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Nilesh Mansukhlal Patel & Anr. v. Mukesh Mansukhlal Kohtari & Ors.

Civil Appeal · 2018 INSC 1080Decided 20 Nov 2018
Civil Appeal No. 3326 of 2016
Justice Kurian Joseph · Justice Deepak Gupta · Justice Hemant Gupta

Background

The appellants challenged an order dated 07.08.2012 passed by the Bombay High Court in a Notice of Motion filed within a Criminal Contempt Petition, itself arising out of an Arbitration Petition from 2003. The underlying dispute between the parties had thus been winding through arbitration, contempt, and appellate proceedings for well over a decade by the time it reached the Supreme Court.

Decision Breakdown

While the appeals were pending before the Supreme Court, the parties resolved their dispute amicably and presented signed Consent Terms dated 02.11.2018 to the Court. The Supreme Court took the Consent Terms on record, directed that they form part of the decree, modified the impugned High Court order accordingly, and disposed of both connected appeals (Civil Appeal Nos. 3326 and 3327 of 2016) strictly in terms of the settlement reached between the parties.

Lesson Learnt

Parties remain free to settle even long-running litigation at any stage, including while an appeal is pending in the Supreme Court, once filed as signed Consent Terms, such a settlement is simply incorporated into the Court's decree, bringing the dispute to a swift and binding end.

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

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