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2015 (3) TMI 548 - CALCUTTA HIGH COURTRelief abandoned in Company Law Board proceedings voluntarily can not be filed again in a fresh suit - Abuse of process of law - Held that:- On a meaningful reading of the plaint filed in the instant suit of the plaint it would appear that the reliefs claimed in the plaint against the applicants are substantially similar to the reliefs that the plaintiffs had claimed against the applicant in the Company Law Board proceeding. For whatever reason, the plaintiffs herein who are the petitioners in the Company Law Board proceedings, applied to the Company Law Board for withdrawing such reliefs with leave to file fresh proceedings against the applicants herein. Such prayer was refused by the Company Law Board. The petitioners in the Company Law Board proceeding appealed to this court against such refusal. This court permitted the petitioners to withdraw such reliefs but recorded that the further prayer of the appellants (petitioners in the Company Law Board proceedings) cannot be acceded to since the Company Law Board did not have jurisdiction to grant leave to the appellants to institute a fresh suit. However, this court recorded that nothing in the said order would prevent the appellants from filing a suit, but the maintainability of such suit on account of the pendency and partial abandonment of the Company Law Board proceedings may be gone into by the forum which receives the action. I am inclined to accept the contention of the Ld. Counsel for the applicants. The plaintiffs having claimed and having subsequently abandoned certain reliefs against the applicants in the Company Law Board proceedings without being granted unconditional leave to file fresh proceedings for the self-same reliefs, in my opinion the plaintiffs’ suit is barred against the applicants under Order 23 of the CPC. Further, exposing the applicants in the present suit substantially to the same claims which were withdrawn/abandoned against them in the Company Law Board proceedings, would, in my opinion, amount to abuse of process of law. The withdrawal and/or abandonment of the concerned reliefs against the applicants by the plaintiffs in the Company Law Board proceedings was voluntary and it would not be fair to expose the applicants to the same claims again in the present suit which would amount to putting the applicants in doubled jeopardy. - Decided in favour of applicant.
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