Fresh Sea Food Exporters [Pvt] Ltd and Another vs. Hatton National Bank Ltd – sllr 2014 volume 1 page 026

In the case between Fresh Sea Food Exporters [PVT] LTD and Another (Plaintiff) and Hatton National Bank Ltd (Defendant), the court addressed whether an ex parte judgment, entered due to non-appearance of the defendant, should be vacated. It was held that the mandatory requirements of Section 86(2) and Section 86(3) of the Civil Procedure Code require the defaulting party to personally submit an affidavit justifying absence, and failure to do so precludes vacation of the ex parte decree. This principle was reaffirmed, with reliance placed on established authorities including Coomaraswamy v. Mariamma, David Appuhamy v. Yassassi Thero, Chandrawathie v. Dharmaratne, and Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranayake v. Times of Ceylon Ltd. The decision clarifies that affidavits from attorneys or representatives