Suraj Prakash Bhagat v. Bhaveshbhai Nareshchandra Amin

Civil Appeal · 2018 INSC 749Decided 27 Aug 2018
Civil Appeal No. 8708 of 2018
Justice Kurian Joseph · Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul

Background

The appellant had obtained an interim injunction in a civil suit over property, but the Gujarat High Court vacated that injunction and made adverse remarks against the trial judge who had granted it. The appellant challenged this before the Supreme Court. Separately, one of the respondents had also sought to have the underlying civil suit transferred to a different court.

Decision Breakdown

Rather than ruling on whether the injunction should be restored, the Supreme Court recorded that both sides agreed the ongoing disputes over transfer and interim arrangements needed to end so the underlying trial could proceed smoothly. By consent, the Court: (i) expunged the High Court's adverse observations against the trial judge, (ii) directed the suit be transferred from the original court to another court for expeditious disposal, and (iii) directed the parties to maintain status quo regarding the property's title during the pendency of the suit, while leaving either side free to approach the trial court if they wished to transfer the property, to be decided on its own merits. The trial itself was directed to proceed uninfluenced by any prior findings of either court. The appeal was thereby fully and finally disposed of on these consent terms.

Lesson Learnt

Not every appeal is decided by a court adjudicating who is "right": parties can resolve an interim dispute (like an injunction fight) through practical case-management directions agreed between themselves, which the Court can convert into a final, binding order without deciding the merits of the underlying property dispute, which continues to trial separately.

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