The Supreme Court on May 6 held that under Order XII Rule 6 of the CPC, courts can dismiss a suit suo motu if the plaintiff’s own admissions invalidate the claim, not just pass a decree in the plaintiff’s favour based on the defendant’s admissions.
The Supreme Court was hearing an appeal in a case where the plaintiff had made admissions that weakened their own claim. Citing these admissions, the trial court dismissed the suit suo motu, without any application from the defendant, citing lack of cause of action and inadequate pleadings. The High Court affirmed this decision, leading the plaintiff to approach the Supreme Court.
In reliance on the recent ruling in Rajiv Ghosh v. Satya Narayan Jaiswal, the Court reiterated that courts have the authority to invoke Order XII Rule 6 of the CPC at any stage of the proceedings, even on their own motion, without requiring a formal application.
The bench comprising Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Manmohan observed, “Order XII Rule 6 CPC gives a very wide discretion to the Court to pass a judgment at any stage of the suit and that too on its own motion i.e. without any application being filed by any party. In the said judgment, it was also held that Order XII Rule 6 CPC, authorises the Court to not only pass a decree regarding admitted claim, but also to dismiss the suit.”
The Supreme Court held that although the decrees in Suits II, III, and IV were declaratory, they reflected a mutual agreement among family members that partition of the properties had already taken place. This conclusion was drawn from admissions in Suit I and the legal principle that declaratory decrees implying partition require an existing division. The Court clarified that partition need not follow a rigid format, and thus, these decrees recognized a valid partition prior to December 20, 2004. As a result, the amended Section 6 of the Hindu Succession Act does not apply in this case.
The Court emphasized that Order XII Rule 6 of the CPC empowers courts not only to grant decrees in favor of plaintiffs but also to dismiss suits when the plaintiff's own admissions weaken the claim. Consequently, the appeal was dismissed, and the lower courts' findings were affirmed.
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