Billa Ram And Anr vs Uoi And Ors
2021 Latest Caselaw 756 j&K

                                                                  Case No. 102
                                                           (Before Notice Cause List)



        HIGH COURT OF JAMMU & KASHMIR AND LADAKH
                        AT JAMMU

                                                LPA No. 74/2021
                                                CM No. 5761/2021
                                                CM No. 5762/2021

Billa Ram and anr.                                     .....Appellant/Petitioner(s)
                       Through: Mr. Sunil Khajuria, Advocate.
                  Vs
UOI and ors.                                                   ..... Respondent(s)
                       Through:    Mr. Vishal Sharma, ASGI

Coram: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE DHIRAJ SINGH THAKUR, JUDGE
       HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE PUNEET GUPTA, JUDGE

                                    ORDER

26.07.2021 (OPEN COURT)

Per Thakur-J

CM No. 5761/2021

This is an application for condoning the delay of 226 days in

preferring the present Letters Patent Appeal against the judgment and order

dated 05.10.2020. The explanation rendered in the application for seeking the

condonation of delay is attributed to the Covid-19 Pandemic, the lockdowns

enforced and the inability of the applicants to approach and contact his counsel.

It is stated that the applicants are not properly educated and, therefore, could not

file the Letters Patent Appeal within time.

Learned counsel for the respondents, on the asking of the Court, puts

in his appearance and considering the explanation rendered in the application,

has no serious objection to the appeal being condoned.

We are satisfied with the explanation rendered and, therefore, allow

this application for condoning the delay of 226 days and take up the main appeal

for consideration with the consent of learned counsel for the parties.

LPA No. 74/2021

Issue notice. Mr. Vishal Sharma, learned ASGI waives notice on

behalf of the respondents.

With the consent of learned counsel for the parties, the Letters Patent

Appeal is agreed to be disposed of at the admission stage.

Briefly stated, the grievance of the appellants against the judgment

and order dated 05.10.2020, impugned in the present Letters Patent Appeal is

that on the date when the judgment and order impugned was rendered, neither

the appellants nor their counsel were present in the Court and, therefore, if at all

the learned Single Judge had to pass an order, it ought to have been only an

order of dismissal for non-prosecution and further that the writ Court ought not

to have disposed of the matter by observing that nothing survived in the petition

as the appellants were not in possession of the land in question, which factum,

according to learned counsel for the appellants was not correct.

We are inclined to allow the present Letters Patent Appeal as we feel

that the writ Court ought not to have declared the petition as having been

rendered infructuous and made observation with regard to whether or not the

appellants were in possession. The petition could have been simply dismissed

for non-prosecution, which whould have made the remedy of filing an

application for restoration of this petition, available to the appellants. Since the

issue of possession has also been contested by learned counsel for the appellants

contrary to the observations made in the order impugned, we feel it just and

proper to allow the present Letters Patent Appeal. Accordingly, judgment and

order impugned is set aside.

Registry to list this matter before an appropriate Bench for

consideration on merits.

                                              (Puneet Gupta)      (Dhiraj Singh Thakur)
                                                     Judge                       Judge
              Jammu
              26.07.2021
              TARUN




TARUN KUMAR GUPTA
2021.07.28 16:47
I attest to the accuracy and
integrity of this document