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Judgment
ORDER
This civil revision petition has been filed under Article 227 of The Constitution of India seeking a direction to the Fourth Additional District Court, Coimbatore (for short, the Court below) to consolidate the suits in O.S.Nos.701 and 832 of 2022 and to conduct a joint trial.
Heard the learned counsel for the petitioners.
This Court has carefully considered the submissions of the learned counsel for the petitioners and perused the materials available on record.
The petitioners are the defendants whereas the respondents are the plaintiffs in O.S.No.832 of 2022. The said suit has been filed seeking for the reliefs of declaration and permanent injunction. The petitioners also filed a suit in O.S.No.701 of 2022 seeking for the reliefs of partition and separate possession and for appointment of a commissioner.
According to the petitioners, the issue that is involved in both the suits is intrinsically similar and the evidence that has to be let in and the witnesses to be examined are common. Therefore, both the suits must be consolidated and a joint trial must be conducted before the Court below. Though a memo has been filed in O.S.No.832 of 2022 in this regard by the respondents, the Court below did not act upon it. Instead, the Court below proceeded to record the evidence in O.S.No.832 of 2022. Under such circumstances, the above revision has been filed before this Court.
In the considered view of this Court, the suits in O.S.Nos. 701 and 832 of 2022 are intrinsically connected and both the suits cannot be dealt with separately. This is in view of the fact that the parties are the same and the evidence that will have to be let in is also common. Hence, the Court below ought to have dealt with the memo that was filed in O.S.No.832 of 2022 by the respondents to consolidate both the suits and try them jointly. Instead, the Court below seems to have allowed an application filed by the respondents under Order XVIII Rule 3A of the Civil Procedure Code and is proceeding further with the trial only in O.S.No.832 of 2022.
In the light of the above, the civil revision petition is disposed of with a direction to the Fourth Additional District Court, Coimbatore to act upon the memo that has been filed by the respondents/plaintiffs in O.S.No.832 of 2022 and take a decision regarding consolidation of O.S.Nos.701 of 2022 and 832 of 2022 within a period of four weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order. Till such a decision is taken, the Court below shall not proceed further with the trial in O.S.No.832 of 2022. Consequently, the connected CMP is closed.