M/S ADITYA HOTELS (P) LTD. vs BOMBAY SWADESHI STORES LTD. .

The Supreme Court held that the trial court's discretion to allow the filing of a written statement beyond the stipulated period under Order VIII Rule 1 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, must be exercised with valid reasons recorded in writing. The Court emphasized that the High Court's dismissal of the writ petition under Article 227 was improper as it failed to consider the absence of justification for the delay in filing the written statement. Consequently, the Supreme Court set aside the High Court's order and directed the trial court to reconsider the matter in light of the established legal principles.