JUDGMENT :

1. Leave granted.

2. This Civil Appeal is directed against order dated 26.11.2018 passed by the Delhi High Court whereby appellant’s revision petition against the order of the Civil Court which closed his right to file written statement under Order VIII Rule 1 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (hereinafter “CPC”) and struck-off his defence owing to repeated delays and non-adherence of prescribed deadlines, has been dismissed.

FACTS

3. The appellant and the respondent are brothers and own one floor each of ancestral property bearing No. 142 in Devli Village, Delhi. The ground floor was possessed and owned by the respondent, whereas the first floor was in the name of the appellant.

4. It has been claimed that in February 2017, the respondent approached the appellant offering to purchase the first floor of the ancestral property. Subsequently, an agreement to sell was entered into between the parties on 17.03.2017 for total consideration of Rs. 7.5 lakhs, of which an amount of Rs. 1 lakh was paid as earnest money to the appellant. This agreement was subsequently not honoured and a legal notice was served upon the appellant by the respondent on 13.04.2017, calling upon him to