MUNNI DEVI KANWAR Vs. DIGAMBER JAIN BHAWAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The defendants in a suit for eviction of a licensee being Title Suit No. 1569 of 2018, has preferred this application aggrieved by an order dated August 29, 2019 passed by the learned Judge, XIIth Bench, City Civil Court at Calcutta. By the order impugned, the written statement filed by the defendants was not accepted on the ground that the summons were received on January 4, 2019 and the written statement had been filed by the defendants on July 11, 2019, that is, beyond the statutory period.

(2.) It is the contention of the petitioners/defendants that the learned Court below fixed April 29, 2019 for filing the written statement. The written statement could not be filed on that date because there was a resolution of the Bar as appears from the order sheet and the case was fixed on July 11, 2019 for filing of written statement. The Court itself had extended the time to file the written statement by the defendants to July 11, 2019. Record reveals that on July 11, 2019 itself the written statement was filed. The Court fixed August 6, 2019 as the date for acceptance of the written statement. On August 29, 2019, the Court held that the written statement could not be accepted beyond the permissible period of 120 days.

(3.) It is submitted on behalf of the plaintiffs that the defendants failed to submit the written statement within the statutory period of limitation of 120 days; that there was no application for acceptance of the said written statement beyond the statutory period. It is further submitted that amendment to Order 8 Rule 10 of the Code of Civil Procedure prohibits the Court from extending time to file written statement and a judgment in the matter of SCG Contracts India Pvt. Ltd. vs. K.S. Chamankar Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd. and ors., reported in 2019 SCC Online SC 226, has been relied upon by the learned advocate for the opposite parties.