9911796707
TMI Blog2021 (4) TMI 1355X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... sing of the decree. In the present case, although the defendant has blamed her counsel for his non-appearance which resulted in passing of the decree however, a perusal of the judgment dated 01.02.2019 would show that the same was passed after considering the merits of the case. In the opinion of this Court, the defendant has failed to show any sufficient cause for its absence in the Court on the material dates. The defendant has also failed to satisfactorily explain the delay of 582 days in filing the captioned application. The explanation given by the defendant is only an eye-wash. This Court is not inclined to accept the explanation provided by the defendant. Consequently, the captioned applications are dismissed. X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the applications, the defendant has also placed reliance on the medical documents of the son of the defendant's proprietor, namely, Master Sparsh Sharma. It is stated that Master Sparsh Sharma, aged about 10 years, underwent a heart surgery on 04.07.2018. Reliance is also placed on the medical documents of the mother of the defendant's proprietor namely, Smt. Savita Pandit. It is stated that Smt. Savita Pandit used to have dialysis and expired on 20.04.2019. It is averred that for the said reasons, the defendant could not appear before the Court and also could not file the captioned applications within time. 7. In support of his submissions, learned counsel for the defendant/applicant has placed reliance on the decisions in Rafiq and Another v. Munshilal and Another reported as (1981) 2 SCC 788, Smt. Lachi Tewari and Others v. Director of Land Records and Others reported as 1984 Supp SCC 431, M/s. N.K. Electronics v. Narinder Kumar reported as 2013 (4) RCR (Civil) 143. 8. The applications are contested by learned counsel for the plaintiffs. He submits that the 'case history' as available on the website of the Delhi High Court shows that the defendant through its p ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ot; or "enough", inasmuch as may be necessary to answer the purpose intended. Therefore, word "sufficient" embraces no more than that which provides a platitude which when the act done suffices to accomplish the purpose intended in the facts and circumstances existing in a case and duly examined from the viewpoint of a reasonable standard of a cautious man. In this context, "sufficient cause" means that the party had not acted in a negligent manner or there was a want of bona fide on its part in view of the facts and circumstances of a case or the party cannot be alleged to have been "not acting diligently" or "remaining inactive". However, the facts and circumstances of each case must afford sufficient ground to enable the court concerned to exercise discretion for the reason that whenever the court exercises discretion, it has to be exercised judiciously. (Vide Ramial v. Rewa Coalfields Ltd. [AIR 1962 SC 361], Lonand Gram panchayat v. Ramgiri Gosavi [AIR 1968 SC 222], Surinder Singh Sibia v. Vijay Kumar Sood [(1992) 1 SCC 70] and Oriental Aroma Chemical Industries Ltd. v. Gujarat Industrial Development Corpn. [ (2010) 5 SCC 459].) ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the purpose of Order 9 Rule 13 has to be construed as an elastic expression for which no hard-and-fast guidelines can be prescribed. The courts have a wide discretion in deciding the sufficient cause keeping in view the peculiar facts and circumstances of each case. The "sufficient cause" for non-appearance refers to the date on which the absence was made a ground for proceeding ex-parte and cannot be stretched to rely upon other circumstances anterior in time. If "sufficient cause" is made out for non-appearance of the defendant on the date fixed for hearing when ex pate proceedings were initiated against him, he cannot be penalised for his previous negligence which had been overlooked and thereby condoned earlier. In a case where the defendant approaches the court immediately and within the statutory time specified, the discretion is normally exercised in his favour, provided the absence was not mala fide or intentional. For the absence of a party in the case the other side can be compensated by adequate costs and the lis decided on merits." 16. In the present case, although the defendant has blamed her counsel for his non-appearance which resulted in p ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
|
