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Saraswati Devi v. Santosh Singh

Civil Appeal · 2025 INSC 715Decided 16 May 2025
Civil Appeal arising out of SLP (C) Nos. 2817-2818 of 2020 (C.A. No. 006902-006903 of 2025)
Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia · Justice K. Vinod Chandran

Background

The appellants' predecessor had obtained a decree in 1988 granting a permanent prohibitory injunction protecting their peaceful possession of certain agricultural land, and cancelling a supplementary sale deed relied on by the defendants. When the appellants (as legal heirs) filed a fresh execution petition, their third, over renewed interference with their possession, the executing court dismissed it, holding that an earlier execution petition had already been closed on "full satisfaction" and that the principle of res judicata barred a new one. The revisional court and the High Court agreed, dismissing the appellants' writ petition.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that the High Court had "clearly misconstrued" the case: the earlier execution petition's satisfaction was recorded only because the judgment-debtors had undertaken not to cause further obstruction. It did not mean the decree was permanently discharged. Since the decree granted a perpetual injunction, the Court held that under the proviso to Article 136 of the Limitation Act, there is no limitation period for enforcing it, and the decree-holder can bring a fresh execution petition whenever a new breach occurs. It set aside the orders of the executing court, revisional court, and High Court, and restored the execution petition for fresh consideration on its merits.

Lesson Learnt

A decree granting a permanent injunction operates indefinitely and can be enforced through a fresh execution petition each time it is freshly violated, satisfying one execution petition for a past breach does not extinguish the decree-holder's right to enforce the same injunction against a later, separate act of interference.

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

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