KARMALI Vs. JOSEPH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Defendant in a suit for injunction is the appellant. The Trial Court decreed the suit. Defendant filed aa appeal before the appellate court. The appeal was filed out of time. There was a delay of 1 year, 4 months and 7 days. The appellant filed an application to condone the delay in filing the appeal. The application to condone the delay was dismissed. In dismissing the application, the court said:-

(2.) Of course, in the matter of condoning the delay in filing the appeal, the courts are taking this attitude. The Supreme Court had occasion to consider this question and said:

(3.) In the circumstances, I feel that there are justifiable grounds to condone the delay in filing the appeal. But, from the facts disclosed, it is seen that there is negligence on the part of toe appellant in not filing the appeal in time. Though a liberal approach has to be made in the matter of condoning the delay in filing the appeal, it must not give a licence to litigants to ignore the statutory provision, which mandates that an appeal has to be filed within a particular time. In the circumstances, I feel that this is a fit case where I should allow the application to condone the delay in filing the appeal before the lower court on terms.