Trial courts must adhere to procedural fairness under Order 9 Rule 13 CPC by allowing applications to set aside ex-parte decrees without preemptively questioning their maintainability.

COMMON ORDER

Heard Mr.J.Saravanavel, learned counsel for the petitioner.

2. These two revisions have been filed by the 11^th defendant in O.S.No. 758 of 2008. The petitioner remained ex-parte before the trial Court and subsequently, the other defendants were also set exparte except for Government Authority, namely, Thasildhar, who is arrayed as one of the defendant and the suit was decreed ultimately.

3. The applications were taken out by the revision petitioner to set aside the order under Order 9 Rule 13 CPC along with condonation of delay under Section 5 of the Limitation Act .

4. The learned counsel for the petitioner states that the trial Court has erroneously returned both the applications stating the suit has been disposed of as a contested decree on 18.11.2013 and therefore, the applications cannot be taken on Board.

5. The learned counsel rightly contended that proviso to Order 9 Rule

13 CPC would clearly permit filing of an affidavit to set aside the decree.

6. In any event, the Court cannot be conducted a roving enquiry at the stage of numbering the application and ought to have taken the application on file and left it to the respondent to question the maintainability of the application, as the Court is only performing a ministerial function at the time of numbering the application and cannot perform judicial functions in order to cloth the trial Court with a right to reject the application stating that it is not maintainable.

7. Order 9 Rule 13 CPC also provides an avenue to the defendnat, who has been set exparte to, seek set aside the exparte decree and the proviso also enables the Court to set aside the decree in entirety even though an application is made by one of the defendants. Therefore, the Trial Court ought to have numbered the applications and dispose of the same on merits, after hearing all the parties interested.

8. In the light of the above, I am inclined to set aside the order return on 13.08.2025 and the petitioner shall represent the applications under Order 9 Rule 13 CPC and Section 5 of the Limitation Act , within a period of two weeks, from the date of receipt of receiving the original affidavit and petition from the Registry of this Court, since the originals have been filed along with this revision petition.

9. The learned Trial Court is directed to number the application and dispose of the same on merits and in accordance with law after issuing notice to the contesting respondents/plaintiffs.

10. These Civil Revision Petitions stand allowed.

13-10-2025 vsg To

1. District Munsif Court/Judicial Munsif, Pallavaram

2. Additional District Munsif Court, Alandur.

P.B. BALAJI, J.

vsg CRP (NPD) Nos. 4930 & 4932 of 2025