Choudappa & Anr. vs Choudappa since Deceased by Lrs. & Ors.

Held: The Court of first instance while passing the judgment and order dated 12.07.1973 had specifically stated for holding an inquiry regarding mesne profits from the date of the suit i.e., 24.09.1963 in accordance with Order XX Rule 12, CPC – Such an inquiry is nothing but a continuation of the suit and is in the nature of preparation of the final decree and as such, it cannot be said that any application moved as a reminder for completing the inquiry is barred by limitation or is liable to be dismissed on the ground of delay or laches – It is settled that in a situation where no limitation stands provided either by specific applicability of the Limitation Act or by the special statute governing the dispute, the Trial Court must undertake a holistic assessment of the facts and circumstances of the case to examine the possibility of delay – When no limitation stands prescribed, it would be inappropriate for a Court to supplement the legislature’s wisdom by its own and provide a limitation – No limitation as an absolute rule could be provided in such matters and it depends upon the facts and circumstances of each case whether the proceedings have been initiated in a fairly reasonable time – In the instant case, the two Courts below having held that the proceedings are not barred by limitation and that actually the proceedings are not in the nature of a fresh proceedings, rather than a continuation of the old suit in the form of a preparation of the final decree – No fault can be found in the said decisions. [Paras 12, 13, 15, 16, 17]