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Hari Shanker Jain vs Sonia Gandhi on 12 September, 2001

In the present case once the parties have agreed that the transaction is governed by the English Law the said English Law would apply to the substantive transaction and if the suit is filed in India then the procedural law would be applicable as contemplated under the provisions of the Admiralty Court Act, 1861. I am of the opinion that merely by filing a suit in India because it has a jurisdiction to entertain the claim by virtue of the provisions of Section 22 (1) (ix) of the Supreme Court of Judicature (Consolidation) Act, 1925, this Court would not be entitled to apply Indian Law to the substantive part of the transaction which is governed by the English Law. I am, therefore, of the opinion that the contention of the learned counsel for the defendants is right and justified that the plaintiffs have not pleaded in the suit the fact that the said transaction is governed by the English Law and it is the English Law under which the plaintiffs are entitled to any such decrees as prayed. The judgment of the Apex Court in the case of Hari Shankar Jain v. Sonia Gandhi (supra) is clear on the aforesaid aspect that if such a pleading is absent and there is no evidence led on this aspect then the suit must fail. However, the learned counsel for the plaintiffs has inter alia contended that the defendants have not raised the plea pertaining to application of English Law or otherwise and thus, it is not now open for them to contend that the suit is not maintainable because the same is governed by the English Law and there is no pleading in that behalf. The said submission in my opinion is required to be rejected. Firstly, because the issue of maintainability is an issue of law. An issue of maintainability has been raised and the issue of maintainability is not required to be pleaded since it is an issue of law and since the absence of detailed plea about maintainability of the suit would not affect the rights of the defendants to resist the suit on the ground of maintainability. In view of the aforesaid, I hold that the suit is not maintainable on both the aforesaid grounds, namely, that there is no substantive prayer for a decree of mortgage as against the defendant no. 1 and also that there is no pleadings, averments and evidence pertaining to the fact that the transaction is governed by the English Law and in view thereof I pass the following order.
Supreme Court of India Cites 48 - Cited by 153 - R C Lahoti - Full Document
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