HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE A. GOPAL REDDY CIVIL REVISION PETITION No.4806 OF 2007 DATE:19-11-2010 BETWEEN Jammula Mohana Rao …Petitioner AND Mannepally Prabhakara Rao …Respondent THIS COURT MADE THE FOLLOWING: HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE A. GOPAL REDDY CIVIL REVISION PETITION No.4806 OF 2007 ORDER: This revision is filed by the defendant to revise the orders of the Junior Civil Judge, Tiruvuru, dated 20.8.2007 made in I.A.No.646 of 2007 in O.S.No.32 of 2007 whereby the petition filed under Order IX Rule 13 C.P.C. to set aside the ex parte decree passed in the suit against the petitioner has been allowed subject to deposit of half of the decretal amount. From the record it discloses that the petitioner-defendant was granted sufficient time on 12.3.2007 for filing written statement by posting the matter to 4.6.2007. On the said date, as the petitioner failed to file written statement, to give one more opportunity, the matter was adjourned to 11.6.2007 granting time to file the written statement. But on the said date also, the petitioner was not present nor any written statement was filed. Therefore, he was set ex parte on 11.6.2007 and an ex parte decree was passed on 19.6.2007. To set aside the ex parte decree, the impugned I.A. was filed on 2.7.2007, which was allowed by the Court below on condition of deposit of half of the decretal amount. No-doubt, the discretion exercised by the Court below does not affect its jurisdiction to pass the said order, but imposing the condition of deposit of half of the decretal amount is onerous. In view of the same, the impugned order is modified to 1/4th of deposit of decretal amount along with entire suit costs within two weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order and on filing the written statement within two weeks in the suit. On deposit of the amount, the respondent-plaintiff is entitled to withdraw the suit costs, but the decretal amount shall be kept in fixed deposit in any nationalized bank as agreed by the parties. Accordingly, the revision is disposed of. No costs. _______________ A. GOPAL REDDY, J. NOVEMBER 19, 2010 Tsr.