Vurimi Pullarao S/O Satyanarayana v. Vemari Vyankata Radharani W/O Dhankoteshwarrao & Anr.
Background
A buyer under an agreement to sell agricultural land in Maharashtra first filed only a suit for injunction when the seller refused to execute the sale deed and tried to obstruct his possession, even though that plaint itself stated he intended to later sue for specific performance. He later filed a separate suit for specific performance of the sale agreement without ever seeking the court's leave to split his reliefs. The trial court, first appellate court (after conflicting views and a remand), and the Bombay High Court in second appeal all ultimately held the second suit barred under Order 2 Rule 2 of the CPC, which generally requires a plaintiff to claim all reliefs arising from one cause of action in a single suit unless leave is obtained to omit some.
Decision Breakdown
The Supreme Court held that the earlier injunction suit and the later specific-performance suit arose from the same cause of action (the same agreement to sell, the same payment of earnest money, and the same refusal to perform), and since the buyer admittedly never sought leave of court to omit the specific-performance relief from the earlier suit, the bar under Order 2 Rule 2(3) applied. The Court distinguished the Constitution Bench ruling in Gurbux Singh v. Bhooralal (which required the earlier plaint to be proved in evidence) because here the certified copy of the earlier plaint had in fact been placed on record, admitted without objection, and relied upon by both sides, so no prejudice resulted. The Court therefore upheld the dismissal of the specific-performance suit, but exercised its special constitutional power under Article 142 to direct the seller to refund, with 9% interest, the earnest money and the further sale consideration the buyer had deposited in court, so that the buyer was not left without any remedy for the money he had paid.
Lesson Learnt
If you may need more than one legal remedy arising from the same set of facts (e.g., both an injunction and specific performance), you must either claim them together in one suit or formally seek the court's permission to sue separately later: otherwise a later suit for the omitted relief can be permanently barred, even if the court still ensures some monetary fairness is restored.