Law: Limitation Act, 1908

Section: 164

REMARKS

(Civil Revision u/s 115 CPC).
(a) The Code of Civil Procedure, 1908. Article 164 of the Limitation Act 1908---Ex-parte decree was passed in a suit for recovery of Rs. 21,20,000/- filed by the respondent against the petitioner- Application for setting ex-parte decree was dismissed by the trial court and the appellate court upheld the said order – Condonation of Delay- application for setting aside ex-parte decree was submitted with a delay of 13 months and 22 days. The record clearly indicated that the petitioner had actively participated in the trial court proceedings before being declared ex-parte. Therefore, Article 164 of the Limitation Act was directly applicable, mandating a 30 days’ timeframe for filing an application to set aside the ex- parte decree. The petitioner failed to provide any plausible or convincing reason to justify condonation of such a significant delay.
(Revision Petition was dismissed in limine).

Summary:Ex-parte Decree
The petitioner filed a civil suit for recovery of Rs. 21,20,000/-. After initially participating and filing a written statement, the petitioner stopped attending the proceedings. Consequently, the trial court passed an ex-parte decree in favor of the respondent. The petitioner later applied to set aside the ex-parte decree but with a significant delay (over 13 months). The courts below dismissed the application and the appeal on the basis that the delay was unjustified and time-barred under Article 164 of the Limitation Act, which requires setting aside ex-parte decrees within 30 days. The revision petition was dismissed.