Withdrawal Of A Plaintiff From A Suit – Do Co-Plaintiffs Have A Say?

I. INTRODUCTION

Under the scheme of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 ("CPC"), a plaintiff, who has instituted a suit before the court, also has the right to withdraw from such suit. In such cases, the plaintiff does not require the leave of the court for withdrawing from such a suit, as long as the plaintiff does not intend to institute the suit afresh. However, the right of a plaintiff in this regard is subject to different qualifications when there is more than one plaintiff in a suit. It has often been the case that the dominus litis in a suit withdraws from the suit and the court dismisses the suit based on such withdrawal, which adversely affects the interest of other plaintiffs involved in the suit.