S I RAJKUMAR Vs. RAMACHANDRAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS Revision has been filed by the petitioner/defendant against the order passed by the lower Court in allowing the application to condone the delay of 69 days in filing a petition to set aside the exparte decree by imposing a condition to deposit a sum of Rs. 10,000/- to the credit of the suit towards costs on or before 05. 06. 2008.

(2.) THE revision petitioner is the defendant before the lower Court. The plaintiff/respondent herein had filed O. S. No. 301 of 2004 against the defendant/revision petitioner herein on a promissory note dated 01. 04. 2001 executed by the defendant/revision petitioner herein in favour of the plaintiff/respondent herein. Since the defendant/revision petitioner herein did not cross-examine the plaintiff/respondent herein, the said suit was decreed exparte by the lower Court in favour of the plaintiff/respondent herein on 30. 07. 2007. There was a delay of 69 days in filing an application to set aside the exparte decree. Hence, the petitioner filed I. A. No. 357 of 2007 seeking for condonation of delay in filing the application to set aside the exparte decree. The lower Court had, after hearing the arguments of both sides, allowed the said application by imposing a condition on the petitioner to deposit Rs. 10,000/-towards costs to the credit of the suit. Aggrieved by the said condition, the petitioner has preferred this revision petition.

(3.) IN the application to condone the delay the petitioner has submitted that when the case was posted for cross-examination, the petitioner's father had become seriously ill and subsequently he died and after the death of the father, he fell ill and he could not meet his counsel to know about the case and on knowing the passing of exparte decree, he had instructed his counsel to file the application to set aside the exparte decree and in the meanwhile, a delay of 69 days had accrued.