In Brief
A defendant in a 1997 property-sale specific performance suit failed to appear on 16 March 2009 due to an advocate boycott and personal illness. He applied to set aside the resulting ex parte decree. The Trial Court and higher courts rejected his application, citing his past conduct in prolonging the case. The Supreme Court held that courts assessing applications to set aside ex parte decrees must focus solely on whether sufficient cause exists for the specific absence—not on prior conduct. Finding adequate cause here (the boycott and illness), the Court set aside the ex parte decree and remanded the matter for trial on merits."
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