AIR 2020 SUPREME COURT 3670

Supreme Court Of India

(From : Punjab and Haryana)

Hon'ble Judge(s): R. F. Nariman, Navin Sinha, Indira Banerjee , JJJ

(A) Civil P.C. (5 of 1908) , O.7 R.10, O.7 R.10A, S.24(2), S.25(3)— Return of plaint for presentation in Court of competent jurisdiction - Re-presented plaint - Proceeding has to commence de novo under O. 7, R. 10 r/w. R. 10A. AIR 2019 SC 4785, Overruled. It is no more res integra that in a dispute between parties where two or more courts may have jurisdiction, it is always open for them by agreement to confer exclusive jurisdiction by consent on one of the two courts. Jurisdictional Clause of the agreement leaves @page-SC3671 no doubt that the parties clearly indicated that it was only the court at Delhi which shall have exclusive jurisdiction with regard to any dispute concerning the franchise agreement and no other court would have jurisdiction over the same. In that view of the matter, the presentation of the plaint at Gurgaon was certainly not before a court having jurisdiction in the matter. Observations are very clear that the suit has to proceed afresh before the proper court. The directions came to be made more in the peculiar facts of the case in exercise of the discretionary jurisdiction under Art. 136 of the Constitution. In cases dealing with transfer of proceedings from a Court having jurisdiction to another Court, the discretion vested in the Court by Ss. 24(2) and 25(3) either to retry the proceedi....