In Brief
This appeal concerns a suit for cancellation of a sale deed filed in 1987. The trial court decreed the suit ex parte in 1991 after the defendants repeatedly sought adjournments and then remained absent. The defendants applied under Order IX Rule 13 CPC to set aside the ex parte decree, claiming illness; both the trial and appellate courts rejected this in 2002. Over six years later, the defendants sought recall of a 2011 writ petition dismissal, and the High Court allowed it, set aside the ex parte decree, and restored the dispute. The Supreme Court held the High Court erred by focusing on merits rather than sufficiency of cause for absence, and by not examining the defendants' weak explanation. The Court restored the 2002 appellate order, dismissing the writ petition.
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