HARINDER KUMAR Vs. COROMANDAL FERTILIZERS LTD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS petition has been directed against the order dated 10.12.1996 passed by Additional Civil Judge (SD) Rajpura. By this order, the learned trial court has allowed the application filed by respondent-defendants under order 14 Rule 2(2) read with sections 20 and 151 CPC for treating issue regarding the territorial jurisdiction as preliminary issue. Notice of this petition was issued to the respondent.

(2.) IN this case, the petitioner-plaintiff has filed a suit against the respondent-defendant for recovery of Rs. 963528.94 alongwith interest at the rate of 18% per annum. In the written statement filed on behalf of the respondent-defendants, preliminary objection has been raised that the court has no jurisdiction to try, entertain and to adjudicate upon the suit filed by the petitioner. On the basis of the pleadings of the parties, the issues were framed by the learned trial court and one of the issues framed is with regard to the territorial jurisdiction of the learned trial court.

(3.) MR . Gupta, the learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner submitted that issue with regard to territorial jurisdiction involves disputed questions of facts and law in the present case and as such this issue could not be treated as a preliminary issue. In support of his submission, the learned counsel has placed reliance on a Division Bench judgment of this Court in Bhag Singh v. Nek Singh, 1994(3) Recent Revenue Reports 271 (P&H) (DB) and a single Bench judgment of this court in M/s Saraswati Spinning Mills v. M/s Gheru Lal Bal Chand, 1980 PLJ 572.