The provisions of Section 5 of the Limitation Act apply to applications filed under Section 504 of the Bombay Municipal Corporation Act, and the delay in filing such an application may be condoned if the applicant can show sufficient cause for the delay.

DHARMADHIKARI, J.:- It is an admitted position that the respondents the Bombay Municipal Corporation have acquired the land belonging to the petitioner, under Section 299 of the Bombay Municipal Corporation Act. The possession of the land was taken on 24th Aug., 1965 though intimation about the intention, to acquire the Land was communicated to the appellant on 27th Mar., 1965. It appears that vide letter dated 12th April 1965 i.e. even before taking over of the possession of the land, the appellant claimed compensation for the land acquired. Unfortunately till 1st of June 1968 no reply was given by the Corporation authorities to the claim made by the appellant nor the Bombay Municipal corporation had made an offer regarding the payment of compensation till that date. After receiving the said letter as the appellant was not satisfied with the offer made by the Corporation he filed an application under Section 504 of the Bombay Municipal Corporation Act on 31st July 1968 making a claim for compensation. This application was opposed by the Bombay Municipal Corporation on various grounds and a contention was also raised that the application was barred by limitation as it was filed beyond the period of limitation prescribed by Section 504 of the Bombay Municipal Corporation Act.

The appellant had also filed an application under Section 5 of the Limitation Act for condonation of delay on the ground that he could not file an application earlier because of the conduct of the Bombay Municipal Corporation Officers themselves and hence there was sufficient cause for him for not making the application within the period prescribed by Section 504 of the Bombay Municipal Corporation Act. This application was also opposed on behalf of the Municipal Corporation on the ground (1) that the provisions of S.5 of the Lim. Act are not applicable to the application contemplated by Section 504 of the Bombay Municipal Corporation Act; and (2) that the application filed by the appellant did not disclose sufficient cause for not making the application earlier.

2. The learned Additional Chief Judge of the Small Cause Court, Bombay vide his order dated 22nd April, 1971 came to the conclusion that Section 5 of the Limitation Act applies to the application filed under Section 504 of the Bombay Municipal Corporation Act. However, he found that the delay had not been properly explained by the appellant and the reason given by the appellant appeared to him to be an afterthought. In view of these findings the learned Additional Chief Judge refused to condone the delay and therefore the application filed was dismissed. It is against this order of dismissal of the application that the present appeal has been filed by the appellant under Section 3 of Act No. XII of 1888.

3. Shri Sali, learned Counsel for the appellant contended before us that the learned Additional Chief Judge of the Small Cause Court, Bombay committed an error apparent on the face of record in dismissing the application filed by the appellant for condonation of delay in filing the application under Section 504 of the Bombay Municipal Corporation Act. According to him it is an admitted position that though the possession of the land in question was taken by the Bombay Municipal Corporation on 24th August 1965 and the claim for compensation was already lodged by the appellant on 12th of Apr., 1965 till 1st June 1968 no reply was given by the Bombay Municipal Corporation. Unless such a reply was received and a dispute was raised, the appellant bona fide believed that there was no cause of action for him for filing the application under S.504 of the Bombay Municipal Corporation Act. After getting such a reply on the 1st June 1968 within a period of less than one month he filed the application before the learned Chief Judge of the Small Cause Court under Section 504 of the Bombay Municipal Corporation Act. Therefore any delay which was caused in filing the application was caused by the conduct