Section 16 in The Tamil Nadu Buildings (Lease and Rent Control) Rules, 1974
16. Procedure for the disposal of appeals under section 23.
(1)When an appeal under section 23 of the Act is preferred, the Appellate Authority shall fix a day for hearing the appeal and send notice thereof to the appellant or appellants and the respondent or respondents mentioned in the appeal and shall also send a copy of the appeal along with the notice to the respondent or respondents.(2)If the Appellate Authority decided to make further inquiry', he may take additional evidence or require such evidence to be taken by the Controller.(3)In any case in which an order is passed ex-parte against a tenant or a landlord or an order of dismissal for default is passed, then, the party affected may, within thirty days from the date of the order or if he satisfies the Appellate Authority that he knew of the order only on a subsequent date, within thirty days from the dale of such knowledge or from the date of service of the order as provided in rule 22 apply to the Appellate Authority by whom the ex-pane order or the order of dismissal was passed, for an order to set it aside; and if he satisfies the Appellate Authority that the summons was not duly served or that he was, prevented by any sufficient cause from appearing when the appeal was. called on for bearing or that such default was occasioned due to circumstances beyond his control, the Appellate Authority shall make an order setting aside the ex-parte order or the order of dismissal passed, as the case may be, upon such terms, as to costs, as the Appellate Authority thinks fit and shall appoint a day for proceeding with the appeal:Provided that no order shall be set aside on any such application as aforesaid unless notice thereof has been served on the opposite party:Provided further that in computing the period of thirty days for the purpose of this sub-rule, the time requisite for obtaining a certified copy of the order shall be excluded:Provided also that where an application for setting aside an ex-parte order or an order of dismissal for default has been received under this sub-rule for the first time, all execution proceedings in pursuance of the ex-parte order or the order of dismissal for default shall be stayed until the disposal of the application:Provided also that in respect of a second or subsequent application to set aside an ex-parte order or an order of dismissal for default, the Appellate Authority shall have discretion to grant or refuse stay.
