Inordinate delay in filing second appeal cannot be condoned without sufficient cause and supporting evidence.

COMMON ORDER

This civil miscellaneous petition has been filed seeking to condone the delay of 1007 days delay in filing the second appeal.

2. In the affidavit filed in support of the petition, it is stated by the petitioner that the judgment and decree of the first appellate court was made ready on 28.10.2022, however, in the decree copy furnished to him, page No.2 was missing. Therefore, he requested his counsel, who appeared before the trial court to file a fresh copy application and obtain a new certified copy of the decree for the purpose of filing second appeal. It is also stated in the affidavit that in the interregnum period case bundle has been misplaced and it was traced out only recently. On these reasonings, the petitioner seeks condone the delay of 1007 days in filing the second appeal.

3. It is seen from the typed set of papers that certified copy of the judgment of the first appellate court was received by the petitioner on 28.10.2022. However, the copy application for obtaining the certified copy of the decree of the first appellate court as well as the judgment and decree of the trial court was filed only on 16.09.2025 and the same were received by him on 23.09.2025. If the second page of the decree of the first appeallate court was found missing, the petitioner should have filed a copy application immediately to obtain a new certified copy of the decree. Absolutely, there is no justification for the petitioner to wait for three years and then file a copy application for a fresh certified copy of the decree in the year 2025. The reasons assigned by the petitioner cannot be accepted for condoning such a long delay of 1007 days in filing the second appeal.

4. Further, in the affidavit, it is stated by the petitioner that the case bundle was misplaced in the office of the counsel and the same was traced out only recently. However, the condone delay petition has not been supported by the affidavit of the Advocate or the Advocate clerk. In such circumstances, the affidavit filed by the petitioner regarding misplacement of the bundle in the advocate’s office cannot be accepted. The petitioner has given very vague reasons for condoning the inordinate delay of 1007 days and this court is not convinced with the reasons assigned by the petitioner in the affidavit. Since the petitioner has not made out sufficient cause to condone such inordinate delay, this court is not inclined to entertain this petition.