THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE N.V.RAMANA CIVIL REVISION PETITION No.5815 of 2009 ORDER: This Civil Revision Petition, under Section 115 of the Code of Civil Procedure, is directed against the order dated 07.10.2009 in I.A. No.5144 of 2008 in A.S. (SR) No. 4116 of 2007 on the file of the Principal District Judge, Ranga Reddy District. Brief facts of the case are that the petitioner herein filed the suit being O.S.No.523 of 1998 on the file of the I-Additional Senior Civil Judge, Ranga Reddy District, against the respondents herein, seeking declaration that she is the absolute owner and possessor of the suit schedule property and for eviction of defendants 1 and 2 from the said property, and the same was decreed partly by the judgment dated 30.11.2005. Aggrieved thereby, the 1st respondent herein, defendant No.3 in the suit, preferred an appeal in A.S. (SR) No.4116 of 2007 on the Court of the Principal District Judge, Ranga Reddy District. However, since there was delay of 431 days in filing the appeal, the 1st respondent filed the present I.A.No.5144 of 2008, seeking to condone the said delay. It was the case of the 1st respondent before the appellate Court that as the case was reserved for judgment, he could not know the date of delivery of judgment and that after obtaining consent from the higher authorities and the legal opinion, he preferred the appeal, and therefore, the delay of 431 days had occurred in filing the appeal. The petitioner opposed the present I.A. by filing a counter affidavit, contending that no sufficient cause for condoning the delay was shown by the 1st respondent. However, the learned Principal District Judge, after considering the matter in detail, by the impugned order dated 07.10.2009, condoned the delay on payment of costs of Rs.2,000/- to the petitioner on or before 20-10-2009. Challenging the same, the present revision petition is filed by the petitioner. Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner and perused the material available on record. Since the suit is for recovery of possession of land from the petitioner, and inasmuch as it is the case of the petitioner that the suit was decreed on erroneous grounds, and that as the matter was reserved, he did not know the date on which it was delivered, and by the time, he obtained permission from the higher authorities, delay of 431 days had occurred, the Court below having regard to the principles of law enunciated in by the apex Court in State of Haryana vs. Chandra Mani & Others[1] and State of Nagaland vs. Lipok Ao and others[2], wherein it was held that the endeavour of the Court should be to determine the matter on merits and not to punish the parties for technical lapses, allowed the present I.A., and condoned the delay, by reason of the order under revision, and I find no reason to interfere therewith. The Civil Revision Petition is, therefore, dismissed without costs. _____________ N.V.RAMANA,J 22.01.2010 v v [1] AIR 1996 SC 1623 [2] 2005 (3) SCJ 558