K RUDRAPPA Vs. SHIVAPPA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Leave granted.

(2.) The appellant herein being aggrieved by the order passed by the District Judge, Davangere on 24th August, 2002 in Misc. Case No. 32 of 2000 rejecting the applications of the appellant and confirmed by the High Court on 4th February, 2003 in Civil Revision No. 4523 of 2002 has approached this Court.

(3.) The case of the appellant is that his father made an application for grant of land under the Karnataka Village Offices Abolition Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred to as the Act). The respondent also made a similar application for the grant of the same land. By an order dated July 12, 1990, the Tehsildar rejected the application of the father of the appellant and allowed the claim of the respondent. The father of the appellant, therefore, preferred an appeal being Misc. Appeal No. 51 of 1990 in the Court of District Judge, Shimoga. The appeal was pending. During the pendency of the appeal, the father of the appellant expired on June 13, 1994. The appellant was not aware about the pendency of Misc. Appeal No. 51 of 1990 in the Court of District Judge, Shimoga. In September, 1994, the appellant received a letter from the advocate engaged by his father appearing in appeal that the appeal had come up for hearing. Immediately, therefore, the appellant contacted the advocate and informed him about the death of his (appellants) father. An application was made on December 20, 1994 under Order 22, Rule 3 read with Section 151 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (hereinafter referred to as the Code) by the appellant and his brothers for bringing them on record as legal representatives of deceased Hanumanthappa. In the affidavit to the said application, it was stated by the appellant that he came to know about the pendency of the appeal through the counsel only when the appellant received a letter from him. It was also stated that if the application would not be allowed, great hardship, inconvenience and loss would be caused to the appellant.