Telangana High Court
R Praveen Kumar vs Padmaja Enterprises on 6 December, 2021
THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE A. VENKATESHWARA REDDY
Tr. C.M.P.Nos.174, 175, 176 and 177 of 2019
COMMON ORDER:
1. Transfer Civil Miscellaneous Petition No.174 of 2019 is filed by the petitioner under Section 24 of the Civil Procedure Code seeking transfer of the Appeal Suit in AS No.29 of 2017 pending on the file of the learned I Additional Chief Judge, City Civil Court at Secunderabad, to this Court to be heard along with CCCA No.248 of 2017.
2. Tr.C.M.P.No.175 of 2019 is filed for transfer of AS No.30 of 2017 pending on the file of the learned I Additional Chief Judge, City Civil Court at Secunderabad, to this Court, to be heard along with CCCA No.248 of 2017.
3. Tr.C.M.P.No.176 of 2019 is filed for transfer of AS No.38 of 2017 pending on the file of the learned XII Additional Chief Judge, City Civil Court at Secunderabad, to this Court to be heard along with CCCA No.248 of 2017.
4. Tr.C.M.P.No.177 of 2019 is filed for transfer of AS No.31 of 2017 pending on the file of the learned I Additional Chief Judge, City Civil Court at Secunderabad, to this Court to be heard along with CCCA No.248 of 2017.
5. Initially, OS No.475 of 2011 was filed by M. Anurag, the respondent herein against the defendant, the petitioner herein for recovery of suit claim and the suit was decreed. Assailing the judgment and decree in OS No.475 of 2011, AS No.29 of 2017 is filed before the I Additional Chief Judge, Page 2 of 6 AVRJ Tr.CMP Nos.174, 175, 176 & 177 of 2019 City Civil Court at Secunderabad. Now, through the Tr.C.M.P.No.174 of 2019, the defendant has requested to transfer the said AS to this Court to be heard along with CCCA No.248 of 2017.
6. OS No.476 of 2011 was filed by the plaintiff, M/s. Padmaja Enterprises against the defendant/petitioner herein, for recovery of suit claim. The said suit was decreed. The defendant preferred Appeal Suit in AS No.30 of 2017, which is pending on the file of the learned I Additional Chief Judge, Chief Civil Court at Secunderabad.
7. OS No.206 of 2012 is filed by the plaintiff for recovery of suit claim and that suit was decreed. Aggrieved by the said judgment and decree, the first defendant/respondent herein has preferred an appeal, vide AS No.38 of 2017, which is pending before the learned XII Additional Chief Judge, City Civil Court, Secunderabad.
8. OS No.477 of 2011 filed by the plaintiff against the defendant, who is the petitioner herein for recovery of suit claim, was decreed and the defendant has preferred Appeal Suit, vide AS No.31 of 2017, which is pending on the file of the I Addition Chief Judge, City Civil Court at Hyderabad.
9. Whereas, OS No.204 of 2012 filed by the plaintiff against the defendant Nos.1 & 2 on the file of XIX Additional Senior Civil Judge, City Civil Courts, Secunderabad was decreed and based on pecuniary jurisdiction, the defendant No.1 has preferred an appeal before this Court, vide CCCA No.248 of 2017. Similarly, OS No.205 of 2012 filed against Page 3 of 6 AVRJ Tr.CMP Nos.174, 175, 176 & 177 of 2019 the defendants was decreed and an appeal, vide CCCA No.251 of 2017 is preferred before this Court based on pecuniary jurisdiction.
10. In all the transfer petitions, the claim of the petitioner/appellant /defendant is that all the above suits were filed for recovery of money and all the suits were decreed, vide separate judgements and decrees. The mother of the respondent herein by name M. Rajani Shakuntala has preferred two appeals before this Court, vide CCCA Nos.248 of 2017 and CCCA No.251 of 2017 and one appeal in AS No.38 of 2017 before XII Additional Chief Judge, City Civil Courts, Secunderabad, three other appeals, vide AS Nos.29, 30 and 31 of 2017 are pending before the I Additional Chief Judge, City Civil Court at Secunderabad and that all the four appeals may be withdrawn from those Courts and transferred to this Court and to be heard along with CCCA No.248 of 2017 pending on the file of this Court.
11. Whereas, the respondent/plaintiff filed a detailed counter denying the averments of the petition stating that there are no merits in the transfer petitions and that in all the four suits, independent trial was conducted, the parties are overlapping, only because of pecuniary jurisdiction, the appeals were filed before the I Additional and XII Additional Chief Judge Courts, City Civil Courts, Secunderabad, and before this Court. There is no need to transfer the Appeal Suits pending on the file of City Civil Courts to this Court. In the event of transfer, the respondent will lose an opportunity of second appeal and further that the matters before the City Civil Courts are ripen for hearing. In any event, if those matters are disposed of in AS Page 4 of 6 AVRJ Tr.CMP Nos.174, 175, 176 & 177 of 2019 Nos.29, 30, 31 and 38 of 2017, they may be clubbed with the pending first appeals, vide CCCA Nos.248 of 2017.
12. Section 24 of CPC confers general power to transfer and withdrawal of the suits and proceedings by this Court and the District Courts. The language of Section 24 is very wide and there are no restrictions in the way of this Court exercising the said power. It can be exercised by the Court either on the application of any of the party or on its own motion and at any stage of the suit.
13. Here in the case on hand, though the parties either one and the same or overlapping in some of suits in OS Nos.475, 476 and 477 of 2011 and OS Nos.204, 205 and 206 of 2012 independent trial was conducted in these suits, evidence was recorded separately and all those suits were decreed, and the appeals were preferred, as stated above. During pendency of the original suits, no such request was made either for transfer of all the matters to one Court, or for recording common evidence. As per the judgments in all the suits, it is clear that evidence was separately recorded, separate documents are exhibited, though at a time some witnesses are examined. At this stage, when the appeals are pending before various Courts in the Unit of City Civil Courts, Hyderabad and before this Court, the petitioners have come up with a request to withdraw those appeals and to hear along with CCCA No.248 of 2017.
14. As rightly objected by the learned counsel for the respondent/ plaintiff, in the event of withdrawal of those appeals pending on the file of the I Addl. Chief Judge, City Civil Court, Secunderabad or XII Addl. Chief Page 5 of 6 AVRJ Tr.CMP Nos.174, 175, 176 & 177 of 2019 Judge, City Civil Court, Secunderabad, the respondents/ defendants will lose an opportunity of second appeal, since the first appeals are pending before the I Addl. Chief Judge, City Civil Court, Secunderabad and XII Addl. Chief Judge, City Civil Court, Secunderabad. Though the subject matter may be common or connected with CCCA No.248 of 2017 and CCCA No.251 of 2017, all these suits were not disposed of through a common order, but individual judgments and decrees were passed in all the suits and aggrieved by the same based on pecuniary jurisdiction four appeals, AS Nos.29, 30, 31 and 38 of 2017, were filed before the I Additional and XII Additional Chief Judge, City Civil Courts, Secunderabad, and two appeals, vide CCCA No.248 of 2017 and 251 of 2017 were filed before this Court and therefore, I do not find any merit in the request of the learned counsel for the petitioner.
15. Therefore in such circumstances, since all the four appeals were directed against four individual judgments in separate suits, evidence was recorded separately and because of pecuniary jurisdiction, CCCA No.248 of 2017 and CCCA No.251 of 2017 is filed before this Court and other appeals AS Nos.29, 30, 31 and 38 of 2017 are filed before the Court of I Additional Chief Judge, XII Additional Chief Judge, City Civil Courts and no such effort was made during the pendency of those suits either for trying together or clubbing of the suits together or for recording common evidence and that as the appeals before the City Civil Courts are ripen for disposal, I do not find any merit in the request of the petitioners/defendants for transfer of AS Nos.29, 30, 31 and 38 of 2017 respectively on the file of the I Addl. Chief Judge, City Civil Court, Secunderabad and XII Addl. Chief Page 6 of 6 AVRJ Tr.CMP Nos.174, 175, 176 & 177 of 2019 Judge, City Civil Court, Secunderabad to this Court to be heard with CCCA No.248 of 2017.
16. In the result, the Transfer Civil Miscellaneous Petitions are hereby dismissed. In the circumstances, there shall be no order as to costs. Miscellaneous applications, if any pending, in these transfer petitions shall stand closed.
_______________________________ A. VENKATESHWARA REDDY, J.
Date: 06.12.2021 Isn