This is a petition to revise the order of the Third Additional City Civil Judge, Madras, refusing leave to the petitioner to defend a suit by excusing the delay in filing the application for leave to defend.

The respondent-plaintiff filed O.S.No.332 of 1951 in the City Civil Court on a promissory note as a summary suit under Order 37, rule 1(b) of the Code of Civil Procedure for recovering a sum of Rs.2,013-14-0. The petitioners-defendants were served with the summons as provided in Form No.4 of Appendix B to the Code of Civil Procedure which was marked before the learned Judge as Exhibit A-1. In that summons in addition to the form prescribed there were the further words "hearing 22nd March, 1951, at 11a.m." added to it. The summons were served on 5th March, 1951 and therefore ordinarily under Article 159 of the Limitation Act the application for leave to defend ought to be filed within ten days of the service of summons. But being misled by the additional words "hearing on 22nd March, 1951, at 11a.m.", the petitioners thought that they had time for applying for leave to defend until 22nd March, 1951 and therefore approached their counsel only on 21st March, 1951 and inst