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Khodiyaar Rolling Mills v. Paschim Gujarat Vij Company Ltd.

Civil Appeal · 2018 INSC 1087Decided 20 Nov 2018
Civil Appeal No. 11227 of 2018
Justice R. Banumathi · Justice Indira Banerjee

Background

The respondent electricity distribution company sued the appellant mill owner to recover an outstanding electricity bill of about Rs. 63.4 lakh. The appellant did not appear in the suit, and an ex-parte decree was passed against it in 2007. The appellant's application to set aside that decree was filed over twenty months late, and both the trial court and the Gujarat High Court rejected it for being unexplained and too delayed.

Decision Breakdown

While the appeal was pending, the Supreme Court had earlier directed the appellant to deposit Rs. 70 lakh with the respondent without prejudice to its contentions, which the appellant did. Treating this deposit as proof of bona fide intent, the Court, without going into the merits of the delay or the underlying dispute, set aside the 2007 ex-parte decree and allowed the appeal, so the appellant could finally be heard. It directed the trial court to restore the original 2006 suit to its file and decide it as expeditiously as possible, given its age, with the appellant to file its written submissions within four weeks; the earlier deposit would remain subject to the suit's final outcome. No costs were awarded.

Lesson Learnt

Even where a litigant is very late in seeking to reopen an ex-parte decree, courts may still give them a chance to be heard on the merits if they show genuine bona fides (such as depositing a substantial disputed sum), but this doesn't decide who ultimately wins; it only reopens the case for a proper hearing.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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