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State of West Bengal & Ors. vs Adonis Engineers Co-operative Construction Society Limited

Civil Appeal · 2022 INSC 836Decided 16 Aug 2022
Civil Appeal No. 5293 of 2022
Uday Umesh Lalit · S. Ravindra Bhat · Sudhanshu Dhulia

Background

The Calcutta High Court, while admitting the State's first appeal against a money decree, had directed the State to deposit the entire decretal amount together with interest with the Registrar General before the appeal could be heard. The State challenged this condition in the Supreme Court. Earlier, by an interim order, the Supreme Court had already directed the State to deposit Rs. 45 lakh, which had been complied with.

Decision Breakdown

The only question before the Court was whether the High Court's requirement to deposit the full decretal sum with interest should stand, or whether the Rs. 45 lakh already deposited was sufficient compliance. The Court held that, on the facts, deposit of Rs. 45 lakh met the ends of justice and substituted this amount for the High Court's "full amount" direction. Since this condition was already satisfied, the Court asked the High Court to now take up and decide the pending first appeal on its merits, preferably within three months. The Court clarified it had decided only the pre-deposit question, leaving all other issues open for the High Court.

Lesson Learnt

Courts can moderate onerous pre-deposit conditions imposed as a precondition to hearing an appeal, and a partial deposit already made can be treated as sufficient compliance so that the substantive appeal is not held up indefinitely.

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

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