In Brief
The Supreme Court examined whether a suit filed by Messer Holdings Limited (MHL) to cancel a settlement agreement and declare ownership of shares was barred by limitation. The Court held that following a recent Three-Judge Bench decision, questions of limitation cannot be decided as preliminary issues under Section 9A of the CPC but must be considered alongside other substantive issues in the full trial. The Court set aside both the Single Judge's and Division Bench's orders and remanded the suit for fresh proceedings from the stage of issue-framing, directing the trial court to determine limitation as a substantive issue without being influenced by prior judicial observations.
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