In Brief
Jayaprakash and another filed a suit seeking specific performance of an agreement to purchase certain properties, naming four defendants. An ex parte decree was issued against all defendants when they failed to appear. Only defendants 3 and 4 applied to set aside the decree; however, the trial court set aside the entire decree without giving notice to defendants 1 and 2, as required by Kerala's local amendment to the CPC. On remand, the trial court again failed to give fresh notice to defendants 1 and 2 before decreeing the suit. The High Court remanded the case for a fresh trial. The Supreme Court upheld the remand, finding that the trial court committed procedural infirmities by not providing proper notice to defendants 1 and 2."
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