TMI Blog2013 (1) TMI 927X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... document and also the claim that the plaintiff had used the said premises temporarily as the suit office was under renovation was accepted by the learned Appellate Court as sufficient explanation to counter the stand taken by the defendants. On the aforesaid basis the order of the learned Trial Judge was found fit for reversal and refusal of interim relief to the plaintiffs was held to be unjustified. Accordingly, interim relief(s) was granted in the appeal. The interim relief granted to the plaintiffs by the Appellate Bench of the High Court in the present case is a mandatory direction to handover possession to the plaintiffs. Grant of mandatory interim relief requires the highest degree of satisfaction of the Court; much higher than a case involving grant of prohibitory injunction. Considering all the relevant facts, We find that the learned Appellate Bench of the High Court was not correct in interfering with the order passed by the learned Trial Judge we wish to make it clear that our aforesaid conclusion is not an expression of our opinion on the merits of the controversy between the parties. Our disagreement with the view of the Division Bench is purely on the ground that ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... .4 Mohd.Mehtab Khan Son from 1st wife of deceased Defendant No.5 Mohd. Ilyas Khan Brother of Defendant No.3 Defendant No.6 Mohd. Dayan Khan Unrelated Defendant No.7 Smt. Shehzadi Wife of Defendant No.12 Defendant No.8 Miss Rani Unrelated Defendant No.9 Tabish Ebrahim Khan Son from 2nd wife of Deceased Defendant No.10 Kamran Khan Son from 1st wife of Deceased Defendant No.11 Zakarullah Khan Son from 1st wife of Deceased Defendant No.12 4. The plaintiff No. 1 claims to be the 3rd wife of one Ibrahim Khan whereas the plaintiff No. 2 is the son of the first plaintiff and Ibrahim Khan. According to the plaintiffs, Ibrahim Khan and the first plaintiff were married in the year 1993 and out of the said wedlock the plaintiff No. 2 was born some time in the y ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... r was taken up by the Court, the defendant Nos. 1 to 4 informed the Court that they are not in possession of the suit flat but it is the defendants 5, 11 and 12 who are in possession. The Court by order dated 14.12.2011 appointed a Receiver and directed him to make an inspection of the suit flat and suit office and report back to the Court. Such inspection was made by the Court appointed Receiver on 16.12.2011. The report of inspection was submitted to the Court to the effect that the defendant Nos. 5 to 9 were found to be in possession of the suit flat. Formal possession thereof was taken over by the Court Receiver in terms of the order dated 14.12.2011. In the report of the Court Receiver, it was further mentioned that the defendant No. 10 had produced the keys of the suit office. However, the Court Receiver did not succeed in opening the doors of the office premises as there were further locks fixed thereon and inquiries did not indicate as to who was in possession of the keys. Accordingly, the Court Receiver informed the Court that formal possession of the suit office could not be taken. In the aforesaid circumstances, at the instance of the plaintiffs, defendants 5 to 12 were ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... claimed. As the details of the said documents have been minutely taken note of by both the Benches of the High Court it is not necessary for this Court to traverse the said aspect of the case once again. Instead, we may briefly notice the reasons which had weighed with the learned Trial Judge to refuse interim relief to the plaintiffs and those that had prevailed upon the Appellate Bench to reverse the said order of the learned Trial Judge. 9. Both the learned Trial Judge as well as the Appellate Court considered the very same documents brought on record by the contesting parties to arrive at their respective conclusions with regard to the entitlement of the plaintiffs. Specifically, the learned Trial Judge had discussed the narration of the events of dispossession pleaded by the plaintiffs and held the same to be somewhat unreliable and inconsistent in view of the fact that the defendant No. 1 (son of the deceased Ibrahim Khan) who is alleged to have been instrumental in dispossessing the plaintiffs was at the relevant point of time in Bhagalpur in connection with the cremation of the deceased, Ibrahim Khan. In this regard the claim of defendants 2 to 4 that they were also in B ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... y the plaintiffs on the basis of a invoice/voucher dated 22.8.2008 and the said fact pointed to the possession of the suit flat by the plaintiffs and, in fact, demolished the case of the defendants that the first plaintiff and the deceased had separated some time in the middle of the calendar year 2009. The passports issued to the plaintiffs in 2009 recording the address of the suit flat; the HDFC bank statement of plaintiff No. 1; the ICICI bank Credit Card Statement of plaintiff No. 1 during the relevant time, all indicating the address of the suit flat were duly relied upon by the Appellate Court in coming to its conclusion. The Appellate Court also relied on an application form submitted (before the Appellate Court) by the second plaintiff on 11.8.2011 for admission in the 11th standard in H.R. College of Commerce and Economics at Dinshaw Vachcha Road, Church Gate, Mumbai which was signed by the deceased Ibrahim Khan himself giving the address of the suit office and the suit flat. The version of the plaintiffs that the visiting card showing her office at Ashoka Centre was a forged document and also the claim that the plaintiff had used the said premises temporarily as the suit ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... w that interim matters, even though they may be inextricably connected with the merits of the main suit, should always be answered by maintaining a strict neutrality, namely, by a refusal to adjudicate. Such a stance by the courts is neither feasible nor practicable. Courts, therefore, will have to venture to decide interim matters on consideration of issues that are best left for adjudication in the full trial of the suit. In view of the inherent risk in performing such an exercise which is bound to become delicate in most cases the principles that the courts must follow in this regard are required to be stated in some detail though it must be made clear that such principles cannot be entrapped within any straitjacket formula or any precise laid down norms. Courts must endeavour to find out if interim relief can be granted on consideration of issues other than those involved in the main suit and also whether partial interim relief would satisfy the ends of justice till final disposal of the matter. The consequences of grant of injunction on the defendant if the plaintiff is to lose the suit alongwith the consequences on the plaintiff where injunction is refused but eventually the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ed may equally cause great injustice or irreparable harm, courts have evolved certain guidelines. Generally stated these guidelines are: (1) The plaintiff has a strong case for trial. That is, it shall be of a higher standard than a prima facie case that is normally required for a prohibitory injunction. (2) It is necessary to prevent irreparable or serious injury which normally cannot be compensated in terms of money. (3) The balance of convenience is in favour of the one seeking such relief. 17. Being essentially an equitable relief the grant or refusal of an interlocutory mandatory injunction shall ultimately rest in the sound judicial discretion of the court to be exercised in the light of the facts and circumstances in each case. Though the above guidelines are neither exhaustive nor complete or absolute rules, and there may be exceptional circumstances needing action, applying them as prerequisite for the grant or refusal of such injunctions would be a sound exercise of a judicial discretion. 15. In a situation where the learned Trial Court on a consideration of the respective cases of the parties and the documents laid before it was of the view that the entit ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... may not justify interference with the trial court's exercise of discretion. After referring to these principles Gajendragadkar, J. in Printers (Mysore) Private Ltd. v. Pothan Joseph: (SCR 721) ... These principles are well established, but as has been observed by Viscount Simon in Charles Osenton Co. v. Jhanaton ...the law as to the reversal by a court of appeal of an order made by a judge below in the exercise of his discretion is well established, and any difficulty that arises is due only to the application of well settled principles in an individual case . The appellate judgment does not seem to defer to this principle. 16. Though the above discussions would lead us to the conclusion that the learned Appellate Bench of the High Court was not correct in interfering with the order passed by the learned Trial Judge we wish to make it clear that our aforesaid conclusion is not an expression of our opinion on the merits of the controversy between the parties. Our disagreement with the view of the Division Bench is purely on the ground that the manner of exercise of the appellate power is not consistent with the law laid down by this Court in the case of Wander L ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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