G. RETHINARAJ Vs. B. VELLAIAMMAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE appellant before us is the first defendant in a suit for specific performance being the owner of the property. There is a prior history of litigation qua the suit property inasmuch as the appellant had availed of a loan against the said property, but failed to clear the loan. However, the appellant filed a suit seeking relief of redemption of simple mortgage, being C.S. No. 131 of 1999, in which a preliminary decree was passed on 25.02.2003. The appellant, thereafter, sought permission of the learned Single Judge for depositing the balance amount payable under the preliminary decree and for passing of the final mortgage redemption decree.

(2.) ON the other hand, the mortgagee filed an application for setting aside the preliminary decree with an application to condone the delay in filing the same. Those applications are stated to have been dismissed by an order dated 14.03.2006, while granting permission to the appellant for depositing the balance amount of Rs. 7,96,496.32 as determined by the Advocate Commissioner appointed in the suit. The mortgagee, however, aggrieved by that order, filed O.S.A. Nos. 299 and 300 of 2006 and succeeded in the same vide a common order dated 11.01.2008. Now, it was the turn of the appellant to be aggrieved, who preferred Special Leave Petitions before the Hon'ble Supreme Court. Leave is stated to have been granted and Civil Appeals are still pending. Thus, as to whether the amount due under the mortgage stands finally satisfied or not is still in question before the Supreme Court.

(3.) ISSUES have been framed and one of the issues framed arises from the plea of the appellant that there is improper joinder of the second respondent before us as the second defendant in the suit, as they are not privy to the transaction. The appellant wanted this issue to be tried as a preliminary issue and sought the deletion of the second respondent from the array of parties. It is these two applications filed for the said purpose which have been dismissed by the common impugned order dated 21.04.2013.