IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH Regular Second Appeal No.4537 of 2009 (O&M) Date of decision: 26th July, 2011 Haryana Urban Development Authority and another … Appellants Versus Phiraya Lal Khanduja and others … Respondents CORAM: HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE KANWALJIT SINGH AHLUWALIA Present: Mr. Siddharth Batra, Advocate for the appellants. Mr. Sandeep Kotla, Advocate for the respondents. KANWALJIT SINGH AHLUWALIA, J. (ORAL) Civil Misc. No.13606-C of 2009 This is an application for condonation of delay of 953 days in filing the appeal. It is stated in the application that after judgment and decree was passed on 12th January, 2007, certified copies of the same were applied on 13th January, 2007 and were received on 20th January, 2007. It is further stated that Mr.Yadvinder Singh Dhillon, Advocate was engaged on 2nd March, 2007 but he had not filed the appeal. This fact came into notice of the Chief Administrator, HUDA only on 8th September, 2009 when the present counsel was engaged. Notice of the application was issued for 17th February, 2010. The respondents appeared and filed their reply. In the reply, they stated that the applicants-appellants have been so lethargic in proceeding further; totally vague and frivolous justification for delay has been given; each day’s delay has not been explained; the delay is deliberate, Regular Second Appeal No.4537 of 2009 (O&M) intentional and willful. If they could have been serious in filing the appeal then this inordinate delay of 953 days could not have been occurred. They prayed for the dismissal of appeal on this score alone. Mr.Sandeep Kotla, Advocate appearing on behalf of the respondents, besides reiterating the averments made in reply, states that the decree has been satisfied and appellant-HUDA has already issued allotment letters on 20th January, 2011 to all the non applicant- respondents. It is further stated that possession of the plots has also been given to them and they have already deposited the entire sale consideration of the plots. Mr. Kotla has relied upon a judgment rendered by this Court in Regular Second Appeal No.183 of 2010 titled as ‘Haryana Urban Development Authority and another v. Harbir Singh’ decided on 14th October, 2010 to say that there was a delay of 1020 days in filing the appeal and this Court had not condoned the delay. Learned counsel has submitted that in the present case, HUDA has proposed no action against the counsel who has allegedly caused the delay. Even no complaint has been made. Mr.Kotla has further submitted that there is no communication from the counsel who was engaged, rather all the communications have been issued by HUDA. On the asking of this Court as to whether any SLP was filed against the aforesaid RSA No.183 of 2010 or not, Mr. Siddharth Batra, Advocate representing the appellant-HUDA has been candid enough to say that SLP indeed was filed but the judgment rendered in the said appeal was upheld. Since in the present case, decree has been satisfied, allotment of the plots has been made, the possession has also been given to the non applicant-respondents and they have even deposited 2 Regular Second Appeal No.4537 of 2009 (O&M) the entire sale consideration of the plots; this Court is of the opinion that condonation of delay of 953 days in filing the appeal in view of the reply filed by respondents, contents of which have been noticed above, is not justifiable and furthermore will jeopardize the rights of the non applicant- respondents, which have already accrued to them because of the allotment of plots made by appellant-HUDA. Thus, taking totality of the circumstances into consideration, no ground is made out to condone the delay and hence, the present application is hereby dismissed. Regular Second Appeal No.4537 of 2009 The application for condonation of delay of 953 days in filing this appeal has been dismissed, therefore, the appeal cannot be entertained being time barred and the same is hereby dismissed. [KANWALJIT SINGH AHLUWALIA] JUDGE July 26, 2011 rps 3