1. I would have disposed of this revision petition with a very short order but for a valiant attempt made by learned counsel for the petitioner to overthrow an unsurmountable stare decisis in relation to a principle of law accepted for over seventy five years. No doubt, he failed to convince me, but I must place on record my appreciation for die presentation of the matter in a different perspective warranting a fresh look.

2. The short facts are these: The petitioner obtained a preliminary decree on a mortgage on 24.4.1982 against the respondents. In the preliminary decree, the Court granted time to the defendants upto 24.5.1982 for paying the amount due under the decree to the petitioner. The defendants did not make any payment and the petitioner filed an application for passing of final decree on 23.4.1986. The petitioner also filed Application No. 782 of 1988 under S. 5 of the Limitation Act for condonation of the delay in filing the application for passing final decree. The only reason given in the affidavit filed in support of the application for the inordinate delay of nearly a year was that the petitioner was conducting the case on behalf of all the mortgagees and