C.R.No.4269 of 2011 IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH Civil Revision No.4269 of 2011 Date of decision: 29.11.2011 Joginder Pal . ..Petitioner Versus Smt.Harbans Kaur and others ... Respondents CORAM: HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE AJAY KUMAR MITTAL Present: Mr. Maharaj Kumar, Advocate for the petitioner. Mr. Wazir Singh, Advocate for respondent No.1. Ajay Kumar Mittal,J. 1. The trial court vide order dated 3.1.2011, Annexure P.1 had struck off the defence by restraining the defendant-petitioner from filing the written statement. The said order has been impugned in the present petition. 2. Brief facts may be noticed. The petitioner-husband filed a petition under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (in short, “the Act”) for dissolution of marriage. During the course of proceedings, a settlement was arrived at between the parties before the Mediation and Conciliation Centre, Karnal on 6.8.2010. The husband filed a petition under section 98 of the Code of Criminal Procedure before the SDM Karnal and succeeded in getting the custody of the children. The respondent-wife filed a suit for permanent injunction with regard to the agricultural land owned 1 C.R.No.4269 of 2011 by the petitioner measuring 13 kanals. Notice was issued to the petitioner and Mr. Desh Raj Goyal, Advocate appeared on his behalf on 28.9.2010 who prayed for time to file the written statement. The Court adjourned the case and granted last opportunity to file the written statement. On the next date i.e. 3.1.2011, a proxy counsel appeared on behalf of the petitioner but no written statement was filed. The trial court passed the impugned order whereby the defence of the petitioner for filing written statement was ordered to be struck off. Hence this revision petition. 3. I have heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the record. 4. Learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that on the very first date, the trial court had while allowing time for filing written statement recorded that this shall be last opportunity. However on the next date due to certain unavoidable circumstances, the defendant-petitioner could not file the written statement and had been prejudiced by striking off the defence by the trial court. Alternatively, counsel for the petitioner submitted that the written statement shall be filed in case one opportunity is granted and the respondents can be compensated by way of costs. 5. Opposing the prayer of the petitioner, learned counsel for the respondents supported the order passed by the trial court. 6. After hearing counsel for the parties, keeping in view totality of facts and circumstances of the case, the revision petition is disposed of with a direction that the petitioner shall be granted one opportunity to file written statement by the trial Court subject to payment of Rs.2000/- as costs to the respondents. It is however, made clear that in case the petitioner fails to file 2 C.R.No.4269 of 2011 the written statement or to pay the costs, as stipulated above, this revision petition shall be deemed to have been dismissed. November 29, 2011 (Ajay Kumar Mittal) ‘gs’ Judge 3