JANARDAN PANDURANG LIPANE Vs. SADHU DAVJI LIPANE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) . Heard the learned advocates for the parties. Perused the records by consent of the parties, both the applications - the application for condonation of delay in filing the review application as well as the review application itself - were taken up for hearing together and are being disposed of by this common judgment.

(2.) . This is an application for condonation of delay in filing the Review Petition in relation to the order passed on 18th November, 2002 in Second Appeal No.779 of 2002 rejecting the Second Appeal for want of substantial questions of law in the matter.

(3.) It is the case of the applicants that the advocate for the applicants applied for certified copy of the order dated 18th November, 2602 and the same was ready on 18th February, 2663 and the same was delivered to the advocate for the applicants on 6th March, 2003. The applicants, thereafter, contacted their advocate Sri Yogesh Mehta on 16th March, 2003 to inquire about the certified copy of the said order whereupon, he told the applicants to pay his balance amount of fee of Rs,5,000/- After collecting the said amount of fees, the applicants came to Mumbai on 15th April, 2003 for collecting the certified copy from the said advocate. Pursuant thereto, after discussing the matter amongst themselves, the applicants decided to file review application, and accordingly they approached another advocate Shri L.S.Gaikwad on 30th April, 2003, who informed the applicants to get all the records in relation to the matter. Thereafter, they came to know that the documents disclosing their rights to the suit property were to be found out and to be gathered by obtaining information from the different places and from different persons and therefore, in the process, it took considerable time, and after collecting the relevant documents, it was revealed to them that the properties have been partitioned long back by their ancestors, and the said evidence in the form of public documents was required to be brought on record as the entire case could be disposed of on the basis of those documents. Since the documents were not on record and for the first time, the applicants could lay their hands on those documents after collecting the same, they came to Mumbai on 15th June, 2003 and handed over all those papers to their advocate Shri L.S.Gaikwad. It is their further case that due to drought for three years, they had no sufficient funds and they had to collect the same from their relatives and friends for the purpose of filing the review petition, and after collecting the funds from all sources on 27th June, 2003, they again came to Mumbai for filing review petition, which was delayed by more than 187 days.