1. Is a conditional order to pay costs while allowing an application to restore the suit dismissed for default or to set aside the ex-parte decree appealable? Can an Original Petition be entertained when the challenge is confined to the liability to pay costs or its quantum? Can the discretion of the trial court in fixing the costs be tinkered with in exercise of the jurisdiction under Article 227 of the Constitution of India?

2. Several original petitions are being filed challenging the conditional order to pay costs while allowing applications of the following nature under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (the ‘CPC’ for short):

(i) An application under Rule 9 of Order IX CPC for an order to set aside the dismissal of a suit.

(ii) An application under Rule 13 of Order IX CPC for an order to set aside the decree passed ex-parte.

The liability to pay costs or its quantum is often challenged contending that the same was unwarranted and unjustified under the circumstances. It is the declared stand of the petitioners that they are not liable to pay costs and that the quantum fixed by the court below is bloated.

3. What then is the consequence of not paying the costs or its