In Brief
Appellants sued for an injunction regarding a property described as Survey No. 192/9, but discovered the respondents had transferred it as Survey No. 192/14. After substantial trial progress, they sought to withdraw with liberty to file a fresh suit, citing the survey number discrepancy as a formal defect. The trial court allowed the withdrawal with ₹3,000 costs. The High Court reversed, holding no formal defect was established. The Supreme Court reinstated the trial court's order, holding that confusion in property identification constitutes a formal defect justifying withdrawal under Order XXIII Rule 1(3) CPC, and enhanced costs to ₹10,000 due to delayed withdrawal after substantial trial progress."
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