IMPORTANT POINT
State Commission has no power to review its order.

K.S. Chaudhari, Presiding Member—This revision petition has been filed by the petitioner against order dated 17.11.2014 passed by State Commission in Misc. Case No. 451 of 2014 in Complaint No. CC/106/2009- National Aluminium Co. Ltd. Vs. M/s. Reliance General Insurance Co. Ltd. & Ors.; by which application for setting aside exparte order was dismissed.

2. Brief facts of the case are that complainant/respondent filed complaint before State Commission against opposite party/petitioner for compensation of Rs. 71,68,062/-. Opposite party appeared on 16.11.2009 and case was adjourned for filing written statement to 30.12.2009. On 30.12.2009 again, case was adjourned for filing written statement to 2.3.2010. By order dated 16.12.2013, last opportunity was granted to opposite party to file written statement and case was adjourned to 3.1.2014. On 3.1.2014 again, counsel for opposite party sought adjournment for filing written statement but as last opportunity was granted on last date, opposite party was proceeded exparte and matter was fixed for exparte hearing on 21.2.2014. It appears that later on, opposite party filed application for setting aside exparte order and Learned State Commission vide order dated 17.10.2014 set aside exparte order dated 3.1.2014 and also accepted written statement which was filed on 3.1.2014 and matter was adjourned to 31.10.2014 for hearing on other Miscellaneous cases. In the same order, before putting signatures, later on, it was observed that counsel for complainant submitted that conducting counsel was held up in High Court in another matter and prayed for adjournment and case was adjourned to 31.10.2014 for orders. It appears that later on, by impugned order dated 17.11.2014, application for setting aside exparte order dated 3.1.2014 was dismissed against which this revision petition has been filed.

3. Heard Learned Counsel for the parties finally at admission stage and perused record.

4. Learned Counsel for petitioner submitted that Learned State Commission had no power to recall the order dated 17.10.2014, hence, revision petition be allowed and impugned order be set aside. On the other hand, Learned Counsel for respondent submitted that as order dated 17.10.2014, setting aside exparte was not signed by Members of the Bench, there is no question of recalling order dated 17.10.2014 and order passed by Learned State Commission is in accordance with law. It was, further, submitted that petitioner has not come with clean hands, hence, revision petition be dismissed.

5. Copies of order sheets filed by the respondent reveal that after 30.12.2009, the case was to be listed on 2.3.2010 but it appears that case was taken up on 30.10.2013 and no order sheets of intervening 3 ½ years have been placed on record. On 30.10.2013 and 4.11.2013, Bench did not function and on 16.12.2013 last opportunity was granted to opposite party to file written statement and case was adjourned to 3.1.2014. On 3.1.2014, counsel for opposite party sought time for filing written statement but as last opportunity was granted to file written statement on last date, the State Commission passed order for proceeding exparte against opposite party and matter was adjourned for exparte hearing to 21.2.2014.

6. When Counsel for opposite party appeared on 3.1.2014 before State Commission and sought adjournment for filing written statement, Learned State Commission could have at the most closed right to file written statement but had no occasion to proceed exparte against the opposite party and matter should have been adjourned for complainant’s evidence instead of exparte hearing.

7. Order dated 17.10.2014 passed by Learned State Commission runs as under:-

“This relates to a petition for setting aside the ex-parte order dated 03.01.2014 passed by this Commission.

Learned Counsel for Ops submits that on that date, the associates of conducting counsel while coming to file written version, met with an accident & as such written version could