Report No. 253

(7) Adjournment of Case Management Hearing. - (1) The Court shall not adjourn the case management hearing for the sole reason that the advocate appearing on behalf of a party is not present.

Provided, an adjournment of the hearing is sought in advance by moving an application, the Court may adjourn the hearing to another date upon the payment of such costs as the Court deems fit, by the party moving such application.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Rule, if the Court is satisfied that there is a justified reason for the absence of the advocate, it may adjourn the hearing to another date upon such terms and conditions it deems fit.

(8) Consequences of non-compliance with orders - Where any party fails to comply with the order of the Court passed in a Case Management Hearing, the Court shall have the power to:

(a) condone such non-compliance by payment of costs to the Court, or

(b) foreclose the non-compliant party's right to file affidavits, conduct cross-examination of witnesses, file written submissions, address oral arguments or make further arguments in the trial as the case may be, or

(c) dismiss the plaint or allow the suit where such non-compliance is wilful, repeated and the imposition of costs is not adequate to ensure compliance."