The court granted condonation of delay for filing written statements based on extraordinary circumstances, emphasizing the impact of a Supreme Court stay and the COVID-19 pandemic on limitation periods.

JUDGMENT

Amit Bansal, J. (Oral)

I.A. No.3108/2021 (of the defendant no.1 u/O-V R-1, O-VIII R-1 & S.151 CPC), I.A. No.3112/2021 (of the defendant no.3 u/O-V R-1, O-VIII R-1 & S.151 CPC) and I.A. No.3116/2021 (of the defendant no.2 u/O-V R-1, O-VIII R-1 & S.151 CPC)

1. The present application has been filed on behalf of the defendants seeking condonation of delay in filing of their written statements.

2. The present summary suit has been filed under Order XXXVII of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (CPC) seeking recovery of Rs.3,25,56,496/- along with future and pendente lite interest.

3. Vide judgment dated 3rd August, 2018, the Single Judge of this Court dismissed the application of the defendants for grant of leave to defend and the suit was decreed. The said judgment was challenged by the defendants before a Division Bench of this Court in RFA(OS) 72/2018, whereby vide judgment dated 9th December, 2019, the defendants were granted conditional leave to defend. The condition was for the defendants to deposit a sum of Rs.3,25,56,496/- within eight weeks from the said date. Before the expiry of the said period of eight weeks, the defendants filed a Special Leave Petition before the Supreme Court, being SLP(C) No.2553/2020, challenging the judgment dated 9th December, 2019 to the extent it required the deposit of the aforesaid amount by the defendants. The Supreme Court vide order dated 31st January, 2020, while issuing notice in the SLP, stayed the deposit of the aforesaid amount.

4. Based on the above, it is contended on behalf of the counsel for the defendants that the limitation period for filing the written statements would commence from 31st January, 2020, when the Supreme Court passed the aforesaid order. Therefore, the thirty days' period for filing the written statements would have expired on 1st March, 2020 and before the condonable period of further sixty days expired, the Supreme Court order dated 23rd March, 2020 passed in Suo Motu Writ Petition (Civil) No.3/2020 titled In re: Cognizance for Extension of Limitation, (SMW No.3/2020) came into effect, whereby it was observed that the period with effect from 15th March, 2020 has to be excluded for the purposes of counting limitation. It is submitted that the aforesaid order of the Supreme Court was further clarified in the order dated 8th March, 2021 to include within the ambit of the excluded period the outer limit within which a Tribunal or Court could condone delay.

5. It is submitted that the written statements could only have been filed by the defendants upon the depositing of the amount as ordered by the Division Bench and the written statements could not have been accepted by the Registry before the deposit of the aforesaid amount.

6. Counsel for the plaintiff vehemently opposes the present application on the ground that the Division Bench order did not give the defendants eight weeks' time to file the written statements. Time of eight weeks was only given to deposit the aforesaid amount. Therefore, there was no reason why the written statements could not be filed by the defendants before the aforesaid period. He further states that no valid reasons have been given by the defendants in their present applications for seeking condonation of delay in filing of the written statements. He further submits that if the period for filing the written statements has to be counted from 9th December, 2019, the condonable period stood expired before 15th March, 2020 i.e., prior to the date from which exclusion was ordered by the Supreme Court.

7. I have heard the counsels for the parties.

8. In view of the dismissal of the leave to defend applications by the Single Judge, no written statements could be filed on be