Mohammad Iqbal V. Mohammad Hussain and 3 others,
CLC 2021 1282 · Balochistan High Court
This case involved a property dispute in Quetta. Mohammad Iqbal claimed ownership of a plot of land and alleged that Mohammad Hussain had illegally occupied it and built shops on it. Iqbal had earlier filed a civil suit in 2014 over the same property and cause of action, but that suit was withdrawn unconditionally through his lawyer. Later, in 2017, Iqbal filed a fresh suit seeking the same reliefs - declaration, possession, and permanent injunction - against the same opponent over the same property. The trial court initially allowed this second suit to proceed, but on appeal, the Additional District Judge rejected the plaint, ruling that filing a second suit after an unconditional withdrawal of the first was not legally permissible.
Iqbal challenged this rejection before the Balochistan High Court, arguing his lawyer had withdrawn the earlier suit without his authority and through fraud. The High Court dismissed his petition. It held that under Order XXIII, Rule 1(3) of the Civil Procedure Code, once a suit is withdrawn unconditionally, it is treated as dismissed, finally disposing of the matter and barring any fresh suit on the same cause of action between the same parties. The court also noted that if Iqbal believed the withdrawal was fraudulent or unauthorized, his proper remedy was to file an application under Section 12(2) of the CPC before the trial court, not a fresh suit. This case underscores an important procedural rule: withdrawing a suit without permission to refile
یہ مقدمہ کوئٹہ میں واقع ایک جائیداد کے تنازعے سے متعلق تھا۔ محمد اقبال نے ایک قطعہ اراضی کی ملکیت کا دعویٰ کیا اور الزام لگایا کہ محمد حسین نے اس پر غیر قانونی طور پر قبضہ کر کے دکانیں تعمیر کر لی ہیں۔ اقبال نے اس سے پہلے 2014 میں اسی جائیداد اور اسی بنیاد پر ایک دیوانی دعویٰ دائر کیا تھا، لیکن وہ دعویٰ اس کے وکیل کے ذریعے غیر مشروط طور پر واپس لے لیا گیا تھا۔ بعد ازاں، 2017 میں اقبال نے اسی فریق مخالف کے خلاف، اسی جائیداد کے متعلق، وہی حقوق یعنی اعلانِ ملکیت، قبضہ، اور مستقل حکمِ امتناعی حاصل کرنے کے لیے ایک نیا دعویٰ دائر کیا۔ ٹرائل کورٹ نے ابتدائی طور پر اس دوسرے دعوے کو آگے بڑھنے کی اجازت دے دی، لیکن اپیل پر ایڈیشنل ڈسٹرکٹ جج نے عرضی خارج کر دی اور فیصلہ دیا کہ پہلے دعوے کو غیر مشروط طور پر واپس لینے کے بعد دوسرا دعویٰ دائر کرنا قانوناً جائز نہیں۔
اقبال نے اس خارجی فیصلے ک