Dear, the time period for filing of written statement or counter is 30 days from the service of summons. The time may be further extended by the 60 days at the discretion of the court.
On a careful scrutiny of the present Rule 1 (together with the newly inserted proviso), it appears
that:
(a) The filing of a written statement by the defendant is mandatory and he has no choice,
as was the case before the 1976 Amendment, to not file his written statement;
(b) The maximum period within which the defendant is entitled to, as of right, file his
written statement has come to be prescribed as thirty (30) days from the date of
service of summons. This prescripttion, in our view, is far more objective and
foreseeable than the criterion of ―the first hearing;
(c) Filing the written statement within the aforesaid thirty days is the rule and the
extension of time beyond the said thirty days is an exception;
(d) To take care of the exceptional circumstances of a defendant, the Courts have been
given the discretion/power to extend the aforesaid time period for filing of the written
statement;
(e) Where a court wishes to extend time beyond the prescribed period of thirty days, the
court must record its reasons for doing so; and,
(f) The said discretion/power of the court to extend such time extends to no more than
ninety (90) days.
The Supreme Court observed in the case of Kailash v. Nanhku and Ors [AIR 2005 SC 2441, (2005) 4 SCC 480] said while extending the time beyond the stipulated period of 90 days,
the courts may impose costs as a means to (a) deter the defendant and (b) compensate the
plaintiff. The Court also held that the defendant seeking extension may be required to furnish
affidavit and other documents in support of the grounds pleaded for extension of time, depending
on the facts and circumstances of a given case.
Regards
Isha Bhardwaj
lawkonect.com
09555507507
