RAHEEM SHAH Vs. GOVIND SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Leave granted.

(2.) Respondent No.1 herein is the plaintiff in the original suit bearing Civil Suit No.3 A/02. The suit was decreed by the trial court through its judgment dtd. 1/10/2005. The appellants herein who were the defendants No. 1 and 2 in the suit filed a Regular First Appeal under Sec. 96 of the Civil Procedure Code assailing the said judgment. Since there was delay of 52 days in filing the appeal, an application under Sec. 5 of the Limitation Act was filed seeking condonation of delay. The lower Appellate Court through its judgment dtd. 8/10/2010 had dismissed the appeal bearing Civil Appeal No.35A/2005 on the ground of limitation holding that the delay has not been properly explained and had consequently dismissed the appeal. Against the said judgment, the appellants were before the High Court of Madhya Pradesh in a Second Appeal bearing No.1185/2010. The Second Appeal has been dismissed by the High Court through its judgment dtd. 16/4/2015 on the ground that there is no question of law for consideration.

(3.) It is in that light, the appellants are before this Court in this appeal. At the outset, having taken note that the contention in the appeal before the lower Appellate Court was that the judgment was not in the knowledge of the appellants herein, that aspect of the matter was required to be kept in view by the lower Appellate Court since the appellants in fact had not taken effective part except filing written statement. When there was delay of only 52 days in filing the appeal and furthermore when the parties were litigating with regard to the right over immovable properties, the substantial rights were to be decided between the parties. The delay could have been condoned and the appeal could have been decided on merits.