Civil Courts Obliged To Await Mediation Report Before Passing Further Orders When Parties Referred For Mediation: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court recently held that when a civil court has referred parties to a civil suit to mediation under Section 89 of the Civil Procedure Code, there is an obligation to await the mediation report before passing further orders in the suit.  

Justice C.S. Dias, while adjudicating the matter, and deciding as to whether the court below had erred in dismissing the suit as 'not pressed', further observed that, 

"it is statutory that when a suit is settled under Section 89 of the Code, without adjudication, the plaintiff is entitled for refund of the entire court fee as provided in Section 69 (A) of the Kerala Court Fees and Suit Valuation Act, 1959".

The original petition in the instant case had been filed to set aside the order of the Munsiff Court refusing refund of the court fee. 

The petitioner and respondent in the instant case who were the erstwhile plaintiff and defendant respectively to the civil suit, were referred for mediation during the pendency of the suit. Thereafter, they were able to reach a settlement and entered into a memorandum of agreement before the mediator, who was attached to the District Mediation Centre, Kollam.

The petitioner then filed an Interlocutory Application for refund of the court fee paid as provided under Section 69(A) of the Kerala Court Fees and Suit Valuation Act. However, this was dismissed by the Munsiff Court upon holding that since the suit was dismissed as 'not pressed', the petitioner was not entitled to any refund of court fees.

When the matter came up for consideration before the High Court, it noted that even before the mediation report was received, the plaintiff had filed a memo in the Munsiff Court stating that the suit may be dismissed as 'not pressed'. It was in this light that the Munsiff Court had suo motu advanced the case and the suit was dismissed.

The Court held that the order passed by the Munsiff Court was erroneous, since the latter did not await for the mediation report before passing further orders. The Court observed that the suit ought to have been disposed of as per the terms and conditions stipulated in the mediation agreement, rather than dismissing the same as not pressed. However, the Court observed that since a decree had already been passed in the Suit, the appropriate remedy for the petitioner would be to seek for a review of the decree, than assail an ancillary order. 

Additionally, the Court directed that since suit is settled under Section 89 of the Code, without adjudication, the plaintiff is entitled for refund of the entire court fee as provided in Section 69 (A) of the Kerala Court Fees and Suit Valuation Act, 1959.

The petitioner in the instant case was represented by Advocate M.R. Sarin. 

Case Title: Shybu B. v. Sajeev 

Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (Ker) 442

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