Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 – O. XXIII, r.3-A and s.96(3) – High Court disposed of the second appeal in terms of the alleged compromise arrived at between the parties and decreed the suit – Review application filed by appellants, dismissed – Held: High Court did not examine the plea of the appellants properly keeping in view the facts alleged in the application and observed that the appellants are free to take recourse to other legal remedies – O. XXIII, r.3-A bars filing of the suit, while s.96(3) prohibits filing of any appeal, thus, legislative intent does not allow the parties to take recourse to these legal remedies to challenge the compromise once it is arrived at in the suit/appeal – Order passed in review petition set aside – Matter remanded to High Court for deciding the review application afresh.
Partly allowing the appeal, the Court
HELD: 1.1 The appellants are permitted to file an application before the High Court for amending their review petition, filed in disposed of second appeal, raising all their grievances against the manner in which the second appeal came to be disposed of in the light of alleged compromise, to enable the High Court to decide the review petition afresh. In this case, this course is followed keeping in view the bar contained in Order
23 Rule 3-A of the CPC for filing the suit in a case of this nature and also another bar created under Section 96 (3) of the CPC, which prohibits filing of any appeal, though in this case it does not apply because the dispute arose in second appeal filed under Section 100 of the CPC. The legislative intent does not allow the parties to take recourse to these legal remedies to challenge the compromise once it is arrived at in the suit/appeal. The only exception being if the challenge is founded on the ground of fraud committed by the parties in obtaining any judicial orders, the suit, in appropriate case, may lie. [Paras 6-8] [1054-E-H; 1055-A]
1.2 In this case, the High Court did not examine the plea of the appellants properly keeping in view the facts alleged in the application and while negativing the attack observed that the appellants are free to take recourse to any other legal remedies. Since the second appeal was disposed of affecting the rights of the parties in the light of compromise, the proper forum to reexamine the issue is the High Court, which disposed of the second appeal rather than any other forum to examine the issue at this stage. It is more so when the High Court did not go into the details in the proceedings filed by the appellants in its correct perspective. [Para 9] [1055-B-C]
1.3 The impugned order passed in Review Petition is set aside and the High Court is requested to decide the matter afresh on merits in accordance with law. The appellants are at liberty to amend the review petition or/and file fresh application raising all legally permissible grounds to attack the order impugned therein. The respondents too are at liberty to raise objections in accordance with law. [Paras 11, 13] [1055-D-E, F-G]
As published in the Supreme Court Reports, Supreme Court of India. Text from the Indian Supreme Court Judgments open data set (Dattam Labs), CC BY 4.0.
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