High Court · 2025

Mr. B.S. Koranga, Advocat e for t he pet it ioner. Mr. Yogesh St anding Counsel Ut t arakhand. Chandra Tiwari, t he St at e of

2. Proceeding under Ut t ar Pradesh Public Prem ises ( Evict ion of Unaut horised init iat ed Occupant s) Act , 1972 were against t he pet it ioner, which result ed in passing of an evict ion order dat ed 25.04.2024. Against t he evict ion order, pet it ioner filed an Appeal under Sect ion 9 of t he said Act . His Appeal has been dism issed on t he ground of delay by learned Dist rict Judge, Nainit al vide j udgm ent dat ed 30.11.2024. Thus, aggrieved, feeling approached t his Court challenging t he learned j udgm ent & order passed by Dist rict Judge in Misc. Applicat ion No.131 of 2024. pet it ioner t hat Learned counsel for t he pet it ioner 3. subm it s t he delay condonat ion applicat ion has been wrongly rej ect ed, Prescribed Aut horit y proceeded ex part e in t he m at t er due t o pet it ioner’s non appearance on a cert ain dat e, and pet it ioner was not aware about t he order passed by Prescribed Aut horit y unt il t he Halka Pat wari 24.10.2024, when inform ed him about passing of evict ion order against him . He subm it s t hat appellant applied for cert ified copy of t he evict ion order, which was delivered t o him on 28.10.2024 and soon t hereaft er he filed t he appeal. Thus, he subm it s t hat t he prayer for delay condonat ion m ade by pet it ioner deserved t o be allowed and learned Court below has rej ect ed t he sam e by t aking a hyper- t echnical view. before

4. Learned counsel for t he pet it ioner has referred t o t he applicat ion seeking condonat ion of delay, which is on record at page no. 41 of t he writ pet it ion. I n t he delay condonat ion applicat ion, pet it ioner t hat he had engaged a has pleaded counsel t he appearing Prescribed Aut horit y, who had assured him t hat he will sum m on t he pet it ioner as and when required by t he Prescribed Aut horit y; due t o COVI D- 19 Pandem ic, pet it ioner lost t rack of t he proceedings pending before Prescribed Aut horit y and he also lost cont act wit h his counsel and he was under t he im pression t hat his counsel would be pursuing t he m at t er, however, on 24.10.2024 t he Pat wari inform ed him about passing of evict ion order, and pet it ioner t o Nainit al on 26.10.2024 and applied for cert ified copy of t he evict ion order, which was delivered t o him on 28.10.2024, and aft er draft ing t he Appeal, t he sam e is t oday. Thus, pet it ioner prayed t hat benefit of Sect ion 5 Lim it at ion Act be given t o him and t he Appeal be heard and decided on m erit s. t hen cam e in Court

5. Learned counsel for t he pet it ioner refers t o Sect ion 9( 2) of Ut t ar Pradesh Public Prem ises ( Evict ion of Unaut horised Occupant s) Act , 1972. Proviso t o Sect ion 9( 2) of t he aforesaid Act enables t he Appellat e Aut horit y t he lim it at ion Appeal aft er expiry of period if he sat isfied t hat t he appellant was prevent ed by sufficient cause from t o ent ert ain t he filing an appeal reference Sect ion 9 ( 2) of t he Act is ext ract ed below: - t im e. For “ 9. Appeals.- ( 1) ......... ( 2) An appeal under sub- sect ion preferred- ( a) in t he case of an appeal from an order under Sect ion 5, w it hin fift een days from t he dat e of publicat ion of t he order under sub- sect ion ( 1) of t hat sect ion; and ( 1) shall be ( b) in t he case of an appeal from an order under Sect ion 7, w it hin fift een days from t he dat e on which t he order is com m unicat ed t o t he appellant : Provided t hat t he Appellat e Officer m ay ent ert ain t he appeal aft er t he expiry of t he said period of fift een days, if he is sat isfied t hat t he appellant was prevent ed by sufficient cause from filing t he appeal in t im e.” t he Learned

6. Court Appellat e condonat ion rej ect ed applicat ion by holding t hat sufficient cause has not been shown for t he delay caused in filing t he appeal. From perusal of t he im pugned j udgm ent , it is revealed t hat t he past conduct of t he pet it ioner of not pursuing t he m at t er diligent ly in t he proceedings Prescribed Aut horit y has been m ade t he basis for rej ect ing condonat ion. I n his applicat ion, pet it ioner has indicat ed t he reasons for his non appearance Prescribed Aut horit y. prayer before before t he t he also, before ot herwise t he m at t er

7. Even diligence on t he part of pet it ioner in t he pursuing Prescribed Aut horit y cannot be a good ground condonat ion of delay in filing t he appeal. The explanat ion for t he delay offered by t he pet it ioner t hat he cam e t o know about evict ion order only on 24.10.2024 and cert ified copy of t he evict ion order rej ect ing his prayer was delivered on 28.10.2024, appears t o be sufficient for condonat ion of delay. t he Law liberal and t o be adopt ed. is well set t led t hat while 8. for condonat ion of considering prayer j ust ice orient ed delay, a Since approach has Prescribed Aut horit y has ordered pet it ioner’s evict ion quest ion, t herefore, he would not get any benefit out of t he delay in filing t he appeal. Therefore, t he absence of obj ect ion filed by t he St at e, t he cause shown by t he pet it ioner cannot be disbelieved. Lack of diligence on t he part of t he pet it ioner in pursuing t he m at t er before t he Prescribed Aut horit y cannot be a valid ground for rej ect ing his delay condonat ion applicat ion. I n such view of t he m at t er, t he writ 9. pet it ion is allowed; im pugned j udgm ent dat ed 30.11.2024 passed by learned Dist rict Judge is quashed and t he delay t he condonat ion applicat ion pet it ioner st ands allowed. The Appeal filed by t he pet it ioner shall st and rest ored t o t he file of learned Dist rict Judge, who shall decide t he Appeal on m erit s. filed by ( M a n o j K u m a r Ti w a r i , J.)

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