M.SURULI SERVAI Vs. C.SUBBIAH SERVAI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE defendant in O.S.No.169 of 2001 on the file of the learned District Munsif, Nilakottai suffered a decree for declaration and injunction, as against which he wanted to prefer an appeal before the learned Principal Subordinate Judge, Dindigul. As there was a delay in preferring the appeal, a petition was filed wrongly under Section 5 of the Limitation Act instead of invoking Order 41 Rule 3-A of the Code of Civil Procedure, praying for an order condoning the delay of 2,428 days in preferring the appeal. The reason assigned in the supporting affidavit was that the son of the petitioner was entrusted with the job of following the case and he, after promising the petitioner to get the certified copies of the judgment and decree and make arrangements for filing the appeal, betrayed the petitioner by colluding with the respondent/decree holder and thereby, the above said delay was caused in preferring the appeal.

(2.) AFTER contest, the said petition, which had been numbered as I.A.No.55 of 2012 in the unnumbered A.S.-- of 2012 on the file of the learned Principal Subordinate Judge, Dindigul, was dismissed by the impugned order holding that the petitioner was not able to prove that he was prevented by a reasonable cause from preferring the appeal in time and that there was no acceptable explanation for the inordinate delay of 2,428 days in preferring the appeal.

(3.) THE matter stands listed today for admission. The arguments advanced by Mr.H.Lakshmi Shankar, learned Counsel for the revision petitioner are heard and the materials placed on record in the typed set of papers are considered.