and dispose of it within six months.

Lesson Learnt

A suit cannot be dismissed at the threshold under Order 7 Rule 11 CPC merely because a defendant believes it lacks merit: the pleadings must be read as they stand, and if they disclose a cause of action, the matter must proceed to a full trial rather than being cut short.

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

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