In Brief
The Supreme Court allowed an appeal challenging a High Court order that had upheld a trial court's rejection of an application to dismiss a plaint. The case involved a 1991 agreement to sell property between a church trust and a buyer. The buyer filed a suit for specific performance in 1993, but it was rejected due to non-payment of court fees. The buyer filed a second suit in 2007 seeking the same relief. The defendant challenged the second suit as barred by limitation. The Supreme Court held that while rejection of an earlier plaint does not bar filing a fresh suit on the same cause of action, the fresh suit must be filed within three years of the first plaint's rejection under Article 113 of the Limitation Act. Since the second suit was filed nine years after the rejection (2007 vs. deadline of 2001), it was barred by limitation and should be rejected without requiring evidence."
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