In Brief
In 2012, the appellant filed a suit seeking to invalidate an agreement to sell joint family property made by her sister-in-law without her consent. When the sister-in-law (defendant no. 1) died in 2013, a court officer was appointed to represent her estate. In 2021, the other defendant sought to file a counterclaim for specific performance of the agreement and partition. The Supreme Court held that counterclaims must be directed against the plaintiff, not co-defendants, and cannot be filed after issues are framed. The counterclaim was also time-barred under the Limitation Act. The Court allowed the appeal, set aside the High Court's order permitting the counterclaim, and directed the trial to proceed with the original suit.
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