Serial No. 51 Reg Cause List. HIGH COURT OF JAMMU & KASHMIR AND LADAKH AT SRINAGAR CM(M) 230/2023 CM(5723/2023) CM(5938/2024). NEELOFAR RASOOL. …Petitioner (s) Through: Mr. Sheikh Mohammad Faisal, Advocate. VERSUS IMTIYAZ AHMAD AHANGAR AND ORS. Through: None. …Respondent(s) CORAM: HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE SANJAY DHAR, JUDGE. ORDER 10-11-2025 01. Through the medium of the present petition, the petitioner/plaintiff has challenged orders dated 20th of December 2022, 25th of March 2023, and 11th of August 2023, passed by the learned Sub Judge, (Judge Small Causes) (hereinafter referred as “the trial court”) Srinagar, whereby the written statements filed by the respondents/defendants to the Suit instituted by the petitioner/plaintiff have been taken on record by the trial court and the objection raised by the petitioner/plaintiff with regard to the taking on record of the written statements has been overruled. 02. Heard and considered. 03. It appears that the petitioner/plaintiff has instituted a Suit against the respondents/defendants before the learned trial court. It further appears that the defendants entered appearance before the trial court on 1st of April 2022. Defendants No. 2 to 4 filed their written statements on 20th of December 2022, whereas defendant No. 1, who had entered appearance before the trial court for the first time on 6th of May 2022, filed his written statement on 25th of March 2023. 04. From the above, it is clear that the defendants filed their written statements beyond the maximum statutory period of (120) days prescribed for filing the same from the date of service of summons. Normally, written statements filed beyond the said period cannot be permitted to be taken on record. However, a perusal of the minutes of proceedings reveals that when the written statements were filed by defendants No. 2 to 4 on 20th of December 2022, no objection was raised by the counsel for the plaintiff, who was present in court. Similarly, on 25th of March 2023, when the written statement on behalf of defendant No. 1 was filed, counsel for the plaintiff was also present and he did not raise any objection. The matter was thereafter adjourned to 26th of June 2023, and even on that date, no objection was raised by the counsel for the plaintiffs regarding the filing of the written statements. It was only on 11th of August 2023 that counsel for the plaintiff raised objection with regard to the taking on record of the written statements filed by the defendants. The trial court, while dealing with the said objection raised by the plaintiffs, passed the impugned order dated 11th of August 2023, overruling the same on the ground that no objection had been raised by the plaintiff at the time when the written statements filed by the defendants were taken on record. 05. Proviso to Rule (1) of Order VIII of the Code of Civil Procedure, as applicable to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, makes it clear that in case written statement is not filed within (120) days from the date of service of summons, the defendants shall forfeit their right to file the written statements, and the court shall not allow the written statement to be taken on record. Thus, once the said period of (120) days, from the date of service of summons expires, a right accrues in favour of the plaintiff to have his Suit decided in the absence of the written statements of the defendants. However, it is always open to the plaintiff to waive the right that has accrued in his favour on account of default of the defendants to file their written statements within the stipulated period of (120) days. 06. In the present case, since the plaintiff has not objected to the filing of the written statements by the defendants, despite the presence of his counsel at the relevant time, therefore he has waived his right to have the Suit decided in the absence of the written statements filed by the defendants. 07. For the foregoing reasons, I do not find any ground to interfere with the impugned orders passed by the learned trial court. The petition, being devoid of merit, is accordingly dismissed. (Sanjay Dhar) Judge SRINAGAR 10-11-2025 Showkat Khan