Gnani Investment And Trading Co. Pvt. Ltd vs. New Era Fabrics Ltd

ITEM NO.22 COURT NO.12 SECTION IX

S U P R E M E C O U R T O F I N D I A RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

Petition(s) for Special Leave to Appeal (C) No(s). 12403/2024

(Arising out of impugned final judgment and order dated 10-05-2024 in WP No. 10478/2022 passed by the High Court Of Judicature At Bombay)

GNANI INVESTMENT AND TRADING CO. PVT. LTD. & ORS. Petitioner(s)

VERSUS

M/S NEW ERA FABRICS LTD. & ORS. Respondent(s) (IA No.125742/2024-EXEMPTION FROM FILING C/C OF THE IMPUGNED JUDGMENT and IA No.126484/2024-PERMISSION TO FILE ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTS/FACTS/ANNEXURES

Date : 04-06-2024 This petition was called on for hearing today.

CORAM :

HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SANJAY KUMAR HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE AUGUSTINE GEORGE MASIH [VACATION BENCH]

	For Petitioner(s)	Mr. Balbir Singh, Sr. Adv.
		Mr. Kaushik Poddar, AOR
		Ms. Janvi Moondhra, Adv.
		Mr. Akash Dalal, Adv.

• For Respondent(s) Mr. Manoj Swarup, Sr. Adv. Mr. Darpan Sachdeva, AOR Ms. Apoorva Singh, Adv.
  • Mr. Shoeb Alam, Sr. Adv. Mr. Gaurang Mehta, Adv.
  • Ms. Neelam Dedhia, Adv.
  • Mr. Ujjwal Singh, Adv.
  • Mr. Deeptakirti Verma, AOR
  • Mr. Anshuman Srivastava, Adv. Mr. E.C. Agarwala, AOR
• UPON hearing the counsel, the Court made the following O R D E R

Digitally signed by rashmi dhyani pant Date: 2024.06.04 16:49:14 IST Reason: Signature Not Verified

Issue notice, returnable on 16th July, 2024.

Respondent Nos.1 and 7 to 9 are represented by learned counsel on caveat. Service of notice upon them is not required.

Mr. E.C. Agarwala, learned Advocate on Record, is stated to have been instructed to appear for respondent No.4 and the learned counsel representing him states that a Vakalatmana would be filed shortly.

Notice may be served upon the other respondents.

The issue that arises for consideration in this case is whether the High Court was justified in directing that the evidence led by the witnesses examined on behalf of defendant Nos.7 to 14 should be discarded, thereby allowing the application filed by the plaintiffs in the suit praying that defendant Nos.7 to 14 should not be permitted to lead evidence. In consequence, the core question would also arise as to whether parties to a suit who would be bound by the judgment passed therein can be denied the opportunity of having their say and leading evidence.

We are, however, conscious of the fact that an earlier order passed by this Court requires the trial Court to dispose of the subject suit by the end of September, 2024.

In that view of the matter, it would suffice at this stage to permit the trial Court to complete the cross-examination of defendant No.13 and permit the examination and cross-examination of defendant No.7. These two witnesses are stated to be the only witnesses remaining to be examined amongst defendants

2

No. 7 to 14 in the suit.

This order is being passed only to save time and shall be without prejudice to the rights of the plaintiffs in the suit to support and substantiate the validity of the order impugned.

Needless to state, defendant Nos.7 and 13 shall co-operate to the full extent to ensure that their examination/cross-examination is completed expeditiously, without seeking any unnecessary adjournments. The trial Court shall endeavour to complete the examination of these two witnesses within two weeks after the re-opening of the Court on 10th June, 2024.

(ASHA SUNDRIYAL) (SAROJ KUMARI GAUR) ASTT. REGISTRAR-cum-PS ASSISTANT REGISTRAR