IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA C.R. No.390 of 2006 RAM SWAROOP YADAV & ORS Versus CHANDRA DEO MAHTO & ORS ----------- 13 1.7.2008 Heard Counsel for the petitioners. No one appears on behalf of the opposite parties despite service of notices effected against all of them. The defendant petitioners are aggrieved by an order dated 5.12.2005 rejecting the prayer of the petitioners to accept their written statement. Counsel for the petitioners submits that as the plaint required verification of a large number of documents as mentioned in paragraph no.5 of the civil revision application, the petitioners being the defendants to the suit could not have filed a written statement without obtaining their copy or at least making an enquiry about them. It has then been contended that though they had appeared in the Court below on 26.11.2002 but their written statement could be filed only on 10.3.2005. Normally for any document on which plaintiff sues, the defendants are not required to postpone or delay the filing of the written statement in view of the provision made in order 7 rule 14 of the Code of Civil Procedure. But, then as the written statement is the most important part of the pleading and has to be filed by the defendant after properly examining 2 the averments in the plaint and if the plaint had referred to as many as forty cases, such reason of making enquiry about by them leading to some delay in filing of written statement is by itself a sufficient cause condonable within the ambit of order VIII Rule 1 of the Code of Civil Procedure as held by the Apex Court in the case of Kailash Vs. Nanhku reported in A.I.R. 2005 S.C. 2441. Considering the aforesaid ratio of the Apex Court as also taking into consideration the facts of the present case, this Court would hold that the mechanic and pedantic approach of the court bellow in rejecting the written statement of defendant of this petitioners suffers from the vice of jurisdictional error and consequently the impugned order is set aside. This court would accordingly direct the court below to accept the written statement filed by the petitioners on payment of Rupees 2500/- by way of cost to plaintiff opposite parties to compensates the plaintiff for the delay and inconvenience cause to them. The Court below will make all efforts to dispose of the suit expeditiously. In the result this Civil Revision Application is allowed with the aforesaid observations and directions. Rsh (Mihir Kumar Jha, J.)