Sangram Singh v Election Tribunal, Kotah (1955)

CPC & Limitation Act · Execution of Decrees — Modes, Attachment & Sale (ss.36–74, O.21)

Facts.

A party was proceeded against for non-appearance, and the question was how strictly the default provisions should be applied.

Issue.

Should the rules on appearance and non-appearance be read to shut a defaulting party out of the whole proceeding?

Held.

Rules of procedure are the handmaid of justice, not its mistress; a party absent on one date is not thereby shut out for the remainder of the trial, and the default provisions must be read to advance, not defeat, justice.

Why it matters.

It sets the interpretive spirit for Order 9 and for the liberal reading of “sufficient cause”.

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