In Brief
Maniben Prabhatbhai Chauhan challenged an order of the lower court that rejected her application to set aside the abatement of a civil suit and to deposit costs. The suit had abated after she failed to deposit the cost amount within the prescribed period, despite the judge having earlier condoned a delay of over 4 years on sufficient cause. The High Court held that where substantial delay has been condoned and sufficient cause shown, rejection of the application solely on the ground of non-compliance with the cost deposit timeline occasions manifest injustice. The Court set aside the rejection order, revived the suit on enhanced cost conditions (Rs. 5,000 to the Legal Services Authority plus the original Rs. 2,500), and directed expeditious trial within 12 months.
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