Hemant Shantaram Pikale vs Family Care Hospitals Limited Advocate - PRAKRUTI JOSHI — WP/15442/2025

Case Summary: WP/15442/2025 - Hemant Shantaram Pikale v. Family Care Hospitals Limited Decision: The High Court of Bombay allowed the petition and struck off the defendant's defense in a leave-and-license eviction suit. The court held that Family Care Hospitals' refusal to deposit Rs. 3,67,73,382 in arrears of license fees despite court orders—upheld through multiple appellate levels and by the Supreme Court—justified the drastic remedy of striking off defense under Order XV-A of the Code of Civil Procedure. Key Reasoning: The court found that the Trial and Appellate Courts erred by citing pendency of revision proceedings and execution proceedings as reasons to reject the striking-off application. The court emphasized that once the deposit obligation attained finality (after Supreme Court dismissal on 18 October 2024), and the deadline of 30 September 2024 passed without compliance, the plaintiff acquired a right to striking off. Given the suit's seven-year pendency and the Supreme Court's direction to expedite hearing, relegating the matter back to the Trial Court would cause further delays contrary to justice. This case analysis is maintained by casestatus.in based on publicly available court records.