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M/S SCG Contracts India Pvt. Ltd. v. K.S. Chamankar Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd. & Ors.

Civil Appeal · 2019 INSC 187Decided 12 Feb 2019
Civil Appeal No. 1638 of 2019
Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman · Justice Vineet Saran

Background

In a commercial suit, the defendant was served with summons but did not file its written statement within the 120-day outer limit set by the CPC as amended by the Commercial Courts Act. A Single Judge nonetheless granted a further extension of time to file it, and the defendant filed its written statement a few days late under that extended deadline. A second Single Judge later held that this order allowing the late filing had become final and could not be revisited, and refused to strike the written statement off the record.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that the amended Order VIII Rules 1 and 10 CPC are mandatory, not merely directory, once 120 days pass from service of summons without a written statement being filed, the defendant permanently forfeits the right to file one, and no court, including under its inherent powers, can extend that period further. The Court held the first order extending time was therefore legally unsustainable, and rejected the argument that it had become final and could not be re-examined, since an erroneous interpretation of a mandatory statutory bar cannot be shielded by res judicata. Both High Court orders were set aside and the written statement was ordered removed from the record.

Lesson Learnt

In commercial court cases, a defendant has a strict, non-extendable 120-day deadline from the date of being served to file a written statement: miss it, and no court can grant an extension, however compelling the circumstances may seem.

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

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