PRABHU LAL VERMA Vs. KHUSIRAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard counsel for appellants on the application u/s. 5 of the Limitation Act, seeking condonation of delay of 361 days in filing present civil second appeal.

(2.) It has inter alia been stated that in the application that the present second appeal has been filed against the final order dtd. 13/1/2022 passed by Additional District Judge, Nainwa, District Bundi, dismissing appellants' first appeal on the ground of limitation. It has been stated that relevant papers to file the second appeal were handed over to the then Advocate Sh. Sanjay Sharma, but later on, he passed away, and that fact could not come to the knowledge of appellants. When they inquired about filing of second appeal and came to know the fact of death of their counsel, they engaged another counsel and filed this second appeal. The application u/s. 5 of the Limitation Act, is supported with the affidavit.

(3.) The Hon'ble Supreme Court in case of N. Balakrishnan v. M. Krishnamurthy [(1998) 7 SCC 123] has held that length of delay is not material but the reason of delay must be seen and word "sufficient cause" should be construed liberally. In case of Dr. Yashwantrao Bhaskarrao Deshmukh v. Raghunath Kisan Saindane [(2022) 16 SCC 572], the Hon'ble Supreme Court condoned the delay of 650 days in filing second appeal, taking a lenient view in given facts and circumstances, where the appellant was contesting the litigation for 17 years to contest a civil suit for specific performance and when the suit was decreed by the first Appellate Court, he filed second appeal, which was dismissed on the ground of delay of 650 days. The Apex Court held that delay in filing second appeal, occurred due to lack of knowledge of decision of First Appeal.