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Mahesh Govindji Trivedi vs. Bakul Maganlal Vyas & Ors.

Civil Appeal · 2022 INSC 1072Decided 12 Oct 2022
Civil Appeal No. 7203 of 2022

Background

In a pending suit for specific performance of an agreement to sell a Mumbai property, the defendant (who had acquired ownership of the suit property only in 2017 after a succession dispute was settled) sought to file a counter-claim roughly 13 years after his original written statement. A Single Judge of the Bombay High Court allowed the belated counter-claim onto the record, noting it would avoid multiplicity of proceedings, while keeping the plaintiffs' defences (including limitation) open. The Division Bench of the High Court set this aside on appeal, holding that the plaintiffs had not been given adequate opportunity to contest the application, and remitted the matter for fresh consideration. The defendant appealed to the Supreme Court.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court allowed the appeal and restored the Single Judge's order permitting the counter-claim. It held that under Order VIII Rule 6-A CPC and settled case law (Ashok Kumar Kalra), a counter-claim need not be filed along with the written statement, and courts may in their discretion allow one any time up to the framing of issues: here, the counter-claim was filed before issues were even framed, and by the time the Division Bench interfered, the plaintiffs' evidence on the counter-claim had already progressed. The Court also noted that an earlier Supreme Court order dated 26.02.2021 in related proceedings had already treated the counter-claim's presence on record as settled, leaving no scope for the Division Bench to reopen the question. Given the procedural progress already made and the need for expeditious disposal, the Court found the Division Bench's interference unjustified and set aside its order.

Lesson Learnt

Procedural rules exist to serve the cause of justice, not to punish litigants for delay; a counter-claim filed late, even years after the written statement, can still be permitted at a court's discretion so long as it comes before the issues in the suit are framed and doesn't disrupt the trial's progress.

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

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