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M/S Garment Craft vs Prakash Chand Goel

Not available · 2022 INSC 37Decided 11 Jan 2022
Not available
Sanjiv Khanna · Bela M. Trivedi

Background

Prakash Chand Goel had sued M/s Garment Craft (a sole proprietorship of Shailendra Garg) in the Delhi courts to recover about Rs.81 lakh. After the plaintiff's evidence concluded, Shailendra Garg was arrested in an unrelated case in Rajasthan and remained in judicial custody for over a year and a half, during which the appellant's defence evidence was closed for non-appearance, and eventually an ex-parte decree was passed against the appellant. The trial court later set aside that ex-parte decree, accepting that Garg's incarceration had genuinely prevented him from contesting the suit, but the Delhi High Court, exercising its supervisory powers under Article 227, reversed that and restored the ex-parte decree.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that the trial court's decision to set aside the ex-parte decree was a well-reasoned finding based on a holistic appreciation of the facts, genuine incarceration of the sole proprietor was a valid "sufficient cause" preventing him from participating in the trial, and this did not call for interference by the High Court under its limited supervisory (not appellate) jurisdiction under Article 227. The Court restored the trial court's order setting aside the ex-parte decree and remitted the matter for the appellant to lead defence evidence, while also directing the appellant to disclose his assets to protect against any attempt to dissipate them, since the earlier decree's enforcement (including a property auction) was rendered void by this order.

Lesson Learnt

A High Court's supervisory jurisdiction under Article 227 is not meant to be used as an ordinary appeal to reassess factual findings. Where a trial court's decision (such as setting aside an ex-parte decree for genuine sufficient cause like incarceration) is reasoned and supported by the record, the High Court should not substitute its own view for it.

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

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