CR No.6837 of 2008 1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH CR No.6837 of 2008(O&M) Decided on : 12-08 2010 Darshan Lal ....Petitioner VERSUS Ajit Singh ....Respondent CORAM:- HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE MAHESH GROVER Present:- Mr.Atul Jain, Advocate for the petitioners None for the respondent MAHESH GROVER, J Petitioner is aggrieved by the orders dated 18.4.2005 and 8.10.2008. By virtue of the first order dated 18.5.2005, Trial Court by applying provisions of Section 5 condoned the delay and entertained the suit. In the subsequent order of 8.10.2008, the Court noticed that the objection by the petitioner regarding the condonation of delay by the learned Trial Court in 2005 was raised on 30.9.2008 and since the proceedings in the suit had already commenced hence it was not possible to review the order passed by the predecessor Court. Grievance of both the orders have been made in the present petition to contend that Section 5 of the Limitation Act was not attracted at the time of filing of the suit and it was duty of the Trial Court to say that the suit was barred by limitation or not. No one has put in appearance on behalf of the respondent. After hearing learned counsel for the petitioner, I am of the CR No.6837 of 2008 2 considered opinion that there is no doubt that the orders dated 18.4.2005 and 8.10.2008 are patently illegal and could not have been passed. The petitioner who was defendant had a right to object to the suit being beyond limitation which objection the learned Trial Court ought to have decided after striking an issue on this aspect but not by condoning the delay in the first instance and extinguishing a valuable right available to the petitioner. In this view of the matter, both the impugned orders are hereby set aside and revision petition is allowed with a direction to the learned Trial Court that it shall frame an issue regarding suit being barred by limitation or not and after granting parties opportunity to lead evidence on the said issue, it shall proceed to determine the same alongwith other issues which are in question. August 12 , 2010 (Mahesh Grover) rekha Judge