“Trial Within Trial Not Permitted”: Calcutta High Court Says Co-Defendant Cannot Respond To Counter-Claim By Another Defendant

The Calcutta High Court has held that a co-defendant cannot file a written statement in response to a counter-claim raised by another defendant, ruling that the CPC does not permit such inter se litigation within a single suit.

Justice Aniruddha Roy, dismissed an application by the first defendant, KERALA STATE ELECTRONICS DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION LTD (KELTRON), seeking leave to file a rejoinder and “additional written statement” to a counter-claim lodged by the third defendant.

The Court emphasised that Order VIII Rules 6-A to 6-G CPC restrict counter-claims strictly to disputes between plaintiff and defendant, not between co-defendants: “A counter claim would only lie in between the plaintiff and defendant and not in between the defendants.”

Interpreting the word “parties” in Order VIII Rule 9 through ejusdem generis, the Court held that it cannot be stretched to permit co-defendants to respond to each other's counter-claims, as doing so would create a “trial within the trial”.

The Court also distinguished the precedents cited by the applicant, noting that the Orissa High Court case involved an amendment after the addition of parties, and the Supreme Court decision applied to election petitions governed by a special statutory procedure.

Terming the application “frivolous, harassive and a ploy adopting a dilatory tactic”, the Court dismissed it with costs of Rs. 10,000, payable to the West Bengal State Legal Services Authority within two weeks.

Case: EDEN CONSULTANCY SERVICES PVT LTD VS KERALA STATE ELECTRONICS DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION LTD AND ORS  

Case No: CS-COM/306/2024

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