J S LAKRA Vs. NATIONAL INSURANCE CO LTD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Whether an appeal under Sec.15 of the Act lies against the order of the District Forum rejecting an application for restoration of a complaint dismissed in default earlier? This is the significant threshold question in this appeal.

(2.) Since the question aforesaid is pristinely legal, the facts would pale into relative insignificance and may be noticed with utmost brevity. The appellant had preferred complaint No.125 of 1991 before the District Forum, Hisar which after some adjournment came up for hearing on the 20th of February, 1992. On the said date, the appellant did not chose to come present whilst the learned Counsel for the opposite party put in appearance and made an application for rejecting the complaint in default. The District Forum noticed that the case had been repeatedly called out and no appearance was being put in on behalf of the appellant and consequently dismissed the complaint for want of prosecution on the date aforesaid.

(3.) After nearly 21/2 months of the dismissal aforesaid, an application dated the 6th of May, 1992, was moved on behalf of the appellant for the restoration of the complaint. This was strenuously opposed on behalf of the opposite party both on legal and factual grounds. The District Forum in its considered order first opined that there appeared to be no enabling section or rule to restore a complaint dismissed in default. It however, proceeded further to examine the question on its facts and merits and held that the appellant had not come to the District Forum with clean hands and further there was an unexplained delay of 2 months in making the application for restoration, and on this factual position also the application was rejected.