BOMBAY STOCK EXCHANGE LTD Vs. VIKAS WSP LTD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) HEARD learned Counsel for the parties.

(2.) THE petitioners are aggrieved against the order dated 12.1.2007 by which the trial court decided the issue No. 7 about the civil court's jurisdiction against the petitioner -defendants and held that the civil court has jurisdiction to try the suit filed by the respondent -plaintiff No. 1.

(3.) THE defendant BSE submitted detail written statement and raised objection about the territorial jurisdiction of the court below and also raised objection in entertaining the suit by the civil court by taking help of Section 23L of the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956 (for short 'the Act of 1956') read with Rule 19(5) of the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Rules, 1957 (for short 'the Rules of 1957') framed under the Act of 1956. It was prayed before the trial court that the question of jurisdiction of civil court be decided before any issue. The trial court refused to decide the question of jurisdiction of civil court as preliminary issue, therefore, the petitioner -defendants preferred S.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 7477/2006 before this Court. According to the petitioner -defendants, the question of jurisdiction was pure question of law and, therefore, it could have been decided without evidence of the parties. It was contended before this Court that the issue of jurisdiction goes to the root of the matter. It appears that the writ petition was not seriously contested by the plaintiff and, therefore, this Court by order dated 20.12.2006 passed in the above writ petition No. 7477/2006 allowed the writ petition of the present petitioners -defendants and directed the trial court to take up the issue with regard to the objection as to the maintainability of the suit as pointedly raised in para No. 5(b) of the written statement as a preliminary issue. This Court also observed that so far as the objection with regard to the territorial jurisdiction raised in para 5(a) of the written statement, that shall be taken up along with other issues.