(A) Inherent Power of Court - Power to set aside judgments of condemnation - The Court possesses an inherent power to set aside its own judgments of condemnation to allow bona fide claims by parties who have not been heard and who had no opportunity of appearing, provided that substantial injustice would otherwise result - This power is discretionary and should be exercised only where substantial injustice would occur if the decree were allowed to stand and where the application for relief has been promptly made.

(B) Delay in Application - Reasonableness of delay - Where applicants await the result of actions taken by a government official on their behalf before instituting further proceedings, such delay is not unreasonable and should not be a ground for refusing relief.

Facts of the case:
An application to set aside a judgment of condemnation was refused by the lower court on the ground of delay. The applicants had been awaiting the outcome of actions taken by a government official who had submitted papers to a claims committee on their behalf before pursuing further legal remedies.

Findings of Court:
The lower court's refusal of relief based on delay was improper because it was not unreasonable for the applicants to have awaited the result of the official's actions before initiating further proceedings.

Issues: Whether the court has the inherent power to set aside its own judgments of condemnation to prevent substantial injustice and whether the delay in the application for relief was unreasonable.

Ratio Decidendi: The court holds an inherent discretionary power to set aside judgments of condemnation to permit bona fide claims from unheard parties to avoid substantial injustice, provided the application is prompt; waiting for the result of official government actions constitutes a reasonable justification for delay.

Result: Appeal allowed.