(1.) Whether a complaint dismissed in default due to the non-appearance of the complainant can be restored for trial by the District Forum This is the solitary but significant question in this revision petition.
(2.) The facts are not in dispute. The petitioner had preferred the complaint on the 7th of November, 1991 and it is the stand that in a number of hearings which followed, he closed his evidence on the 7th of April, 1993 and the case was continuously being fixed for the opposite parties' evidence since 17th of May, 1993. Thereafter as many as five adjournments were granted for the evidence of the opposite parties till the last date of hearing on the 7th of October, 1993. It is the petitioner's case that his Counsel had unavoidably gone out of station to conduct his cases after expressly making a request to his colleague to put in appearance on his behalf because of the mere formality of the tendering of the opposite parties' evidence on the said date. However due to some mis-understanding the said Counsel failed to appear before the District Forum and the complaint was dismissed by the order in the following terms : "called several times, but none appeared on behalf of the complainant. So the complaint stands dismissed in default. "
(3.) Aggrieved by the above, the petitioner then put in a detailed application for restoration of the complaint alongwith the affidavit of his Counsel Shri Anil. S. Rao, Advocate giving sufficient and adequate reasons for his non-appearance. The said application came up before the District Forum on the 14th of December, 1993 and was inevitably opposed by the other side on the alleged ground that the District Forum had no jurisdiction to restore the complaint. Upholding the objection the District Forum recorded the following operative part of the order : "we have heard the parties. In G. M. Telephone V/s. Jayanti Lal, 1993 3 CPJ 273 (NC) National Commission has held that under the Consumer Protection Act, the complain dismissed in default cannot be restored, as the Forum has no such power. As such, we are of the view that complaint cannot be restored and this application is liable to be filed and is filed as such. "