LAHORE: The Lahore High Court held that although under the Limitation Act, 1908, an appeal against an ex-parte decree can be filed within 30 days; however Article 181 of the Act provides a limitation period of three years from the date the right to sue accrues.
This provision empowers the court with the wide-ranging potential discretion to allow the application if the defendant who was declared ex-parte assigns good cause for a previous absence, the court added.
The court passed this order on a petition of Muhammad Ashfaq and others who challenged a lower courts decision which passed an ex-parte decree against the petitioners on November 22, 2023 for recovery of damages amounting to rupees twenty million.
The petitioners stance is that they are barely educated and are not familiar with the legal intricacies. They remained unaware of the developments due to collusiveness of their counsel and were ultimately proceeded against ex-parte.
The court observed that it is the right of every defendant and also a principle of natural justice, to be given a chance of hearing before any order is passed against his interest.
The court observed that if the defendants proceeded ex-parte, they may join the proceedings at any subsequent stage and file an appropriate application for setting aside ex-parte order, provided they show good cause.
The court said if good cause is shown to the court's satisfaction justifying their previous absenteeism, the ex-parte proceedings may be set aside by the court and the defendant may then be restored to the position he held before proceeding against ex-parte.
Even otherwise, in the absence of any clear provisions in the Code of Civil Procedure prohibiting the defendant's appearance and participation in the proceedings, proceed ex-parte, there can be no legal bar to allow him to defend his rights, the court observed.
The court said the suit is still pending before the trial court, and the valuable rights of the petitioners are said to be involved in the subject litigation. Therefore, in such a situation, it would be unjustified to dislodge them from the active contest based on technicalities.
The court, therefore, allowed the petition and set aside an impugned order.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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