Inordinate delay in filing an appeal must be adequately explained; failure to do so results in dismissal of the petition.

JUDGMENT

Manish Kumar, J.

Heard learned counsel for the petitioner, Sri. Hemant Kumar Pandey, learned Standing Counsel for the State and Sri. Dilip Kumar Pandey, learned counsel for the respondent no. 2.

2. The present writ petition has been preferred for quashing of the impugned revisional order dated 06.04.2022, appellate order dated 24.09.2020, order dated 14.10.1976 passed by the Consolidation Officer and order dated 24.06.2023 (which is an information given to the petitioner).

3. Learned Standing Counsel has submitted that the revisional order was passed against the petitioner on 06.04.2022 but the petitioner had not explained the laches of about more than two years in filing the present writ petition.

4. It is further submitted by learned Standing counsel that the appellate court and the revisional court have rightly rejected the revision and the appeal preferred by the petitioner as the appeal was preferred after the delay of 43 years, without explaining the inordinate delay properly. The reason shown in the application filed under Section 5 of the Limitation Act along with the appeal wherein it has only been said that she was under impression that after the demise of her father, the land would have been mutated in her name and when she met the Lekhpal, she came to know that the land was not mutated in her name so, immediately she filed an appeal. The said reason given in the application does not properly explained the delay of 43 years so there is no illegality and irregularity in the orders passed by the revisional authority and the appellate authority.

5. It is further submitted that the village has already been de-notified under Section 52 of the U.P. Consolidation of Holdings Act, 1953 after the consolidation proceedings and it has rightly been rejected by the appellate authority, otherwise entertaining the appeal with such a delay of 43 years would be nothing but an abuse of process of law. In support of his submission, he has relied upon the judgements/order dated 03.05.2023 passed by this Court in Writ B No. 218 of 2022 (Vijay Narayan v. Deputy Director of Consolidation and 6 Ors.).

6. In reply thereto, learned counsel for the petitioner has relied upon the judgments of Hon'ble Supreme Court as well as this Court, wherein it has been held that a liberal approach should be adopted in the matters of condoning the delay.

7. After hearing learned counsel for the parties, going through the record of the case and the judgments relied by the learned counsels, the position which emerges out in the present case is that the Consolidation Officer had passed the order on 14.10.1976 and the appeal was preferred in the year 2019 i.e. after about 43 years along with delay condonation application filed under Section 5 of the Limitation Act. The extract of the delay condonation application preferred by the petitioner is being quoted hereinbelow:-

8. From perusal of the application for condonation of delay, it appears that the petitioner had not disclosed the death of her father as to when he had expired, she had also not disclosed that after the demise of her father, she had moved any application for mutation in the revenue records, she had also failed to show any document regarding the possession on the property.

9. The reason assigned for delay in the affidavit filed along with the application for condonation of delay is not tenable on the face of it and as per the law laid down by Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Esha Bhattacharjee v. Managing Committee of Raghunathpur Nafar Academy and Ors. reported in (2013) 12 SCC 649, it is unexplainable inordinate delay on the part of the petitioner in filing the appeal. Relevant paragraph no. 15 of the said judgment is quoted hereinbelow:-

'There is a distinction between inordinate delay and a delay of short duration or few days, for to the former doctrine of prejudice is attracted whereas to the latter it may not be attracted. That apart, first one wants strict approach whereas the s