Rajasthan High Court Rejects Revision Petition When Appeal Against Same Order Is Already Pending

 

The Rajasthan High Court rejected a revision petition while holding that a litigant cannot pursue two parallel legal remedies against the same judgment or order at the same time. The Court observed that once a party has already chosen to challenge a decision by filing an appeal, it cannot simultaneously maintain a revision petition concerning the same matter. The Court stated that pursuing multiple remedies simultaneously amounts to misuse of the judicial process and cannot be permitted.

The matter was heard by Justice Anoop Kumar Dhand. The Court noted that the petitioner had already filed a statutory appeal challenging the decree passed by the executing court. Since the appeal was still pending consideration, the Court examined whether the petitioner could also pursue a revision petition against the rejection of objections raised under Section 47 of the Code of Civil Procedure. After considering the circumstances, the Court held that maintaining both proceedings at the same time was not permissible under law.

The case arose from a summary suit filed for recovery of money. The suit was based on a sale deed which had also been executed by the petitioner. After examining the matter, the court dealing with the case passed a decree in favor of the respondent. The decree directed recovery of the amount claimed in the suit.

Following the decree, execution proceedings were initiated. During the execution stage, the petitioner filed objections before the executing court under Section 47 of the Code of Civil Procedure. This provision allows parties to raise questions relating to the execution, discharge, or satisfaction of a decree. It enables the executing court to decide disputes connected with the implementation of a decree without requiring the parties to initiate a separate suit.

The executing court considered the objections raised by the petitioner but ultimately rejected them. After the rejection of these objections, the petitioner approached the High Court by filing a revision petition challenging the order of the executing court.

During the hearing of the revision petition, the respondents brought to the Court’s attention that the petitioner had already filed an appeal against the decree passed by the executing court. The respondents informed the Court that this appeal was still pending and had not yet been decided. On the basis of this fact, the respondents argued that the petitioner could not maintain both an appeal and a revision petition simultaneously against the same decree and related orders.

The respondents contended that allowing such parallel proceedings would create procedural complications and would be contrary to established legal principles governing the exercise of judicial remedies. According to their argument, a litigant must choose one remedy and pursue it rather than attempting to challenge the same decision through multiple proceedings at the same time.

The High Court considered these submissions and examined the record. The Court found that the petitioner had indeed already filed a statutory appeal challenging the decree passed by the executing court. Since the appellate remedy had already been invoked and the appeal was pending, the Court observed that filing a revision petition regarding the same matter amounted to pursuing parallel remedies.

The Court explained that although the law may sometimes provide more than one remedy to challenge a judicial decision, a litigant cannot attempt to pursue all such remedies simultaneously. Once a party has chosen a particular course of action, such as filing an appeal, that party must pursue the remedy in accordance with the procedure governing that remedy. The party cannot simultaneously initiate another proceeding in the nature of a revision to challenge the same order.

While explaining this principle, the Court observed that pursuing two remedies at the same time is equivalent to attempting to sail in two boats simultaneously. The Court stated that such conduct cannot be allowed because it leads to misuse of the judicial process and may result in unnecessary duplication of proceedings.

The Court further observed that permitting parallel proceedings could lead to conflicting decisions and would place an unnecessary burden on the judicial system. The legal system is designed to ensure orderly and efficient adjudication of disputes, and therefore litigants are required to follow a clear procedural path rather than initiating multiple proceedings for the same cause.

The bench emphasized that once a litigant has chosen to file an appeal, the litigant must pursue that remedy and await the outcome of the appellate process. The Court stated that a party cannot shift to another remedy merely because it wishes to obtain relief through a different procedural route or because the first remedy does not immediately produce a favorable result.

The Court also noted that the principle preventing multiple proceedings for the same cause is rooted in the broader objective of maintaining fairness and efficiency in the administration of justice. Allowing parties to challenge the same decision through several parallel proceedings would undermine the finality of judicial decisions and create confusion in the legal process.

In the present case, the Court observed that the petitioner had already invoked the appellate jurisdiction of the Court by filing a statutory appeal against the decree. Since the appeal was pending consideration, it was not open to the petitioner to simultaneously pursue a revision petition challenging the rejection of objections under Section 47 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

After analyzing the legal position and the facts of the case, the Court concluded that the revision petition filed by the petitioner was not maintainable. The Court held that the petitioner could not continue to pursue the revision petition while the appeal against the same decree was already pending before the Court.

Accordingly, the High Court dismissed the revision petition. The Court reiterated that pursuing two parallel remedies for the same cause of action amounts to misuse of the judicial process and cannot be permitted. The Court clarified that the petitioner must pursue the appeal already filed and seek relief through that proceeding rather than maintaining multiple proceedings simultaneously.

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