IN THE HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND AT NAINITAL Writ Petition (M/S) No. 358 of 2010 Anand Singh Belwal, Advocate, S/O Late Sri Puran Singh Belwal, District Court Compound, New Tehri, District Tehri Garhwal. … Petitioner. Versus State of Uttarakhand through Secretary, Law, Civil Secretariat, Subhash Road, Dehradun. … Respondent. Mr. Sandeep Kothari, Advocate, learned counsel for the petitioner. Mr. K.P.Upadhyay, Learned Additional Chief Standing Counsel for the respondent. Date April 23, 2010. Hon’ble B.S.Verma, J. (Delay Condonation Application No. 2734 of 2010) Heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the record. Delay in filing the counter affidavit is condoned. The counter affidavit filed on behalf of the respondent is taken on record. (Delay Condonation Application NO. 2734 of 2010 stands disposed of.) Learned counsel for the petitioner files rejoinder affidavit. The same is taken on record. By means of this writ petition, the petitioner has sought a writ in the nature of certiorari quashing the impugned order dated 12-012010 passed by the Additional Secretary and Additional L.R. (Nyaya Anubhag) (Annexure-4 to the writ petition). By the impugned order the application of the petitioner dated 5-11-2009 for renewal of notary certificate has been rejected on the ground that the application was not filed within the stipulated time, as has been provided under Proviso appended to Rule 8(B) of the Notary Rules 1956. 2 According to the petitioner, he was appointed as Notary in Tehsil Dhanolti, District Tehri Garhwal for five years i.e. upto 9-1-2010 vide Notification No. E/36(1)/Nyay Anu./2005 dated 10-1-2005. The petitioner applied for renewal/extension of his tenure as Notary along with prescribed fee affidavit etc. The grievance of the petitioner is that by the impugned order dated 12-1-2010, renewal of his notary certificate has been cancelled even though the petitioner had shown reasonable cause of illness of his mother. The delay of about 26 days in moving the application cannot be said to be inordinate. It is not disputed that the application for renewal was moved by the petitioner on 5-11-2009 and the application for renewal has been filed prior to expiry of the period, although it was to be filed three months before the expiry of the validity of the certificate. In the writ petition, the petitioner has filed copies of medical prescription etc. of his mother to substantiate that the mother of the petitioner was ill in the month of September 2009 and her treatment is still going on. The ground of family circumstances appears to be genuine. Learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that this Court in a similar case has already condoned the delay in moving the application for renewal vide order dated 6-4-2010 passed in Writ Petition No. 176 of 2010 (M/S), Mohammad Habib Vs. Secretary and another and has allowed the writ petition of the petitioner. I have perused the order impugned in this writ petition. From a plain reading of the order, it is obvious that the cause of delay in moving the application for renewal with some delay has been attributed to family circumstances but there is no finding that the ground taken by the petitioner was not genuine. The 3 application of the petitioner has been rejected on the ground of delay. In any view of the matter, it is not a case of inordinate delay in moving the application for renewal of notary certificate. I have also perused the order dated 6-4-2010 passed by this Court in Writ Petition No. 176 of 2010 (M/S). The facts of the case at hand are similar to the facts of Writ Petition NO. 176 of 2010 (M/S). Considering the facts and circumstances of the case, it would be in the fitness of things and in the interest of justice to condone the delay, which has occurred in moving the application for renewal. Accordingly, delay in moving the renewal application by the petitioner is condoned. The writ petition is allowed. The impugned order dated 12-1-2010 (Annexure-4 to the petition) is set aside. The authority concerned is directed to consider the application of the petitioner for renewal of notary certificate, expeditiously, preferably within a period of eight weeks from the date of production of certified copy of this order. ( B.S.Verma, J.) RCP 4