IMPORTANT POINT
The court emphasized the importance of accurate address for service of notice and allowed the revision petition due to the petitioner's illness, setting aside the trial court's order.

ORDER :

1. The present Civil Revision Petition is filed against the order dated 04.09.2017 passed in I.A. No. 382 of 2016 in O.S. No. 142 of 2011 by the Court of the Senior Civil Judge, Repalle, Guntur.

2. The Petitioners are the plaintiffs and the application was filed under section 5 of the Limitation Act to condone the delay of 146 days in filing the petition to set aside the default order dated 01.04.2016.

3. The case of the petitioners is that suit O.S. No. 142 of 2011 was filed for partition and the suit was posted to 01.04.2016 for filing of chief affidavit of the petitioners on payment of costs of Rs.300/- to Mandal Legal Services Committee, Repalle. As the 1st petitioner/1st plaintiff was suffering from jaundice and was on ayurvedic medication, she could not attend the Court on 01.04.2016 and as such, the suit was dismissed for default for non-payment of costs to Mandal Legal Services Committee. It is stated that the other plaintiff i.e. sister of the petitioner No. 1 stays in a different village along with her grandmother and she was also not aware of the conditional order and hence the nonpayment of costs and non-filing of chief affidavit were not intentional and that the default order would seriously prejudice their rights in the immovable properties annexed to the plaint.

4. On the other hand, the respondents filed their counter contending that the petitioners did not proceed with the trial in spite of considerable time granted by the Court and as such, the present application cannot be maintained without giving day to day explanation for the delay. That trial Court by order dated 04.09.2017 dismissed the application and hence, the present revision petition is filed.

5. This Court had issued notice to the respondents on 20.09.2018 and also on 22.02.2019. The endorsement by the Registry in the Court file is that the notice was issued on 22.04.2019, but the acknowledgment card is yet to be received. The non-receipt of acknowledgement card is a common reason in many cases for proof of service and such cases are kept pending and fresh notices are ordered from time to time. Even then, the acknowledgment cards are not received and the cases are kept pending for eons. This stumbling block in the disposal of cases both in the District Judiciary as well as this Court needs to be addressed.

6. The answer to this is that Order VI Rule 14A C.P.C. contemplates address for service of notice. This provision was introduced by the C.P.C. Amendment Act 104 of 1976 pursuant to the 27th report of the Law commission report. This provision was introduced specifically to mitigate the delays in adjudication of the suit. The same reads as under:

14A. Address for service of notice:

(1) Every pleading, when filed by a party, shall be accompanied by a statement in the prescribed form, signed as provided in rule 14, regarding the address of the party.

(2) Such address may, from time to time, be changed by lodging in court a form duly filled up and stating the new address of the party and accompanied by a verified petition.

(3) The address furnished in the statement made under sub-rule (1) shall be called the “registered address” of the party, and shall, until duly changed as aforesaid, be deemed to be the address of the party for the purpose of service of all processes in the suit or in any appeal from any decree or order therein made and for the purpose of execution, and shall hold good, subject as aforesaid, for a period of two years after the final determination of the cause or matter.

(4) Service of any process may be effected upon a party at his registered address in all respects as though such party resided thereat.

(5) Where the registered address of a party is discovered by the court to be incomplete, false or fictitious, the court may, either on its own motion, or on the application of any party, order:

(a) in case where such registered address was furnished by a plaintiff, stay of the suit.

(b) in case where such registered address was furnished