- 1 - HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC:30415 W.P. No.5980/2021 IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU DATED THIS THE 19TH DAY OF JUNE, 2026 BEFORE THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE VIJAYKUMAR A. PATIL WRIT PETITION NO.5980/2021 (GM-CPC) BETWEEN: RAMANAGOWDA S/O LATE ESHWARAPPA AGED ABOUT 75 YEARS R/O RAMESHWARA VILLAGE HONNALI TALUK DAVANAGER DISTRICT 577001. …PETITIONER (BY SRI. RAJU BHAT, ADV.,) AND: 1. RAJU S/O LATE SHANTHAVEERAPPA AGED 50 YEARS BAR BENDING WORK R/O RAMESHWARA VILLAGE HONNALI TALUK DAVANAGERE DISTRICT NOW R/O NEAR ANTERGATTEMMAT KASHIPUR, SHIMOGA DISTRICT SHIMOGA 577201. 2. SMT. PREMILAMMA W/O LATE ESHWARAPPA AGED ABOUT 75 YEARS R/O RAMESHWARA VILLAGE HONNALI TALUK DAVANAGEE DISTRICT 577001. 3. MALLIKARJUNA S/O LATE ESHWARAPPA Digitally signed by RUPA V Location: HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA - 2 - HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC:30415 W.P. No.5980/2021 AGED ABOUT 40 YEARS R/AT RAMESHWARA VILLAGE HONNALI TALUK DAVANAGERE DISTRICT 577001. 4. MALLAMMA D/O LATE ESHWARAPPA AGED ABOUT 40 YEARS C/O PREMILAMMA R/O RAMESHWARA VILLAGE HONNALI TALUK DAVANAGER DISTRICT 577001. 5. SARVAMMA W/O KALLANAGOUDA BANGIGOUDRU AGED 85 YEARS R/O VITTALANAGAR, MUDDANAHALLI POST SHIKARIPURA TQ SHIMOGA DISTRICT. 577427. 6. GIRIJAMMA W/O HOTTEGOUDRA SADASHIVAPPA AGED ABOUT 83 YEARS R/O HADARAHALLI VILLAGE POST HIREKERURU TQ HAVERI DISTRICT 581111. …RESPONDENTS (BY SRI. ANANDA V, ADV., FOR SRI. JAGADEESH MUNDARAGI, ADV., FOR R1 TO R6 R2 – PREMILAMMA - SD R3 – MALLIKARJUNA – SD R4 – MALLAMMA -SD R5 – SARVAMMA – SD AND UNREPRESENTED) THIS WRIT PETITION IS FILED UNDER ARTICLE 227 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA, PRAYING TO SET ASIDE THE ORDER DTD.20.3.2020 PASSED BY COURT OF SENIOR CIVIL JUDGE AT HARIHAR CIRCUIT BENCH AT HONNALLI IN O.S.NO.46/2015 (ON IA NO.11 U/S 151 OF CPC) AND CONSEQUENTLY PERMIT THE PETITIONER TO PLACE ON RECORD THE REPLICATION STATEMENT FILED BY THE - 3 - HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC:30415 W.P. No.5980/2021 PETITIONER/DEFENDANT NO.2. A CERTIFIED COPY OF THE ORDER IS HEREBY PRODUCED AS ANNEXURE-A & ETC. THIS PETITION, COMING ON FOR PRELIMINARY HEARING IN ‘B’ GROUP, THIS DAY, ORDER WAS MADE THEREIN AS UNDER: CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE VIJAYKUMAR A. PATIL ORAL ORDER This writ petition is filed challenging the order dated 20.03.2020 passed in O.S.No.46/2015 by the Senior Civil Judge, Harihara, Itinerary Court at Honnalli, (for short, ‘the trial Court’). 2. Sri.Raju Bhat, learned counsel for the petitioner/defendant No.2 submits that respondent No.1 has filed the suit for partition and separate possession claiming to be the son of Shanthaveerappa, which has been denied by defendant No.2 in the suit. The defendant Nos.5 and 6 have been impleaded later in the said suit by contending that they are the daughters of Ramappa and both the defendants have taken a stand that the suit is to be decreed and further raised a counter claim seeking allotment of 1/4th share in the suit schedule property. It is submitted that the petitioner/defendant No.2 has filed an application under Section 151 of the Code of - 4 - HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC:30415 W.P. No.5980/2021 Civil Procedure (for short, ‘the CPC’) praying the trial Court to permit the defendant No.2 to file replication statement against the written statement filed by defendant No.6, which came to be rejected by trial Court by recording a finding on merits, which is impermissible. It is further submitted that Order VIII Rule 9 of CPC permits the party to file additional written statement for complete adjudication of the suit, hence, he may be permitted to file a written statement to the counter claim raised by defendant No.6. Hence, he seeks to allow the petition. 3. Per contra, Sri. Ananda V., learned counsel for Sri.Jagadeesh Mundaragi, learned counsel for respondent Nos.1 and 6 supports the order of the trial Court and submits that there is no provision in the CPC to file replication statement against the written statement filed by the co-defendant. Hence, the trial Court has rightly rejected the prayer for filing replication statement, which does not call for any interference. Hence, he seeks to dismiss the petition. 4. I have heard the arguments on both sides and perused the material available on record. - 5 - HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC:30415 W.P. No.5980/2021 5. The respondent No.1/plaintiff has filed the suit in O.S.No.46/2015 for partition and separation of possession. Initially, the said suit was filed against the defendants Nos.1 to 4 and later defendant Nos.5 and 6 were impleaded. The petitioner/defendant No.2 has filed a detailed written statement denying the plaint averments specifically contending that the plaintiff is not at all the son of deceased Shanthaveerappa and Vasanthamma. When things stood thus, the impleaded defendant No.6 has filed the written statement as well as raised the counter claim seeking to pass the judgment and decree as prayed by the plaintiff and also prayed to decree the suit in favour of defendant No.6 by allotting 1/4th share in the suit schedule properties. 6. It is trite law that when a counter claim is filed by one of the defendants, if the co-defendant in the suit is taking a different stand than the counter claim, such a defendant has every right to file the written statement to such counter claim. 7. In the case on hand, though the defendant No.2 has sought the prayer to file replication statement against the - 6 - HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC:30415 W.P. No.5980/2021 written statement filed by defendant No.6, in my considered view, there is no provision under the law to file replication statement to a statement filed by the one of the defendants in the suit. However, in the case on hand, the defendant No.6 has filed a counter claim and to the said counter claim, the defendant No.2 has a right to file the additional written statement as per Order VIII Rule 9 of CPC. 8. For the aforementioned reasons, I proceed to pass the following: ORDER i. The writ petition is allowed. ii. The impugned order dated 20.03.2020 passed in O.S.No.46/2015 by the Senior Civil Judge, Harihara, Itinerary Court at Honnalli, is hereby set aside. iii. The petitioner/defendant No.2 is permitted to file additional written statement to the counter claim filed by the defendant No.6 in the suit. Sd/- (VIJAYKUMAR A. PATIL) JUDGE BSR List No.: 1 Sl No.: 22