The Andhra Pradesh High Court has held that the Commercial Courts dealing with transferred cases from civil courts are empowered to prescribe a new timeline for submission of written statements.
The petitioner/defendant, Amoda Iron Steel Limited did not file his written statement in the suit within the stipulated period. Later on the petitioner filed a petition under Section 148 r/w Section 151 of the Civil Procedure Code, 1908 before the Principal District Court, Visakhapatnam seeking extension of time for 15 days for filing the written statement.
The petitioner filed the written statement. During the pendency of I.A.No.2028 of 2018, in view of the establishment of the Commercial Court, O.S.No.11 of 2018 was transferred to the court of Special Court for Trial and Disposal of Commercial Disputes, Visakhapatnam.
Before the Special Court, the petition filed by the petitioner/defendant under Section 148 r/w Section 151 CPC was dismissed for default, against which the petitioner filed under Order IX Rule 9 r/w Section 151 C.P.C for restoration and as was filed beyond the period of limitation, the petitioner also filed I.A.No.31 of 2020 under Section 5 of the Limitation Act to condone the delay of 183 days.
The division bench of Justice C.Praveen Kumar and Justice Ravi Nath Tilhari held that the court below while considering did not advert at all to the cause shown by the petitioner, seeking condonation of delay. Any finding on the cause shown being sufficient or not has not been recorded. The court below ought to have considered the cause shown by the petitioner for condonation of delay as also the objection to the said cause, if any, filed by the opposite party and ought to have returned a specific finding and consequent upon such finding it ought to have decided I.A.No.31 of 2020.
“We allow the petition and set aside the impugned judgment and order dated 12.11.2020, passed by the Special Judge for Trial and Disposal of Commercial Disputes, Visakhapatnam in I.A.No.31 of 2020 in I.A.No.32 of 2020 in C.O.S.No.11 of 2018 and direct the learned Court below to consider and decide the I.A.Nos.31 of 2020 and 32 of 2020 afresh in accordance with law after affording opportunity of hearing to the parties concerned,” the court said.
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