In Brief
The University of Agricultural Sciences challenged a lower court decision that had decreed a suit for declaration of title and permanent injunction filed by Saroj Gupta over disputed land. The Court held that the suit was barred by Order 23, Rule 1(4) of the Code of Civil Procedure. Gupta had previously filed an identical suit on the same land which was withdrawn in 2001 without the Court's permission to file a fresh suit (as required by Order 23, Rule 1(3)). The mere addition of a declaration prayer in the second suit did not overcome this procedural bar. The Court set aside the lower court's judgment and dismissed the suit as unmaintainable.
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