JUDGMENT

P.K. BALASUBRAMANYAN, J.

1. I respectfully agree. The High Court was in error in setting aside the order of the trial court accepting the written statement filed by the defendants, in the circumstances of the case. I am prompted to make a few observations in the context of the discussion by my learned brother on the scope of the related provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure.

2. It is notorious that suits were being dragged on by defendants in suits by not filing their written statements within a reasonable time. We are not unaware of cases where written statements were not filed even within two or three years of the filing of the suits. The control expected to be exercised by courts, by the scheme of the Code, was not being exercised leading to slackness in the matter of filing of pleadings in defence. It was in that context that the relevant provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure were amended, the laudable object being to avoid delay in the disposal of suits. The Amended Order VIII Rule 1 fixes a time limit for the filing of written statements. But, Parliament did not stop with amending Order VIII Rule 1 alone i.e. introducing a time limit for filing written s