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2024 Supreme(Online)(MP) 19789
HIGH COURT OF MADHYA PRADESH
The State Of M.P. & Ors. – Appellant
Versus
Govind Ram Khanduja – Respondent
FA 575/1999
Advocate General,Girish Shrivastava
The court has the discretion to grant a final opportunity to the parties to remove office objections/defaults within a specified time, failing which their petitions/applications/appeals can be dismissed for non-prosecution.
Headnote:
Court Procedure - Removal of Office Objection - Act Sections N/A - The court granted a common conditional order to provide a final opportunity to the petitioners/applicants/appellants to remove office objections/defaults within a specified time, failing which their petitions/applications/appeals would be dismissed for non-prosecution without further reference to the court.
Fact of the Case:
The court was dealing with multiple matters where the concerned petitions/applications/appeals were placed before the Registrar due to non-removal of office objections within the prescribed time as per the rules. The Registrar had granted sufficient time to the parties to cure the defects, but they failed to do so. The court had also previously granted further time, but the parties still did not remove the office objections/defaults.
Finding of the Court:
The court, as an indulgence and last opportunity, granted a further six weeks' time to the petitioners/applicants/appellants to remove the office objections/defaults and make the matters ready for further hearing. Failure to do so would result in the dismissal of the concerned petitions/applications/appeals for non-prosecution without further reference to the court. In cases where the objection/default was about non-service of any respondent, the matter would be dismissed only against the unserved respondent(s), and the matter would proceed against the remaining respondent(s).
Issues: Whether the petitioners/applicants/appellants should be granted a final opportunity to remove the office objections/defaults within a specified time, failing which their petitions/applications/appeals would be dismissed for non-prosecution.
Ratio Decidendi: The court, in the interest of justice and to avoid passing identical conditional orders in similar matters, decided to grant a common conditional order providing a final opportunity to the petitioners/applicants/appellants to remove the office objections/defaults within a specified time.
Final Decision: The court granted a further six weeks' time to the petitioners/applicants/appellants to remove the office objections/defaults and make the matters ready for further hearing. Failure to do so would result in the dismissal of the concerned petitions/applications/appeals for non-prosecution without further reference to the court.
The Court proposes to pass this common conditional order to obviate passing of identical conditional order in these matters involving similar office objection/default.
In all these matters, due to non-removal of office objection within the prescribed time as per the Rules, the concerned matter was placed before the Registrar in the first instance.
The Registrar granted sufficient time to the petitioner(s)/applicant(s)/appellant(s) to cure the defect/office objection, however, due to non-removal of office objection/default within the prescribed time, the concerned matter was required to be once again listed before the Court. The Court granted further time, by passing common order on the earlier occasion.
In spite of repeated opportunity (three times–one under Rules, second by the Registrar and third by Court), the petitioner(s)/applicant(s)/appellant(s) has failed to cure the office objection/default. As a result, by way of indulgence and last opportunity, in terms of this order, SIX WEEKS' further time is granted to the petitioner(s)/ applicant(s)/appellant(s) in the respective matters to remove office objection/default and make the matter ready for further hearing within that time, failing which the concerned petition/ application/appeal shall stand dismissed for non-prosecution without further reference to the Court.
Provided, however, in cases, where the objection/default is about non-service of any of the respondent, on expiry of the extended period, the concerned matter will stand dismissed for non-prosecution only against the unserved respondent(s), without further reference to the Court. The matter would then proceed against the remaining respondent(s).
In cases where the office objection/default has already been cured before passing of this order, it will be open to the concerned party to bring that fact to the notice of the Registrar (Judicial-II), who may examine the same and proceed with the matter as per the listing scheme, if ready for hearing.
If the office objections are removed within the time extended in terms of this order, the concerned matter(s) be made returnable on the date notified hereafter.
