THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE GODA RAGHURAM CRP NO.4625 OF 2009 16-04-2010 BETWEEN; Bommisetty Madhusudhana Rao and others ...Petitioners vs. Pothineni Venkata Rao and others ...Respondents THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE GODA RAGHURAM CRP NO.4625 OF 2009 ORAL ORDER: Heard the learned counsel for the petitioners and the learned counsel for the respondent/plaintiff. The revision petitioners are the defendant Nos.3, 4 and 10 in the suit filed by the respondent herein for specific performance of an agreement of sale of the year 1978. As the vakalat on behalf of the revision petitioners was not filed by 14-11-2008, the petitioners were set ex parte in the suit. They filed an application I.A.No.88 of 2009 seeking setting aside of the ex parte order dated 14-11-2008 to enable them to participate and contest the proceedings. In the affidavit filed in support of this application, the revision petitioners breezily pleaded that they had given vakalat to the Advocate to file into the Court; the advocate entrusted the vakalat to his clerk and the clerk misrepresented that he filed the vakalat but did not do so and hence the vakalat was not filed by the date stipulated. Though the order setting them ex parte was passed on 14-11-2008, the application to set aside the ex parte order was filed with a considerable delay i.e., on 03-03-2009. In the circumstances, the court below rejected the application I.A.No.88 of 2009 on the ground that the petition to set aside the ex parte order ought to be filed within 30 days but had been filed without any delay condonation petition. In view of the provisions of Order IX Rule.7 CPC, the assumption of the court below that there is a specific period of limitation for filing an application to set aside an order does not appear to be correct. However, since there is considerable and an inadequately explained delay on the part of the revision petitioners-defendant Nos.3, 4 and 10 in filing an application to set aside the ex parte order dated 14-11-2008, this court considers it appropriate to allow this revision on condition that the petitioners pays the respondent an amount of Rs.1,000/-(Rupees one thousand only), within two (2) weeks from today and would file an acknowledgment of such payment before the court below, within three weeks from today. In default of such payment and filing of proof of such payment within the time stipulated above, the revision stands dismissed. On the payment being made and filing of the proof of such payment within the time stipulated, the revision stands allowed and the order of the court of III Addl Junior Civil Judge, Ongole dated 13-07-2009 in I.A.No.88 of 2009 in O.S.No.687 of 2008 is set aside. I.A.No.88 of 2009 is allowed on the condition above. The civil revision petition is disposed of as above. No order as to costs. ______________ GODA RAGHURAM,J 16th APRIL 2010 TSNR ACKNOWLEDGMENT Received letter from the Hon’ble Sri Justice Goda Raghuram, Judge, High Court of Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad.