If your case has been pending before the Jharkhand High Court for an unduly long period, the proper course is to first file an application for urgent hearing or early disposal before the same court. Only if no effective relief is granted and the delay is causing serious prejudice may you approach the Supreme Court of India seeking a direction for expeditious disposal, it is an exception, not a rule. As regards immovable property disputes, a suit concerning title, possession, cancellation of sale deed, or injunction must ordinarily be filed in the court within whose territorial jurisdiction the property is situated, as mandated by Section 16 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908. Therefore, even if you reside in Ranchi, you cannot institute the suit in Ranchi merely for convenience if the property is located in another district.
Where NBW and proceedings under Section 82 CrPC (now corresponding provisions under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023) have been issued against your brother, and he is suffering from serious mental illness and is admitted in a hospital, a close relative or advocate may move the trial court with his medical records seeking recall of the NBW, dropping of proclamation proceedings, exemption from personal appearance, and grant of bail. Since the offence is bailable, bail is a matter of right, and a family member may stand as surety, though the court may require formal representation through counsel or guardian. In such circumstances, the appropriate remedy is generally to seek regular bail and recall of coercive process rather than anticipatory bail, especially after proclamation proceedings have commenced.
When a civil suit is ‘admitted’ it simply means that the court has found that the plaint discloses a prima facie cause of action and has directed registration of the suit and issuance of summons. It does not amount to any adjudication on the merits. Such an order is ordinarily not interfered with by higher courts unless the plaint is barred by law, discloses no cause of action, or the court lacks jurisdiction. The defendant may challenge the maintainability by filing an application under Order VII Rule 11 CPC for rejection of the plaint if any of these grounds are made out.
If a suit has been dismissed for default twice and a fresh restoration application has been filed, restoration is still legally possible if the plaintiff establishes “sufficient cause” for repeated non-appearance. However, repeated defaults substantially reduce the chances of restoration. To oppose the application, the defendant may point out persistent negligence, lack of bona fides, unexplained delay, and abuse of process. The court will examine whether the plaintiff acted diligently and whether restoration would prejudice the defendant.
A gift deed can technically be challenged even after several decades if it is void ab initio, forged, or obtained by fraud discovered later and the challenge is within limitation after discovery of fraud, not otherwise. A challenge after 60 years faces formidable obstacles of limitation, delay, and laches, and courts are generally reluctant to disturb long-settled titles. If the opposite party has filed a suit for cancellation of your sale deed but is themselves in unauthorized possession, you should not merely defend that suit; you should also seek recovery of possession, either by filing a counterclaim in the same suit or by instituting a separate suit for declaration of title, possession, and mesne profits. A counterclaim is usually the more efficient remedy, as all issues can be adjudicated together.