Interlocutory Applications, in particular ABJ, Section 47 CPC and Execution Applications under Order 21 CPC by Thiru. S. Parthasarathy, Senior Advocate, High Court, Madras Lecture delivered on 10th October 010 at Ta!il "adu State #udicial Acade!y during $e%resher Course %or Civil #udges &#unior 'ivision(
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I have been given a fairly wide Topic and 1 will try to do justice to the same as far as possible within the time granted. First let me address on Interlocutory Application: “Interlocutory” means, means not that decides the cause but which only settles some intervening matter relating to the cause. After the suit is instituted by the the plai plaint ntif ifff and and befo before re it is fina finall lly y disp dispos osed ed off, off, the the cour courtt may may mae mae interlocutory orders as may appear to the court to be just and convenient. The power to grant Interlocutory orders can be traced to !ection "# of $.%.$. !ection "# summarises general powers of a civil court in regard to different types of Interlocutory orders. The detailed procedure has been set out in the I !chedule of the $.%.$ which deals with &rders and 'ules. Inte Interl rloc ocut utor ory y orde orders rs may may tae tae vario various us shap shapes es depe depend ndin ing g upon upon the the re(u re(uir irem emen entt of the the resp respec ecti tive ve part partie ies s durin during g the the pend penden ency cy of the the suit suit.. Appli Applica cati tion ons s
for for
appo appoin intm tmen entt
of
$omm $o mmis issi sion oner er,,
Temp Tempor orar ary y
'eceivers, payment into court, security for cause, and etc.
1
Inju Injunc ncti tion ons, s,
&ut of these various interlocutory orders that can be passed, the court is called upon to decide (uestions regarding grant of temporary injunction, receivers and commissions more fre(uently than other interim orders. Therefore I am taing up the (uestion of Temporary Injunctions under the provisions of &rder )" 'ule 1 to * $%$ for an elaborate discussions+ As you now, injunctions are two types, 1-”Temporary” and ”%ermanent”. A %ermanent Injunction, restrains a party for ever from doing the specified act and the same can be granted only on merits at the conclusion of the trial after hearing both the parties to the suit. It is governed by !ections )/ to # of the !pecific 'elief Act, 1"0). A temporary or interim injunction on the other hand restrains a party temporarily from doing the specified act and can be granted until the disposal of suit. It is regulated by the provisions of &rder )" of the $ode of $ivil %rocedure and it may be granted at any stage of the suit. Injunctions are preventive, prohibitive or restrictive i.e. when they prevent, prohibit or restraint some one from doing some thing or mandatory, i.e. when they compel, command or orders some persons to do some thing. It is not the plaintiff alone who can apply for Interim Injunction. A defendant can also mae an application for grant of an injunction against the plaintiff. Injunction may be issued only against a party and not against a stranger or )rd party. The various circumstances under which the Temporary Injunction can be granted has been provided for under &rder )" 'ule 1 $.%.$.
The power to grant temporary injunction is at the discretion of the court. The discretion however should be eercised reasonably, judiciously and on sound legal principles. Injunction should not be lightly granted as it adversely affects the other side. The grant of injunction is in the nature of e(uitable relief and the court has undoubtedly power to impose such terms and conditions as it thins fit. A useful reference can be made to the judgment of the Ape $ourt in “DALPATKUMAR
AND
OT!R"
#"$
PRAALAD
"IN% AND OT!R"& reported in '(() *'+ ",, -'(&$
The circumstances
under which Interlocutory mandatory injunction could be granted has been dealt with in “DORA. ,A/A"0I /ARD!N #"$ ,OOMI "ORA. /ARD!N AND OT!R" reported in '((1 *)+ ",, ''-&$ A useful reference can also been made to “%LA2O
"MITKLIN!
,ON"UM!R
!ALT,AR!
LIMIT!D3
R!%I"T!R!D
OFFI,!3 %R%AON TROU% IT" MANA%IN% DIR!,TOR AND OT!R" #"$ ALl "TOR!" TROU% IT" PROPRI!TOR "$M$A.DUL %ANI reported in )11( *4+ ML0 456&$ It is aiomatic that the court before granting temporary injunction has to ascertain whether the applicant has made out a prima facie case in support of the right claimed by him. The court must be satisfied that there is a bonafide dispute raised by the applicant that there is a strong case for trial and there must be degree of probability that the applicant would be entitled to get relief claimed in the suit. A useful reference can be made to ”MARTIN .URN Ltd$ vs. '.2.3A24'544 reported in AIR '(64 ", -(&$ &nce the eistence of prima facie case is made out the court should analy6e the nd condition vi6., the irreparable injury. &nly if the applicant would suffer irreparable injury if interim injunction is not granted then the injunction can be granted. The court must be satisfied that the refusal of injunction would result )
in irreparable injury to the party seeing injunction. This position is made clear in the case of “A""I"TANT ,OLL!,TOR OF ,!NTRAL !2,I"!3 ,ANDAN NA%AR3 /!"T .!N%AL #"$ DUNLOP INDIA LTD$ AND OT!R" in AIR '(46 ", 771&$ The third condition for granting Interim Injunction is the balance of convenience must be in favour of the applicant. The balance of convenience test must be clearly in favour of the applicant for granting an Interim Injunction order. This is made clear by the “A""I"TANT ,OLL!,TOR OF ,!NTRAL !2,I"!3 ,ANDAN NA%AR3 /!"T .!N%AL #"$ DUNLOP INDIA LTD$ AND OT!R" repoted in A$I$R$ '(46 ", 771&$ T8ou98 it is a case arising out of interim order in a 7rit %etition, the position is no different when it comes to grant of temporary injunction. The power to grant injunction is etra ordinary in nature and it has to be eercised cautiously with circumspection. I would re(uest all of you assembled here to eep in mind the principles enunciated in “"I# KUMAR ,ADA #"$ MUNI,IPAL ,ORPORATION OF D!LI reported in '((7 *7+ ",, ''&$ 8rant of injunction is “edebito 5ustitiae”, i.e. to meet the ends of justice. 9aving said about the temporary injunction, I would be failing in my duty if do not epatiate on the matters which have to be ept in mind while granting injunction eparte before notice to the opposite party. I may invite your attention to the proviso contained in &rder )" 'ule ) ,$P$,$ The procedure prescribed therein has to be strictly followed. 8rant of 4parte injunction is an eception and the notice before injunction is the rule. This aspect of granting an eparte injunction should be in compliance with the proviso to 'ule ) of &rder )". In !hiv :umar $hadha;s case mentioned above, the Ape $ourt has ruled that this re(uirement of recording of reasons as set out in proviso to 'ule ) of #
&rder )" is obligatory. 3ecause %arliament has prescribed particular mode for passing of an order of injunction without notice to the other side under eceptional circumstances. Therefore before grant of 4parte Injunction, reasons have to be recorded and the court must be satisfied about the gravity of the situation and the court must set out briefly the reasons why it is granting an eparte injunction. The court can also impose conditions for the grant of interim relief. If injunction is granted on insufficient ground then ultimately if suit fails, the plaintiff can be directed to pay such amount not eceeding 's.*<,<<<=> as damages to the defendant. This is made clear in !ection
"*
of $.%.$. 'ecently
the Ape $ourt had an occasion to deal with imposition of costs in veatious, frivolous, malicious or speculative litigation. This decision is reported in “#INOD "!T #"$ D!#IND!R .A0A0 ; ANOT!R )1'1 *4+ ",, Pa9e 1”. This 5udgment deals with the nature of order that can be passed at the Interlocutory stage and what sort of conditions can be imposed.
Let me it8 Appointment o= Recei?ers:
The term “'eceiver” is not defined in the code of $ivil %rocedure. 'eceiver is an impartial person appointed by the court to collect and receive pending the proceedings, the rents, profits of lands, which it does not seem reasonable to the court with either party to collect or receive. A 'eceiver is appointed to receive and preserve the property or fund in litigation pendente lite, when it does not seem reasonable to the court when either party should hold it. It is a protective relief. The object is preservation of property in dispute pending judicial determination of the rights of the parties to it. The principles that are to *
be ept in mind are that the court must be satisfied whether the plaintiff has an ecellent chance of succeeding in the suit. 8enerally an order appointing 'eceiver will not be made where it would have the effect of depriving the defendant of the defacto possession. If the property is in medio i.e. to say in enjoyment of no one it would be in common interest of all the parties to appoint a receiver. In eceptional circumstances the court for special reasons to be recorded appoint a party to the suit as receiver. A useful reference may be made to the decision reported in “T$KRI"NA"AM@ ,!TT@ #"$ ,$TAN%A#!LU ,!TT@ AND OT!R" > AIR '(66 MAD 571&$ An interlocutory proceedings have to be decided eeping in view of the 'ules made under the $ivil 'ules of %ractice particularly 'ules " to ) of $ivil 'ules of %ractice which govern the procedure. The court has to adhere to the procedure prescribed therein. No> comin9 to t8e eecution3 no> I 8a?e
0
- That the disposal is with the intention of obstructing or delaying the eecution of any decree that may be passed against him. The 'ules or the grounds upon which the attachment before judgment is adumbrated in &rder )/ 'ule
*
,$P$,$ In &rder )/ 'ule
*
$.%.$., sub clause 1- is
very important and if attachment before judgment order is passed without complying the provisions of &rder )/ 'ule
*
!ub clause 1-, such attachment is
void. A useful reference to the following decisions will be of great assistance to all of you as number of money suits will come up for trial and applications will be moved to secure attachment of properties of the defendant before judgment. The first in the series of judgment is “AIR '(45 MADRA" -1 N$PAPPAMMAL #"$ ,IDAM.ARAM& In this judgment the Badras 9igh $ourt had set out the essential re(uirements for invoing the power of court to effect an attachment under &rder )/ 'ule
*
sub rule 1-. The 9igh $ourt has clearly pointed out that
in view of the &rder )/ 'ule
*
!ub 'ule #- an attachment before judgment
indiscriminately without notice giving an opportunity to the defendant to stave of the attachment by offer of security and without rigidly conforming to the re(uirement of !ub 'ule 1- would be invalid. All of you would do well to go through the said judgment. !imilarly the following judgments further clarify the need to be careful while dealing with the application under &rder )/ 'ule
C
*
$.%.$.
“T$"RINI#A"AN AND ANOT!R #"$ #C"RINI#A"AN R!PORT!D IN AIR '(46 p9 )( MADRA"& AND “P$RAMA"AM@ #"$ "RI DANDA@UTAPANI FINAN,!3 "ANKARI3 R!PORT!D IN AIR '(4 71 MADRA"& As far as the mode of maing an attachment before judgment it shall be in the same manner as prescribed for the attachment of property in eecution of a decree. It would mean that the provision contained in &rder 1 'ule
*#
$.%.$.
has to be followed. And as per &rder )/ 'ule 11b- 9igh $ourt Amendment Badras which in effect is that the, order of attachment passed under 'ule
*
or 0
of the orders of raising the attachment passed under 'ule " to be communicated to the 'egistering &ffice within the limits of the jurisdiction the whole or any part of the immovable comprised in such order is situate. As
per
the
provisions
of
&rder
)/
'ule
/-
where
any
claim is preferred to the property attached before judgment, such claim shall be adjudicated in the same manner as provided under &rder 1 'ule */ of $.%.$. Another illuminating judgment on the aspect of &rder )/ 'ule * and 0 is the 5udgment of $alcutta 9igh $ourt in “PR!MRA0 #"$ Md$ MAN!,K %AEI ; OT!R" R!PORT!D IN AIR '(6' ,AL$ 1*0.” A use=ul re=erence can also
the court can order the conditional attachment be made absolute. As set out above in AIR '(45 BA?'A! C< N$PAPPAMMAL #" L$,IDAM.ARAM the order of the court was in the following version+ “9eard. Interim attachment and notice 1< th Eebruary 1"/. 4ven on / th day of Eebruary 1"/ the defendant has filed his counter and ready for en(uiry on 1
*
had not been complied with as notice was not issued in the proper form.
Therefore the court has to tae care the proper notice is to be served as per the Eorm 2o.* or 0 or C or CA to Appendi E of the code of $ivil %rocedure. The 5udgment reported in “K$0ayalaBs8mi #s$ "$M$Mut8ia8 '(4( I La> /eeBly pa9e 65(” has set out the manner in which the order of conditional attachment can be passed even without notice. The court cannot pass a rolled up order in the following manner” “9eard counsel, perused documents. 2otice to respondent to order security for 's.*<,<<<=>, failing which to attach by 11 th Barch 1"/0”. If conditional attachment has to be passed the defendant has to be directed to furnish security and thereafter interim conditional attachment can be "
passed if the defendant did not furnish security or show cause why attachment cannot be made then the attachment can be made absolute.
Attachment before judgment can also be ordered in respect of the property situate outside the jurisdiction of the court in such a case the procedure under !ection 1)0 of $.%.$. has to be followed.
3efore I tae up !ection #C $%$ it is necessary to deal with some provisions under &rder 1 $.%.$. It is aiomatic that in India woes of the decree holder begins after the decree. The provisions contained in !ections *1 to C# deal with the substantive law relating to eecution and the procedural aspects is taen care of in &rder 1 'ules 1 to 1<0. And %art of $.%.$. commencing from !ections )0 to #0 deal with eecution in general and section #C is a separate provision which deals with the (uestions that arise between the parties to the suit in which the decree was passed, or their representatives, and relating to the eecution, discharge or satisfaction of the decree, shall be determined by the court eecuting the decree and not by a separate suit. This is relevant because after the decree the eecuting court cannot decide matters which have became final and which ought to have raised in the suit. As far as !ection *1 of $.%.$. is concerned, the various modes of eecution of the decree are given. The decree would be either for recovery of money, delivery of property, injunction or specific performance. Eor all of them procedures are contained in order 1 'ule 1 to 1<0, !ection #C is a common provision. If a matter relates to eecution, discharge or satisfaction of the decree the same shall be determined by the court eecuting the decree and not by separate suit. This determination is common to the eecution of any ind of decree. Eor an illustration let me tae 1<
enforcement of a money decree. Boney decree can be enforced by attachment of sale or by sale without attachment of any property of judgment debtor. 3y arrest and detention in prison of the judgment debtor. 4ven by appointing a receiver for collection of the money. The eecution is commenced on an application filed under &rder 1 'ule 11 $.%.$. and on such application notice to show cause is issued under &rder 1 'ule of $.%.$. 2ow the application under &rder 1 'ule 11 $.%.$. the mode in which the assistance of the court is re(uired is set out in sub clause 5- of &rder 1 'ule ''*)+ ,$P$,$ I= the recovery is sought for by arrest and detention in civil prison, provisions contained under &rder 1 'ule )C to #< have to be followed. In AIR '(41 ", 5-13 t8e "upreme ,ourt held that there no order of arrest can be made unless there is willful failure inspite of sufficient means. In fact !ection *1 of the $ode of $ivil %rocedure clearly sets out that only if the judgment debtor had the means to pay the decree and inspite of such means has neglected to pay the amount, then the order of arrest can be ordered. Therefore the court must tae evidence whether the judgment debtor has means to pay the decree amount or not. The court should also have in mind the provisions of !ection ** to
*/
of
$.%.$.
3efore order of arrest and detention in prison is made, courts should give an opportunity to judgment debtor for showing cause as to why he should not be committed to prison for reasons to be recorded in writing is satisfied of any re(uirement prescribed under code vide M$M$"AL!!M #"$ R$PRA#!!N KUMAR R!DD@ )1'1 *6+ ,T, 5( If the mode of recovery by attachment of property, it is important to eep in mind, the section 0< of $.%.$. and the procedure contained in &rder 1 'ule *#
in case of attachment of immovable property and thereafter under &rder 1
'ule 0# to C) in case of sale generally and &rder 1 'ule / to "0 as well. 2ow 11
after filing of the application for eecution, the decree holder shall specify the property that has to be sold for reali6ing the decree amount. The property shall be first attached under &rder 1 'ule
*#
$.%.$. and thereafter by resort to 'ule
00 %roclamation for the sale can be drawn up and this has to be done after notice to the decree holder and to the judgment debtor. The proclamation will contain the particulars mentioned in order 1 'ule 00 sub rule - of $.%.$. &nce the proclamation is drawn up it shall be published in the same manner as prescribed under 'ule
*#.
The procedure under &rder l 'ule 0/ of $.%.$.
regarding the time of sale has to be followed. %rovision has been made under 'ule 0" of &rder 1 of $.%.$. regarding adjournment or stoppage of sale. If for any reason sale is adjourned beyond )< days a fresh proclamation under 'ule 0C should be published unless the judgment debtor consents to waive it. A decree holder cannot bid or purchase without permission of court under &rder 1 'ule C $.%.$. In certain circumstances as per &rder 1 'ule /) $.%.$. the sale can be postponed to enable the judgment debtor to raise the amount of the decree. As per &rder 1 'ule /# of $.%.$. the successful purchaser should deposit the
*F
of the sale amount on the date of the auction and if he fails to
do, the property shall be resold. The full payment of purchase money should be paid before the court closes on the 1* th day from date of the sale of property as per &rder 1 'ule /* $.%.$. This rule is mandatory. As regards setting aside the court auction sale, resort can be had as per order 1 'ule /", "< or !ection #C $.%.$. As far as order 1 'ule /" $.%.$. is concerned a sale is set aside on the deposit of the amounts mentioned therein. The amount has to be deposited within 0< days from the date of auction as per order 1 'ule " sub clause - of $.%.$. If there has been a material irregularity 1
or fraud in publishing or conducting a sale, the same can be (uestioned by applying under order 1 'ule "< of $%$. The sale will be set aside on the ground that the applicant has suffered substantial injury by the reasons of such irregularity or fraud. An application under this rule can be entertained only if the applicant has taen up defects subse(uent to proclamation of sale was drawn up. The absence of defects in attachment by itself would not be a ground for setting aside the sale. 3ut however, the court auction sale can be set aside for any illegality which had arisen in the sale prior to the proclamation of the sale by resorting to an application under !ection #C of $.%.$. 7hether the objection fall under !ection #C or &rder 1 'ule "< the same have to be construed by the court depending upon the objection taen. In this respect reference may be made to AIR '(4' ", (7 "$A$ "UNDARARA0AN #" A$P$RA0!NDRAN "ee also AIR '((1 MAD )) ; AIR '((( A$P$ 66 If the sale itself is nullity as the property was brought to sale even without proper notice under &rder 1 'ule of $.%.$. to the judgment debtor then it can be challenged under !ection #C $.%.$. In case of ecessive eecution as it is mandatory for the court to sell only such portion of the property, i.e. necessary for the discharge of the decree amount the sale of more property in ecess of re(uirement can be called in (uestion under !ection #C r=w &rder 1 'ules 0# D 00-a-. Gide@> i- "ai !nterprises H ?s .8imreddy Lamaia8 ; anot8er )11-),T,4)3 ii+$ K$0$PraBas8 Kumar ; ot8ers G?s Ras8eeda @asin ; ANOT!R )11() L$/$ 7-6
If the 5udgment debtor had epressed no objection while fiing the upset price, he is entitled to object the court on a later date contenting that the 1)
maret value of the property is scanty. Gide H )1'1 *7+ ,T,$$ ,ANDIRA G#" "U.RAMANIAN 4ecutability of decree can be challenged under !ection #C GI?4 i+ )11' ",,$ P9$ 6753 DURANDAR PRA"AD "IN%#" 0AI PRAKA" UNI#!R"IT@ ; OT!R"$ ii+ A$I$R$ '(65 ", 7513 KIRAN "IN% - OT!R" G#",AMAN PA"/AN ; OT!R"$ iii+ A$I$R$ '(-1 ", '5-6 #A"UD!# DAN0I.AI MODI #" RA0A.AI A.DUL R!MAN ; OT!R"$ i?+ A$I$R$ '(-- ", ')1'$ "UND!R .A"" G#" RAM PARKA" If the court which passed the decree was incompetent *#ID! )1'1 *5+ ,T, )(( T$K$A@U. #"$ MOAMM!D ANIF AND T/O OT!R"+ and is “coram non judice” such a decree is a nullity and it can be challenged in eecution under !ection #C $.%.$. To declare auction sale a nullity on the ground that the deposit was not made on the date of sale was held to be one under !ection #C ,$P$,$ AIR '(", '755 *RAM,AND "P%$ AND /#%$ MILL" #"$ .I0LI ,OTTON MILL" *P+ LTD$ ; OT!R"+
1#
