Sri Shivarudrappa v. Sri S Madesh

( , ( ( IN(THE(HIGH(COURT(OF(KARNATAKA(AT(BENGALURU(

THDATED(THIS(THE(19 (DAY(OF(DECEMBER,(2025(

BEFORE( ® THE(HON'BLE(MR.(JUSTICE(PRADEEP(SINGH(YERUR( ( WRIT(PETITION(NO.34574(OF(2025((GM-CPC)(

(

BETWEEN:(( (

1., SRI,SHIVARUDRAPPA, S/O,LATE,VEERABHADRAPPA,,, AGED,ABOUT,94,YEARS,,, R/AT,SARAGUR,VILLAGE,,, PALYA,HOBLI,,KOLLEGAL,TALUK,,, TQ.,AND,DIST.CHAMARAJANAGAR-571313., ,

2., SRI.,S.,SOMASHEKHAR, S/O,SHIVARUDRAPPA,,, AGED,ABOUT,56,YEARS,,, R/AT,SARAGUR,VILLAGE,,, PALYA,HOBLI,,KOLLEGAL,TALUK,,, TQ.,AND,DIST.CHAMARAJANAGA-571313., Digitallytisigned …PETITIONERS, by0NIJAMUDDIN (BY,SRI.,KARUNAKARA,P.,,ADVOCATE), JAMKHANDI ,Location:0H IGH COURT0OF AND:( KARNATAKA ( SRI,S.,MADESH, S/O,SHIVARUDRAPPA,,, AGED,ABOUT,65,YEARS,,, R/AT,SARAGUR,VILLAGE,,PALYA,HOBLI,,, KOLLEGAL,TALUK,,, CHAMARAJANAGAR,DIST.,-,571313., , …RESPONDENT, , THIS,WRIT,PETITION,IS,FILED,UNDER,ARTICLE,227,OF, CONSTITUTION,OF,INDIA,PRAYING,TO,SET,ASIDE,THE,ORDER, ( , ( ( DATED,24/01/2012,PASSED,IN,O.S.NO.24/2011,ON,IA,No.VII, FILED,UNDER,ORDER,22,RULE,3,OF,CPC,AND,TO,SET,ASIDE, THE,COMPROMISE,DECREE,DATED,24/01/2012,PASSED,BY,THE, HON'BLE, SENIOR, CIVIL, JUDGE, AND, JMFC, AT, KOLLEGAL, IN, ABOVE,SUIT,AT,ANNEXURE-A,AND,B.,, , , THIS, PETITION,, COMING, ON, FOR, PRELIMINARY, HEARING,,THIS,DAY,,ORDER,WAS,MADE,THEREIN,AS,UNDER:, , CORAM:, HON'BLE,MR.,JUSTICE,PRADEEP,SINGH,YERUR, , ORAL(ORDER( , This, petition, is, filed, by, the, petitioners, who, were, defendants, Nos.1, and, 3, challenging, the, order, dated,

24.01.2012,passed,in,O.S.No.24/2011,on,I.A.No.VII,filed, under, Order, XXII, Rule, 3, of, CPC, and, to, set, aside, the, compromise, decree, dated, 24.01.2012, passed, by, the, Senior, Civil, Judge, and, JMFC, Court,, Kollegal, taluk,, Chamarajnagar,district.,,,

¶2It, is, the, case, of, the, petitioners, that, the, respondent, No.2, is, none, other, than, the, brother, of, the, petitioners, initiated, a, suit, for, partition, and, separate, possession, against, the, petitioners, and, their, mother., ( , ( ( During, the, pendency, of, the, suit,, a, compromise, petition, came,to,be,filed,under,Order,XXII,Rule,3,of,CPC.,Based,on, the,said,compromise,petition,,the,suit,came,to,be,decreed, by,virtue,of,compromise,petition.,It,is,further,contended, by,learned,counsel,for,the,petitioners,that,petitioners,got,a, notice, from, the, Chief, Judicial, Magistrate, Kollegal, on, the, case,filed,by,the,respondent,in,O.S.No.254/2025,based,on, which, the, petitioners, approached, his, lawyer, and, on, examining, the, documents,, he, realised, that, compromise, decree, was, executed, in, O.S.No.24/2011, and, after, going, through,the,compromise,petition,and,decree,,,he,realised, that,what,was,not,intended,by,his,father,,respondent,had, misled, the, petitioners, and, cheated, them., It, is, further, contended,that,first,petitioner,who,is,the,father,wanted,to, give,properties,bearing,Sy.No.176/2,measuring,0.83,cents, and,property,177/C4,measuring,0.83,cents,to,his,younger, son, i.e., second, petitioner., In, this, regard,, the, first, petitioner,had,executed,a,will,dated,14.05.2010,in,favour, of,second,petitioner,and,also,executed,a,gift,deed,for,the, ( , ( ( same, property, on, 06.04.2021., It, is, also, contended, that, based,on,the,said,will,and,the,gift,deed,,mutations,were, changed,to,the,name,of,second,petitioner.,,

¶3This, being, the, state, of, affairs,, the, petitioners, were, shocked, and, surprised, to, know, the, respondent, played,fraud,on,the,petitioners,and,cheated,them.,In,view, of, the, fraudulent, act, of, the, respondent, in, cheating, the, petitioners, and, mother, of, petitioner, No.2, which, was, not, brought,to,their,notice,and,having,now,realised,by,virtue, of, the, summons, received, in, the, later, suit, i.e., O.S.No.254/2025,has,preferred,this,petition,seeking,to,set, aside,the,compromise,decree,which,is,obtained,by,fraud, and,suppression,of,fact.,

¶4It,is,contended,that,the,compromise,decree,is, tainted,with,fraud,and,the,signatures,are,created,,forged, by, taking, advantage, of, the, illiteracy, of, the, petitioners., Therefore,, he,seeks, intervention, of, this,Court, by,setting, aside,the,compromise,decree,dated,24.01.2012.,, ( , ( (

¶5This, Court, is, not, inclined, to, notify, the, respondent,as,this,Court,is,of,the,opinion,that,the,matter, requires, to, be, disposed, of, by, providing, liberty, to, the, petitioners, to, approach, the, trial, Court, to, consider, the, application, if, any,filed,by, the, petitioners,challenging, the, said,compromise,before,the,same,Court,which,passed,the, compromise,decree,,so,also,for,the,reason,that,no,adverse, order,is,passed,against,the,respondent.,It,is,not,in,dispute, that, the, petitioners, are, seeking, to, challenge, the, compromise,decree,passed,by,the,Senior,Civil,Judge,and, JMFC,at,Kollegal,in,O.S.NO.24/2012.,

¶6The, compromise, petition, was, filed, by, all, the, parties,to,the,proceedings.,The,same,has,been,accepted, by,the,learned,Trial,Judge,and,having,recorded,the,terms, and, conditions, of, the, compromise,, the, suit, came, to, be, decreed, and, a, compromise, decree, is, passed, on,

24.01.2012., Therefore,, when, a, compromise, petition, is, filed,before,the,Court,and,thereafter,,the,suit,is,decreed, on, the, said, basis,, it, becomes, necessary, for, the, parties, ( , ( ( challenging,the,said,compromise,decree,,on,the,ground,of, fraud,,suppression,of,facts,,misleading,,forgery,and,on,any, other, ground, to, approach, the, very, same, Court, which, passes,the,compromise,decree,by,way,of,an,application,or, petition, and, agitate/urge, all, grounds, before, the, same, Court.,,

¶7In, the, present, case, on, hand,, apparently,, the, petitioners, are, defendant, Nos.1, and, 3, before, the, trial, Court, which, passes, the, compromise, decree., The, trial, Court,has,accepted,the,compromise,petition,based,on,their, signatures,and,affixed,and,passed,a,compromise,decree., The, contentions,, veracity, and, genuinity, of, the, said, compromise,petition,and,whether,fraud,has,been,played,in, obtaining, the, said, compromise, decree, are, all, matters, which,would,have,to,be,dealt,with/adjudicated,by,the,very, same,Court,and,all,contentions,will,have,to,be,urged,by, the, petitioners, herein, before, the, said, Court, rather, than, before, this, Court, by, invoking, the, writ, jurisdiction, under, Articles,226,and,227,of,the,Constitution,of,India., ( , ( (

¶8In, the, case, of, Triloki( Nath( Singh( v.( Anirudh( Singh( (D)( through( Lrs.( and( Ors., reported, in, AIR( 2020( Supreme(Court(2111,,the,Hon'ble,Apex,Court,in,paragraph, Nos.17,and,22,as,held,as,under:, "17.,Finality,of,decisions,is,an,underlying,principle, of, all, adjudicating, forums., Thus,, creation, of, further, litigation, should, never, be, the, basis, of, a, compromise,between,the,parties.,Rule,3A,of,Order, 23,CPC,put,a,specific,bar,that,no,suit,shall,lie,to, set, aside, a, decree, on, the, ground, that, the, compromise,on,which,the,decree,is,based,was,not, lawful.,The,scheme,of,Order,23,Rule,3,CPC,is,to, avoid,multiplicity,of,litigation,and,permit,parties,to, amicably,come,to,a,settlement,which,is,lawful,,is, in,writing,and,a,voluntary,act,on,the,part,of,the, parties.,The,Court,can,be,instrumental,in,having, an, agreed, compromise, effected, and, finality, attached,to,the,same.,The,Court,should,never,be, party, to, imposition, of, a, compromise, upon, an, unwilling,party,,still,open,to,be,questioned,on,an, application,under, the, proviso,to, Rule, 3, of,Order, 23,CPC,before,the,Court.,

22.,In,other,words,,the,appellant,can,only,claim, through,his,predecessor,Sampatiya,,to,the,extent, of,rights,and,remedies,available,to,Sampatiya,in, reference, to, the, compromise, decree., Merely, because, the, appellant, was, not, party, to, the, compromise, decree, in, the, facts, of, the, present, ( , ( ( case,, will, be, of, no, avail, to, the, appellant,, much, less, give, him, a, cause, of, action, to, question, the, validity,of,the,compromise,decree,passed,by,the, High,Court,by,way,of,a,substantive,suit,before,the, civil,Court,to,declare,it,as,fraudulent,,illegal,and, not, binding, on, him., Assuming,, he, could, agitate, about,the,validity,of,the,compromise,entered,into, by,the,parties,to,the,partition,suit,,it,is,only,the, High, Court,, who, had, accepted, the, compromise, and, passed,decree,on, that, basis,,could,examine, the, same, and, no, other, Court, under, proviso, to, Rule,3,of,Order,23,CPC.,It,must,,therefore,,follow, that, the, suit, instituted, before, the, civil, Court, by, the, appellant, was, not, maintainable, in, view, of, specific,bar,under,Rule,3A,of,Order,23,CPC,as,held, in,the,impugned,judgment.",

¶9Division, Bench, of, Hon'ble, Apex, Court, in, the, case,of(Shri(Mukund(Bhavan(Trust(and(Ors.(v.(Srimanth( Chhatrapati(Udyan(Raje(Pratasinh(Maharaj(Bhonsle(and( Another,( reported, in( (2024)( 15( SCC( 675( in, paragraph, No.39,has,held,as,under:, "39., Admittedly, the, plaintiff, is, a, stranger, to, the, suits, which, ended, in, compromise., Therefore,, in, view, of, the, direct, bar, under, Order, 23, Rule, 3-A, CPC,, he, cannot, seek, a, declaration, "that, the, compromise,decrees,passed,in,Special,Civil,Suits, ( , ( ( Nos., 152, of, 1951, and, 1622, of, 1988, and, Civil, Appeal,No.,787,of,2001,,Pune,are,void,ab,initio,, null, and, void, and, the, same, are, liable, to, be, set, aside"., The, law, on, this, point, is, also, already, settled, by, this, Court, in, Triloki, Nath, Singh, v., Anirudh,Singh.,The,bar,under,Order,23,Rule,3-A, CPC,is,applicable,to,third,parties,as,well,and,the, only, remedy, available, to, them, would, be, to, approach, the, same, court., In, the, present, case,, such,an,exercise,is,also,not,possible,in,view,of,the, bar, of, limitation., Hence,, we, find, the, suit, to, be, unsustainable.", (

¶10Several,judgments,are,passed,by,this,Court,and, various,Courts,and,the,Hon'ble,Apex,Court,,in,the,case,of, Triloki(Nath(Singh((supra),and,Shri(Mukund(Bhavan(Trust( and(Ors.,(supra),very,specifically,dealt,with,challenge,by,a, stranger,to,the,compromise,decree,,whether,to,be,done,by, way,of,separate,suit,or,in,the,same,Court,,which,passed, the,compromise,decree.,The,question,has,been,raised,in, the,following,manner-,"The,question,arises,in,the,appeal, for,our,consideration,is,as,to,whether,on,a,decree,passed, in, a, compromise, petition, can, be, challenged, by, the, stranger,to,the,proceedings,in,a,separate,suit?",and,the, ( , ( ( same,has,been,answered,in,the,negative,,in,view,of,the, specific,bar,under,Rule,3A,of,Order,XXIII,of,Code,of,Civil, Procedure.,The,said,opinion,of,the,Hon'ble,Apex,Court,in, 2020, is, further, fortified, by, the, later, judgment,, dealing, with, the, very, same, issue, in, the, case, of, Shri( Mukund( Bhavan( Trust( and( Ors.( (supra),, by, holding, "The, law, on, this,point,is,already,settled,by,this,Court,in,Triloki(Nath( Singh(the,bar,under,Order,XXIII,Rule,3-A,CPC,is,applicable, to,third,party,as,well.,The,only,remedy,available,to,them, would, be, to, approach, the, very, same, Court,, which, drew, compromise,decree.",

¶11Division, Bench, of, Hon'ble, Apex, Court, in, the, case, of, Manjunath( Tirakappa( Malagi( and( Anr.( V.( Gurusiddappa( Tirakappa( Malagi( (dead( through( Lrs.),, reported,in,2025(INSC(517,at,paragraph,Nos.12,and,15,as, held,as,under:,

12.,The,only,remedy,against,a,compromise,decree, is,to,file,a,recall,application.,This,Court,in,Pushpa, Devi,Bhagat,v.,Rajinder,Singh,,(2006),5,SCC,566, summed,up,the,position,of,law,as,follows:, ( , ( ( "17.,The,position,that,emerges,from,the,amended, provisions,of,Order,23,can,be,summed,up,thus:,

(i), No, appeal, is, maintainable, against, a, consent, decree,having,regard,to,the,specific,bar,contained, in,Section,96(3),CPC.,

(ii),No,appeal,is,maintainable,against,the,order,of, the, court, recording, the, compromise, (or, refusing, to,record,a,compromise),in,view,of,the,deletion,of, clause,(m),of,Rule,1,Order,43.,

(iii), No, independent, suit, can, be, filed, for, setting, aside,a,compromise,decree,on,the,ground,that,the, compromise, was, not, lawful, in, view, of, the, bar, contained,in,Rule,3-A.,

(iv),A,consent,decree,operates,as,an,estoppel,and, is,valid,and,binding,unless,it,is,set,aside,by,the, court, which, passed, the, consent, decree,, by, an, order,on,an,application,under,the,proviso,to,Rule, 3,Order,23.,, Therefore,,the,only,remedy,available,to,a,party,to, a,consent,decree,to,avoid,such,consent,decree,,is, to, approach, the, court, which, recorded, the, compromise,and,made,a,decree,in,terms,of,it,,and, establish,that, there,was,no,compromise.,In,that, event,,the,court,which,recorded,the,compromise, will,itself,consider,and,decide,the,question,as,to, whether, there, was, a, valid, compromise, or, not., This,is,so,because,a,consent,decree,is,nothing,but, contract, between, parties, superimposed, with, the, seal, of, approval, of, the, court., The, validity, of, a, ( , ( ( consent,decree,depends,wholly,on,the,validity,of, the, agreement, or, compromise, on, which, it, is, made...",, Thus,, even, if, he, accept, the, contention, of, the, appellant, that, their, father, was, coerced, by, his, brothers, and, father, (appellants', grandfather), to, enter,into,a,compromise,,which,led,to,the,passing, of, the, consent, decree,, a, fresh, suit, is, still, not, a, valid, remedy., In, that, situation,, the, appellants', father,should,have,filed,a,recall,application,before, the, Court, that, had, passed, the, decree., The, appellants', father, has, never, done, so!, Moreover,, he, had, admitted, the, consent, decree, and, never, questioned,its,validity.,,

15., In, view, of, the, above,, we, see, no, reason, to, interfere, with, the, impugned, order, dated,

23.09.2022,passed,by,the,High,Court., Accordingly,,this,appeal,is,dismissed.", , ,

¶12In,the,case,of,Manjunath(Tirakappa(Malagi(and( Anr.((supra),,the,Hon'ble,Supreme,Court,has,held,that,the, fresh, suit, is, still, not, valid, remedy, against, compromise, decree., The, only, remedy, would, be, to, file, an, application, before, the, same, Court,, which, passed, the, compromise, decree., ( , ( (

¶13In,view,of,the,several,judgments,of,this,Court, and,Hon'ble,Apex,Court,and,a,finality,having,been,arrived, at,by,the,Hon'ble,Apex,Court,in,the,cases,of,Triloki(Nath( Singh((supra),,Shri(Mukund(Bhavan(Trust(and(Ors.,(supra),, Manjunath( Tirakappa( Malagi( and( Anr.( (supra),, it, is, no, more,res,integra,that,when,a,person/party,to,compromise, the,decree,challenges,the,compromise,decree,before,any, Court,other,than,the,very,same,Court,,which,passed,the, compromise, decree,, such, petition, would, not, be, maintainable.,,

¶14Under, the, circumstances,, this, Court, is, of, the, opinion, that, petitioners, will, have, to, agitate, the, matter, before,the,very,same,Court,which,passed,the,compromise, decree.,

¶15Accordingly,,I,pass,the,following:, ( , ( ( ORDER,

i) The,petition,is,disposed(of;,

ii) Liberty, is, reserved, to, the, petitioners, to, approach, the, Senior, Civil, Judge,, JMFC,, Kollegala, in, O.S.No.24/2011, by, filing, an, application,to,agitate,the,matter,with,regard, to,the,compromise,decree,dated,24.01.2012.,

iii) In,the,meanwhile,,till,such,application,is,filed, by,the,petitioners,and,the,same,is,decided,by, the, learned, trial, judge,, the, parties, shall, maintain, status, quo, with, regard, to, suit, schedule,property., , , , Sd/-( (PRADEEP(SINGH(YERUR)( JUDGE( , , RCK/VNR, List,No.:,1,Sl,No.:,6, CT:MH,