The Supreme Court of India has recently reaffirmed that legal heirs cannot maintain a fresh suit to challenge a compromise decree if the original party did not file a recall application. The Court emphasized that the only remedy against a compromise decree is to file a recall application before the same court that recorded the compromise. This position was reiterated in a judgment delivered on April 21, 2025.
In the case at hand, the appellants sought to declare a compromise deed null and void. However, the Court dismissed their appeal, stating that even if the original party was coerced into the compromise, the appropriate course of action would have been to file a recall application before the court that passed the decree. Since the original party did not do so, the legal heirs could not maintain a fresh suit to challenge the decree.
The Court’s decision underscores the binding nature of consent decrees and the procedural avenues available to challenge them.
Sources