PRADEEP SINGH Vs. II ADDITIONAL DISTRICT JUDGE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) HEARD learned counsel for the petitioner as well as learned Standing Counsel for the respondents and perused the record.

(2.) BY means of the present writ petition, the petitioner has challenged the judgment and order dated 26 -04 -2002 passed by the Respondent No. 1(Annexure No. 7) whereby the learned judge has rejected the application paper No. 6 -C, moved under Section 5 of the limitation Act of the appellant - petitioner to condone the delay in filing the appeal was rejected holding that no ground to condone the delay was made out by the appellant.

(3.) AT the outset, it may be mentioned that the appellant -plaintiff filed a suit for permanent injunction against the Nagar Palika as well as State and P.W.D. before the Munsif, Rudrapur, which was ultimately dismissed by the Civil Judge (Jr. Division) Rudrapur holding that the suit land did not belong to the ownership of the plaintiff -petitioner vide judgment and decree dated 4 -3 -1999. Aggrieved by the said judgment and decree, the plaintiff went up in appeal before the Additional District Judge Udham Singh. Since there was delay in filling the appeal, the case was registered as Civil Misc. Case No. 14 of 2001, Pradeep Singh Vs. Nagar Palika and others. The applicant -appellant filed an application Paper No. 6 -C accompanied by an affidavit duly sworn in by him under Section 5 of the Limitation Act for condonation of delay in filing the appeal. In the affidavit, the deponent had stated that after passing the impugned judgment dated 4 -3 -1999 which was dismissed, he had to go to his original village in Punjab, where due to land dispute amongst his brother, he had to remain there for about 2 years and after a compromise was arrived at between them he returned on 13 -2 -2001 to Rudrapur and contacted his counsel regarding preferring the appeal, hence a considerable had occurred in filing the appeal. It was stated that there was delibrate delay on his part as the circumstances were beyond his control. It was prayed that in case, the appeal is not heard due to delay in filing the appeal, the plaintiff was bound to suffer irreparable loss.