COVID exclusion period (15.03.2020-28.02.2022) applies to land revenue appeals; authorities cannot dismiss as time-barred or opine on merits when doing so.

JUDGMENT :

Ajay Mohan Goel, J.

By way of this petition, the petitioner has assailed order dated 18.08.2022 (Annexure P-4) passed by Sub Divisional Collector, Una, District Una, H.P., in terms whereof, the appeal filed by the petitioner under Section 14 of the H.P. Land Revenue Act, against the order of Assistant Collector, 1st Grade, Una, dated 03.08.2020 was dismissed alongwith an application filed under Section 5 of the Limitation Act by holding that the proceedings were time barred, besides making certain observations on the merit of the case also

2. Learned Counsel for the petitioner submitted that the petitioner had assailed the order passed by Assistant Collector, 1st Grade, Una, dated 03.08.2020, which was passed during the COVID-19 Pandemic. He submits that in terms of the order passed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in miscellaneous application No.21 of 2022, in Suo Motu Writ Petition (C) No.3 of 2020, in re- cognizance for extension of limitation, Hon’ble Supreme Court was pleased to hold vide order dated 10.01.2022 that the period from 15.03.2020 till 28.02.2022 shall stand excluded while computing the period prescribed for the purposes of limitation. Learned Counsel further submitted that as the order under challenge was passed within the said period and the appeal was preferred on 11.01.2022 within this period, there was no occasion for the Collector to have had dismissed the appeal as being time barred. Accordingly, he prayed that as the impugned order is per se bad, the same be quashed and set aside.

3. On the other hand, learned Senior Counsel appearing for the respondents submitted that the petitioner himself filed the appeal alongwith an application under Section 5 of the Limitation Act, which was dismissed by the Authorities and in light of the matter, now the petitioner cannot be allowed to agitate the order by raising the ground that the appeal was not time barred. Accordingly, learned Senior Counsel prayed that as there is no merit in the present petition, the same be dismissed.

4. I have heard learned Counsel for the parties and have also gone through the impugned order.

5. It is a matter of record that the appeal preferred by the petitioner was against the order passed by Assistant Collector, 1st Grade, dated 03.08.2020. The appeal was preferred on 11.01.2022 and it was dismissed on 18.08.2022. The relevant portion of the appellate order passed by the Authority reads as under:-

“6. Perused the record placed on file minutely and gone through the arguments put forth by the Ld. Counsel for the parties. All co-sharers of the joint Khewat including Kuldeep Chand filed application before the A.C. 1st Grade, Una along with affidavit duly signed by them for giving effect to the mutual partition conducted by them who attested the mutation in their presence. Hence it cannot be said that the proceedings impugned order were passed in the absence of applicant. Thus the application and appeal have been filed by suppressing the material facts with far fetching story. In fact, no application/appeal lies against domestic partition. However there is no sufficient cause to condone of the delay and application under section 5 of the limitation act is time barred due to efflux of limitation period filed after fifteen months against the stipulated period of one month. Procedure adopted of domestic partition by the Trial Court is as per law and no grounds of appeal is worth consideration as partition was conducted by the parties themselves. Hence both Limitation application and appeal deserves to be dismi