Executing courts must adjudicate third-party title claims under Order XXI Rule 97, notwithstanding pending suits.

The appellant, a third-party objector in execution proceedings, claimed ownership of acquired land under two sale deeds said to have been executed in favour of his grandfather in 1947–48. The decree-holder claimed entitlement to compensation deposited for the acquired land.

The appellant applied under Order XXI Rule 97 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (CPC), seeking adjudication of his ownership claim. The Executing Court dismissed the application, noting that the appellant had also filed a pending declaratory suit, O.S. No. 207/2025. The appellant challenged that dismissal in this appeal.

Whether, in the circumstances, the Executing Court was justified in rejecting the third-party objector’s application under Order XXI Rule 97 CPC without adjudicating his claim.

Order XXI Rule 97 CPC provides the procedural basis for a third party to raise a claim of obstruction or resistance in execution proceedings.

Where the third party asserts an ownership or title claim over the property, the Executing Court must adjudicate that claim in accordance with law, treating the matter as a suit.

The judgment cites no precedent; it also refers to Section 151 CPC in describing the application.

The appellant asserted title to the acquired property on the basis of two disputed sale deeds and consequently claimed entitlement to the compensation. The High Court held that the pending declaratory suit did not extinguish or preclude adjudication of the appellant’s claim in the execution proceedings.

Since the asserted ownership claim required adjudication under Order XXI Rule 97 CPC, dismissing the application without conducting an inquiry was improper. The Executing Court must decide the claim independently on the evidence adduced.

It remanded the matter for an inquiry into the third-party objection, leaving all parties’ contentions open.

The parties were directed to appear before the Executing Court on 13 October 2026, which was directed to dispose of the execution proceedings within four months from that date. The restraint on disbursement of compensation was to continue until the Executing Court decided the application.