CHINNA RETNAMMA AND OTHERS Vs. VELUTHAKANNA PUTHUVAL PUTHEN VEEDU, CHENKODIYIL, KULATHOOR P.O., TRIVANDRUM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) First appellant is the 2nd defendant and the 2nd appellant is the legal heir of 3rd defendant in O.S.No.804 of 1981 on the file of the Additional Munsiff's Court-III, Thiruvananthapuram. The suit is one for declaration of title and consequential injunction. The suit was decreed declaring that the plaintiffs/respondents have title over the plaint schedule property and they were allowed to recover the same from the defendants. The judgment and decree was passed on 29.01.1992. Thereafter, the matter was taken in appeal. The lower appellate court remanded the case to the trial court for fresh determination with a direction to decide the claim of Kudikidappu right in favour of the appellants. The Land Tribunal, by order dated 18.02.2014, found the contention of the appellants unsustainable and the trial court, after incorporating that finding, decreed the suit as prayed for. Against that decree, A.S.No.5 of 2017 was filed before the learned District Judge, Thiruvananthapuram. That appeal was filed with a delay of 810 days. Learned District Judge found that reason stated for condoning the delay were unacceptable and hence the application was dismissed. Consequently, the appeal was also dismissed. Feeling aggrieved, the appellants have come up in this second appeal.

(2.) Heard the learned counsel for the appellant and perused the additional documents produced alongwith this appeal.

(3.) Learned counsel for the appellants strongly contended that the court below erred in dismissing the appeal only on the question of limitation. According to him, a meritorious claim was rejected at the threshold.