SANKURU VENKATA REDDY Vs. SANKURU VARALAKSHMI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) I have heard learned Senior Counsel Mr.P.Rajasekhar, representing on behalf of Mr.E.V.V.S.Ravi Kumar, learned counsel for the petitioners as well as Mr.T.V.Jaggi Reddy, learned counsel for the respondents.

(2.) This petition is filed by the petitioners/appellants/defendants under Sec. 5 of Limitation Act to condone the delay of 1250 days in preferring the second appeal against the judgment and decree passed in A.S.No.186 of 2012 on the file of IV Additional District Court, Kakinada.

(3.) The case of the petitioners/defendants in brief is that R1, R2 have filed O.S.No.74 of 2010 on the file of II Additional Senior Civil Judge Court, Kakinada, for partition of plaint schedule property into 15 equal shares and to allot two such shares to them and for mesne profits. The petitioners submit that they denied the contention of the respondents by stating that they have no right to claim share in the plaint schedule property and they further stated that suit schedule property is the absolute property of D2 to D4. It is the contention of the petitioners that the trial Court erroneously decreed the suit by passing a preliminary decree against which they preferred A.S.No.186 of 2012 on the file of VI Additional District Court, Kakinada, which was dismissed on erroneous appreciation of law and facts. They submit that they preferred the present second appeal having raised substantial question of law to be decided by this Court. The main contention of the petitioners is that the judgment in A.S.No.186 of 2012 was pronounced in the month of December 2018, but they do not know whether their previous counsel Mr.M.V.J.Ramagopal, filed any copy application for obtaining certified copies of judgment and decree and later due to Covid-19 and also due to the death of their counsel in the month of August 2021, they could not take any steps to prefer second appeal before this Court. The petitioners submit that they approached the counsel, who is looking after the office of their previous counsel and came to know about non-filing of second appeal and then immediately applied for certified copies and preferred the second appeal, due to that the delay of 1250 days occurred. They pray to condone the delay.