MAHANT RAJENDRA DAS VAISHANAV Vs. GOPAL DAS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) HEARD the parties.

(2.) THERE is a delay of 3677 days. The appellant has shown sufficient cause to condone the delay. When the decision was rendered by the High court on 10. 3. 1995, an appeal was maintainable and accordingly the petitioner had filed LPA NO. 47/1995 before the Division Bench of the madhya Pradesh High Court. During the pendency of the said appeal this court in Jamshed N. Guzdar Vs. State of Maharashtra and Ors. , - (2005) 2 scc 591 held that the LPAs were not maintainable. As a consequence, the said LPA No. 47/1995 was dismissed as not maintainable on 17. 8. 2005 reserving liberty to the petitioner to avail other remedy available to him in law. Immediately thereafter, on 4. 10. 2005, the petitioner filed this present special leave petition along with an application for condonation of delay. As the petitioner was pursuing a remedy by way of an intra-court appeal in the same High Court which was subsequently held to be not maintainable, the entire period of delay has to be condoned. Accordingly, we allow I. A. No. 1 of 2005 and condone the delay.

(3.) IT is thus clear that the writ petition was allowed only on the ground that this Court by its order dated 29. 1. 1985 (as modified by order dated 22. 2. 1985) had made an observation that on the death of Mahant prashramdas, the first respondent has to be appointed as Mahant. The high Court was of the view that the order dated 29. 1. 1985 as modified by order dated 22. 2. 1985 of this Court was binding and therefore it had to merely hold that first respondent had to be appointed as the Mahant of the institution.