Once Trial on All Issues Has Begun, Limitation Cannot Be Carved Out for Preliminary Decision Under Order XIV Rule 2: Supreme Court

Case Name: John Mathew v. Santha Paul & Others

Date of Judgment: 21 September 2026

Citation: 2026 INSC 1020

Bench: K.V. Viswanathan and Arun Palli, JJ.

Held: Framing all issues does not, by itself, prevent a court from trying a qualifying issue of law first under Order XIV Rule 2(2) of the Code of Civil Procedure. The court may do so before trial on the issues generally begins, provided the issue concerns jurisdiction or a statutory bar and can dispose of the case without resolving disputed facts. Once the court has begun trying the issues together, however, it cannot sever one issue for a purported preliminary trial. Section 151 CPC cannot revive that power.

Summary: The plaintiff challenged a sale deed executed by his power of attorney holder and sought a declaration of title and recovery of possession. The defendants pleaded limitation. After all issues had been framed, the plaintiff had completed his evidence and the defendants had begun theirs when the purchaser applied to have limitation decided as a preliminary issue. The trial court dismissed the suit as time-barred; the first appellate court treated that disposal as a rejection of the plaint. The Kerala High Court restored the suit but went further and held it to be within limitation under Article 65. The Supreme Court held that the application to isolate limitation came too late: the issue was already part of an ongoing trial. It also left open whether Article 59 or Article 65 applies, whether the sale deed is void, and the ultimate question of limitation.

Decision: The Supreme Court set aside the orders of the trial court and first appellate court and the High Court’s judgment. It dismissed the application for preliminary determination, restored the suit to the Munsiff Court, Kottarakara, and requested a decision within three months of receipt of its judgment.