1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF BOMBAY AT GOA SECOND APPEAL NO. 110/2006 Shri Liladhar Yeshwant Sail. ......... Appellant. V/s. 1. Director of Police Wireless and ors. .......... Respondents. The appellant in person. Shri S. R. Rivonkar, Advocate for the respondents. CORAM : P.V. KAKADE, J. Date : 6th November, 2006. P.C. Heard the appellant in person and the Advocate for the respondents. 2. This appeal is aimed against the order passed by the District Judge, Panaji dismissing the appeal with direction that the plaint be returned to the plaintiff for presentation in the proper Court having jurisdiction to try the suit. The lower Court had dismissed the suit, however, the lower appellate Court was of the view that the proper course for the trial Court should have been to return the plaint for presentation in 2 proper Court having jurisdiction and accordingly, the order came to be passed. Hence, the present appeal. 3. The appellant was an employee of respondent No.2 Director General of Police, Maharashtra, Mumbai and was working under respondent No.1 Director of Police Wireless, Maharashtra State and Special I.G.P. Pune. The Government of Maharashtra is also made a party in the suit which came to be filed before the Civil Judge, Sr. Division, Ponda. The suit was for recovery from the plaintiff-appellant towards the arrears of rent towards the official residential premises occupied by the plaintiff during his tenure under the defendants. The plaintiff was working as Wireless Operator in Pune from 1969 to 1980 and was allotted a rent free quarter at Pune. Thereafter, the plaintiff was transferred to Mumbai w.e.f. 2.7.1980 and accordingly, rent of Rs. 6,591.45 was deducted from the salary of the appellant from 1.1.85 till 31.5.85. The plaintiff was re-transferred to Pune from 8.6.85 and was reallotted the said rent free quarter. The plaintiff retired from service w.e.f. 31.3.91 and after retirement, he settled in Ponda, Goa. Therefore, the plaintiff claimed that the order dated 18.3.1989 passed by respondent No.1 to recover the rent from 2.7.80 till 7.6.85 was illegal and therefore, the amount recovered under the said order was not proper and hence, the suit came to be filed for recovery of the said amount. 3 4. Now, the trial Court, after hearing both the parties came to the conclusion that the suit deserved to be dismissed as the lower Court had no jurisdiction to entertain the suit as contemplated under Section 20(b) of the Civil Procedure Code. The appeal was preferred before the District Court. The learned District Court Judge was of the opinion that the suit deserved to be dismissed for want of territorial jurisdiction, however, proper course should have been to return the plaint to the plaintiff for presentation in proper Court and, as such, the order came to be passed, disposing of the appeal in that manner. 5. Now taking into account the factual matrix involved in this dispute and looking to the provision of Section 20 of the Code of Civil Procedure, there cannot be any doubt that the Civil Court at Ponda, Goa would have no jurisdiction to entertain and try the suit as it can be instituted in a Court within whose jurisdiction (a) the defendants or each of the defendants actually or voluntarily resides or carries on business or personally works for gain or (b) any of the defendants actually resides or carries on business and personally works for gain provided the leave of the Court is given or the defendants who do not reside or carry on business or personally work for gain as aforesaid acquiesce or (c) cause of action wholly or in part arises. 4 In the present case, it is obvious that neither clause (a) nor clause (b) of Section 20 could be invoked in favour of the plaintiff and, therefore, in my considered view, the learned District Judge was right in dismissing the appeal with direction that the plaint be returned to the plaintiff for presentation in the proper Court having jurisdiction to try the suit. 6. In the result, the appeal has no merit and stands dismissed with no order as to costs. P.V. KAKADE, J. ssm.