Bombay HC Quashes Deemed Conveyance – Prior Civil Suit Unconditional Withdrawal Bars Fresh Application of Society under Section 11 MOFA.
The suit for deemed conveyance was withdrawn without liberty and thereafter, the section 11 application was filed for the same relief on the same cause of action.
A litigant cannot be allowed to test one forum, withdraw without liberty, and then approach another forum for identical relief. If the society withdrew the suit on account of wrong legal advice, the proper course was to challenge the order of withdrawal or seek appropriate remedy in 3 ::: Uploaded on – 12/02/2026 ::: Downloaded on – 24/02/2026 08:38:08 ::: 903-wp14561-2025.doc accordance with law. It cannot bypass the consequence of its own act by invoking Section 11. This view finds support by way of Division Bench judgment of this Court in the case of Hasmukh Narrotamdas Malkan vs. The District Deputy Registrar Cooperative Societies, Mumbai City-3 & Anr., Writ Petition (L) No.23026 of 2021 decided on 8 June 2023.
In the present case, the society had already approached the Civil Court seeking enforcement of the statutory obligation to convey the same property. The relief claimed there and the relief sought under Section 11 arise from the same cause. The suit was withdrawn unconditionally. No liberty was reserved. If, after such withdrawal, the society is permitted to invoke Section 11 for the same relief, it would defeat the very object of Order XXIII Rule 1(4). The form of the proceeding cannot override the substance. Though Section 11 provides for a summary remedy, it is nonetheless a legal proceeding to enforce the same right. The expression suit in Order XXIII cannot be read in a narrow and technical manner so as to exclude all other proceedings that are substantially in the nature of adjudication on the same cause.
Judgment dated 11.2.2026 of the High Court of Bombay in Writ Petition No.14561 of 2025 of Vaijayanta shamrao Bhosale Vs. District Deputy Registrar and others
