S GNANESWARAN Vs. S. SIVANANDAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE 1st defendant in O.S.No.5 of 2005 on the file of the Additional District and Sessions Court cum Fast Track Court, Tirupattur is the revision petitioner.

(2.) THE respondent herein filed the suit in O.S.No.149 of 1997 against the revision petitioner and six others for partition and the revision petitioner contested the suit by filing statement raising various issues. THE case was posted for trial on 13.2.2008 and on that date the counsel appearing for the revision petitioner reported no instructions and the revision petitioner was set exparte and exparte preliminary decree was passed on 13.2.2008. THEreafter, the final decree application was filed by the respondent and notice was issued to the revision petitioner returnable by 11.10.2010 and on receipt of the same, the revision petitioner filed an application to set aside the exparte preliminary decree and also filed an application in I.A.No.37 of 2010 to condone the delay in filing the application to set aside the exparte decree. That application was dismissed by the Court below and aggrieved by the same this revision is filed.

(3.) MR. V.Raghavachari, the learned counsel for the revision petitioner relied upon the Judgement of the Hon'ble Supreme Court reported in 1998 (1) MLJ page 76 (Malkiat Singh and other Vs. Joginder Singh and others) in support of his contention that when exparte decree was passed on the basis of the reporting no instructions without issuing notice to the parties the same is liable to be set aside.