SHIVA SUBHAN GANDHI Vs. SUBAN S GANDHI SON

JUDGEMENT

(1.) RULE, returnable forthwith. Heard with consent of the parties.

(2.) THIS is a writ petition against the order passed by the Civil Judge, Junior Division, Vasco thereby, he refused to condone delay in preferring the application for setting aside ex-parte decree, filed by the original defendants / petitioners.

(3.) IN brief, the facts of the case, are as follows : the petitioners and the respondents are closely related to each other. The petitioners are the sons of the respondents. The respondents instituted a suit for injunction against the defendants / petitioners restraining them from entering into the suit shops and interfering with their business. The suit came to be instituted on 04. 11. 2003. Pursuant to the summons issued to the petitioners/ defendants, petitioners / defendants appeared before the Court and filed written statement. It is alleged by the petitioners that after they filed written statement, there was a meeting between them and their parents i. e. plaintiffs/ respondents on 4. 3. 2004. In that meeting, the dispute was resolved and it was agreed that the respondents/ plaintiffs would withdraw the suit. The petitioners/ defendants were, therefore, under impression that the respondents/ plaintiffs would withdraw the suit and, therefore, did not care for the same. On 13. 5. 2008, the defendants/ petitioners had gone to the office of the Chartered Accountant, where they came to know that an ex-parte decree has been passed against them. They immediately contacted a new Counsel to take note of the record and found that on 10. 08. 2004, the Counsel for the defendants/ petitioners had made the submission that the defendants are not contacting him and he would like to withdraw his appearance. It is the contention of the petitioners/ defendants that Shri Kenkre Advocate never informed them about the withdrawal of his appearance and the Court had passed ex-parte order and decree.