- Bookmark
- Share
- CaseIQ
Kalapu Pala Subrahmanayam Petitioner (Petitioner) v. Tiguti Venkata Peddiraju & Others S, (S).
Factual and Procedural Background
The petitioner, plaintiff in O.P No. 62 of 1965 before the Sub-Court, Kakinada, filed a suit informa pauperis for recovery of possession of properties listed in plaint A to C schedules. The trial court initially rejected the petitioner's application to sue as a pauper, a decision upheld by the High Court on revision. Subsequently, the petitioner limited his claim to a half share and paid the requisite court fee. Later, by an order dated 25-2-1969, the Subordinate Judge held the suit barred by limitation in respect of specified items of the plaint and rejected those portions. The petitioner challenged this decision by filing the present revision petition.
Legal Issues Presented
- Whether the suit is barred by limitation with respect to various items of the plaint as held by the Subordinate Judge.
- Whether the trial court was correct in partially rejecting the plaint rather than rejecting it entirely.
- Whether the relief concerning item 4 of plaint B schedule should be treated as a proceeding under Section 47 of the Civil Procedure Code.
Arguments of the Parties
Petitioner's Arguments
- The petitioner contended that the suit was not barred by limitation.
- It was argued that the petitioner was away in Hyderabad in 1958 and only became aware of the alleged fraud in obtaining decrees and execution proceedings in 1965, thus the limitation period should be counted from that time.
- The petitioner relied on Article 65 of the Limitation Act to support the timeliness of the suit.
Court Below's Position (as summarized by the petitioner)
- The court held that the suit was barred by limitation for most items, applying Article 113 of the Limitation Act as the proper provision, not Article 65.
- The court found that the dates of dispossession given by the petitioner indicated that limitation had expired.
- The court permitted a partial rejection of the plaint, allowing the suit to proceed on some items and directing an application under Section 47 CPC for one item.
Table of Precedents Cited
| Precedent | Rule or Principle Cited For | Application by the Court |
|---|---|---|
| Appa Rao v. Secy. of State | Rejection of plaint must be entire, not partial | Affirmed the principle that partial rejection of plaint is impermissible, supporting rejection of plaint as a whole |
| Venkata Rangaiah v. Secy. of State | Rejection of plaint must be entire, not partial | Followed in Appa Rao; held that partial rejection is not allowed under CPC rules |
| Raghubans Puri v. Jyotis Swarupu | Interpretation of Section 54 of old CPC (now O.7 R.11 CPC) regarding rejection of plaint | Clarified that the rule mandates rejection of the entire plaint if defects exist, no partial rejection |
| Ramanna v. Nallaparaju | Proper remedy for certain claims may be under Section 47 CPC | Court noted this precedent but found it unnecessary to decide the issue due to the dismissal of the revision petition |
Court's Reasoning and Analysis
The court analyzed the limitation aspect by comparing the dates of dispossession provided in the plaint with the date of filing the suit. It concluded that for most items, the suit was barred by limitation under Article 113 of the Limitation Act, rejecting the petitioner's reliance on Article 65. The court found the petitioner's argument about delayed knowledge of fraud irrelevant as dispossession occurred years earlier. Regarding the partial rejection of the plaint by the lower courts, the court emphasized established legal principles that a plaint cannot be partially rejected; it must be rejected in its entirety if liable to be rejected. The court relied on authoritative precedents interpreting Order 7 Rule 11 of the CPC to support this position. Consequently, the court set aside the partial rejection orders and directed a full rejection of the plaint.
Holding and Implications
The revision petition is dismissed, but the order of the lower court partially rejecting the plaint is set aside. The plaint is to be rejected in its entirety.
This decision directly affects the parties by terminating the suit due to limitation and procedural irregularity in partial rejection of the plaint. The court did not establish any new legal precedent but reaffirmed existing principles concerning limitation and the procedural requirement for rejection of plaints.
1. The petitioner is the plaintiff in O.P No. 62 of 1965, Sub-Court, Kakinada, a suit filed informa pauperis for recovery of possession of plaint A to C schedule properties. The Court below by its order d/2-3-1958 held that he had means to pay and rejected his application to sue informa pauperis This order was confirmed by the High Court in Revision and thereafter, the petitioner restricted his right only to a half share and paid a court-fee of Rs. 2,602/-.
2. Again, by his order d/25-2-1969 the learned Subordinate Judge held that the suit was barred by time in respect of items 1, 2(a), 2(b), 2(c) and 3(a) of plaint B schedule and items 1 and 2(a) of plaint C schedule. He, therefore, rejected the plaint to respect of those items.
3. As far as items 4 of plaint B Schedule was concerned, he directed the plaintiff to file an application to treat the relief regarding item 4 as one filed under Sec. 47 CPC. The plaintiff has filed the above revision petition. The main contention of the petitioner is that the court below erred in holding that the suit was barred by limitation. The case of the plaintiff regarding most of the items is that the properties were brought to sale in execution proceedings and possession was taken by various defendants on various dates. Except in regard to item 3(b) and 4 of B schedule and 2(b) of C schedule in all other cases the date of dispossession is more than three years prior to the date of the suit even according to the plaintiff who has given the dates of dispossession in the plaint itself with regard to each of these Items. The Court below was therefore, right in holding that even taking the averments in the plaint into consideration the suit was barred by time in respect of those items. In the order it is pointed out that the learned counsel for the petitioner was not in a position to say that the suit is in time. Even here the learned counsel for the petitioner was not able to satisfy me as to how the suit would be in time. In view of the case set out in the plaint that the properties were brought to sale and purchased in court auction and the plaintiff was dispossessed, it is obvious that Article 65 of the Limitation Act which is referred to in the grounds of Appeal has no application and that the proper article applicable is Article 113.
4. It was then argued that the suit is within time as the plaintiff was away in Hyderabad in 1958 and came to know of the fraud in obtaining of the decrees and in the execution proceedings only in May and June, 1965. This is not a relevant circumstance as according to his own case he was dispossessed on various dates in 1953, 1957, 1960 and so on. In the result, the court below was right in holding that the suit appeared to be barred by law (the law of limitation) as far as these items are concerned.
5. The Court, however, rejected the plaint only in respect of some of these items in regard to which it was of the view that the suit was barred by limitation and permitted the plaintiff to proceed with the suit in regard to other items and in respect of one item to file an application to convert it into a proceeding under Section 47 C.P.C This procedure, in my view, is not warranted. When a court considers that a plaint is liable to be rejected in respect of a part, it is incumbent on the court to reject the plaint as a whole. It has no jurisdiction to reject the plaint in part and permit the suit to be continued with regard to the rest. This has been laid down in a number of cases, of which reference may be made only to Appa Rao v. Secy. of State(1) affirming the decision in Venkata Rangaiah v. Secy. of State(2) In Venkata Rangaiah v. Secy. of State Sundaram Chetty, J. following the decision in Raghubans Puri v. Jyotis Swarupu(3) observed as follows:—
“It is not clear how there can be a partial rejection of the plaint in respect of a portion of the claim or as regards some of the parties. A similar question was considered by the Allahabad High Court in the Case reported in Raghubans Puri v. Jyotis Swarupu referring to S. 54 of the old Civil Procedure Code. The learned Judge states that Section only provides for the rejection of a plaint in the event of any matters specified in that section not being complied with and it does not justify the rejection of any particular portion of a plaint. S. 54 now corresponds to O. 7, R. 11 C.P.C The plain meaning of that rule seems to bed that if any of the defects mentioned therein is found to exist in any case the plaint shall be rejected as a whole. It does not imply any reservation in the matter of the rejection of the plaint”.
6. The Bench which heard the appeal against this judgment agreed with this view and stated “that provision (O. 7 R. 11) rejects the whole plaint and not any particular part of the plaint”. Therefore, in the instant case, the court should have rejected the plaint as a whole. It is true, that the defendants have not questioned the order of the lower court rejecting the plaint only in part and not rejecting it in its entirety. But as the matter has been brought to the notice of this Court in proceedings under Section 115 CPC and as I am of the view that the entire plaint ought to have been rejected I direct the rejection of the entire plaint and not merely in part as has been done by the Courts
7. In this view it is unnecessary to go into the further question whether a suit lies in respect of some of the items or whether the proper remedy is by way of an application under Section 47 CPC in view of the decision of the Supreme Court in Ramanna v. Nallaparaju(4)
8. The revision petition is dismissed, but as stated above, the order of the Court below is set aside and the plaint will be rejected in its entirety.
9. There will be no order as to costs.
Alert