Supreme Court rules limitation issue cannot be tried as preliminary
The case involves a dispute over whether a suit for declaration of a sale deed as void and recovery of possession is barred by limitation, with the core issue being the applicability of Article 59 or Article 65 of the Limitation Act.
Petitioner: John Mathew (Defendant No. 2 in the suit); Respondents: Santha Paul & Ors. (heirs of the Plaintiff T. Oommen Panicker); Bench: Arun Palli, J.
- The High Court held that the Trial Court erred in deciding the question of limitation as a preliminary issue.
- The High Court concluded that the question of limitation involved mixed questions of fact and law, requiring determination of whether the Sale Deed was void for want of authority under the GPA before deciding limitation.
- The High Court answered the substantial questions of law in favor of the Plaintiffs and held the suit to be within limitation.
- The matter was remitted to the Trial Court for fresh consideration, enabling parties to adduce further evidence.
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Document details
| Official title | Once Trial On All Issues Has Started, One Issue Cannot Be Tried As Preliminary: : Supreme Court Explains Order XIV Rule 2(2) CPC |
| Source body | Supreme Court of India — orders & judgments |
| Reference number | SLP before the Supreme Court. Before the Supreme Court, Senior Advocate V Chitambar |
| Status | closed (order) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Closing date | — |
| Documents | 1 |