In Brief
A defendant sought to file a counter-claim in a 14-year-old suit for specific performance over 13 years after filing his written statement. The trial court initially rejected it, but later granted permission to avoid multiplicity of proceedings. The High Court Division Bench set aside this order, finding the plaintiffs were not afforded adequate opportunity to contest it. The Supreme Court held that a counter-claim filed before framing of issues can be permitted at the court's discretion, especially to avoid multiplicity and where the opposite party's defences remain open. As the Supreme Court had earlier recognized the counter-claim's existence in another order and substantial progress had been made, the Division Bench wrongly re-opened the issue. The appeal was allowed and the trial court's order was restored."}
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