- (1.) Leave granted. This appeal arises out of the judgment and order passed by the High Court of Judicature at Bombay in Writ Petition No. 7459 of 2012, dated 19.12.2012. By the impugned judgment and order, the High Court has dismissed the writ petition filed by the Plaintiff/appellant herein and upheld the order passed by the Trial Court in Special Civil Suit No. 129 of 2011, dated 13.03.2012, whereby the Trial Court had concluded that the plea of limitation can be decided as a preliminary issue Under Section 9A of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (for short, "the Code") and thereby, allowed the parties to lead evidence for determination of the same.
(2.) The parties in the appeal are referred as arrayed before the Trial Court. The Appellant is the Plaintiff and the Respondents are the Defendants.
(3.) The facts, in brief, are: the Defendants Nos. 1 to 3 agreed to sell the suit schedule property situated at Mouje Takli Taluka, Pandharpur, District Solapur by an agreement of sale in favour of the Plaintiff for the total consideration of Rs. 12,00,000/-. The Plaintiff in part-payment of the aforesaid agreed consideration had paid Rs. 10,00,000/- to the Defendants Nos. 1 to 3 and secured the possession of suit property. The Plaintiff, on apprehension that the Defendants Nos. 1 to 3 are intending to sell the suit schedule property, filed a Regular Civil Suit No. 472 of 2002 inter alia seeking permanent injunction restraining the Defendants Nos. 1 to 3 from alienating the suit property. During the pendency of the suit, the Defendants Nos. 1 to 3 sold the suit property in favour of the Defendants Nos. 4 to 6. In light of the said development, the Plaintiff filed an application before the Civil Judge (Junior Division), Pandharpur to permit him to withdraw the suit with liberty to file fresh suit for specific performance. The said application was allowed by the learned Civil Judge by order dated 15.09.2010.;