KABBALEGOWDA Vs. D.KRISHNEGOWDA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners being the defendants in a civil suit in O.S.No.190/1998 filed by the contesting respondents herein are invoking the writ jurisdiction of this Court for assailing the order dated 29.05.2019 made by the learned Principal Civil Judge(Jr.Dn), Kanakapura, a copy whereof is at Annexure-'A' whereby the Replication filed by the respondent- plaintiffs under Order VIII Rule 9 of CPC, 1908, has been accepted on record, as constituting the pleadings. The contesting respondents-plaintiffs having entered caveat through his counsel resist the writ petitions.

(2.) Learned counsel for the petitioners taking the Court through the plaint, Written Statement and other material on record contends that the impugned order has a legal error of great magnitude on its face inasmuch as Order VIII Rule 9 of CPC, 1908, does not avail to the plaintiffs' side at all and therefore, the Replication/reply filed by the respondents-plaintiffs to the Additional Written Statement of the petitioners could not have been accepted on record at all. Secondly, he submits that in any circumstance even if the contrary is assumed, the Replication even otherwise could not have been taken on record since the pleas taken therein transcend the contentions taken up by the petitioners in their additional statement; in other words, in any circumstance the plaintiffs cannot be permitted to make a new case. This aspect of the matter having not been duly considered by the Court below, the impugned order is liable to be invalidated by allowing the writ petitions, argues the counsel.

(3.) Learned counsel for the Caveator-respondents per contra contends that the question whether the plaintiffs can file Replication under Order VIII Rule 9 of CPC, 1908, is no longer res integra in view of the decision of this Court in the case of [ Krishnamurthy .vs. Hanumakka and others W.P.No .52597/2015(GM-CPC) decided on 29.05.2019]. A perusal of this decision makes it clear beyond any shade of doubt that Order VIII Rule 9 of CPC, 1908 avails to the plaintiff and therefore he can file the Replication. Thus, the first contention of the petitioners now pales into insignificance.