IN THE HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND AT NAINITAL WPMS No. 2093 of 2010 Major Raj Bahadur Thapa ……..Petitioner/Plaintiff Versus District Judge, Dehradun and others …..Respondents. Present: Mr. Siddharth Singh, Advocate for the petitioner/plaintiff. Mr. Sudhir Kumar, Brief Holder for the State. Hon’ble Sudhanshu Dhulia, J(Oral) According to the petitioner, he had filed a suit for possession as far back in the year, 2002. All the same for one reason or the other, the defendants are adopting dilatory tactics to delay a decision in the said suit. In the year 2009, petitioner was constrained to file a writ petition being Writ Petition No.1956 of 2009 (M/S) seeking directions for expeditious disposal of the case. This writ petition was disposed of vide order dated 19.11.2009 directing the court below to dispose of the suit within a period of one year. Consequently thereafter, application for amendment of the written statement, etc. were moved, which were all rejected, though valuable time was lost in these unnecessary proceedings. Finally, the defendants have moved an application for transfer of the case to some other court under Section 24 of the CPC before the District Judge on absolutely bald and frivolous allegations. The counsel for the petitioner further states that the District Judge is presently on leave and Additional District Judge is In-charge of District Judge and he apprehends that there would be further delay in the matter as the proceedings in Original Suit No.266 of 2002 have been stayed, and the application of the defendants under Section 24 is not likely to be decided as there is no District Judge in Dehradun. Learned counsel for the petitioner apprehends that there is only an In-charge District Judge, in Dehradun, he may not be a proper authority to dispose of the application filed under Section 24 of CPC. This apprehension of the petitioner is wholly misconceived as an application filed under section 24 of CPC is filed only before the District Court and not before the District Judge. This Court, therefore, directs the District Judge or In-charge District Judge to decide the application filed under Section 24 of CPC forthwith. District Judge or the In-Charge District Judge shall also ensure that no unnecessary delay is caused in the matter. With the above observation, writ petition is disposed of. (Sudhanshu Dhulia, J) 13.12.2010 Kuldeep