Ajay Dabra Vs Pyare Ram & Ors. (Supreme Court of India)
Supreme Court, in the case of Ajay Dabra vs Pyare Ram & Ors., dealt with an appeal regarding the dismissal of a suit for specific performance. The appellant, Ajay Dabra, was not a party to the original contract but had sought enforcement of an agreement executed between the defendant and M/s Himalayan Ski Village Pvt. Ltd. The agreements pertained to the sale of agricultural land in Himachal Pradesh, leading to two civil suits. Both suits were dismissed by the District Judge, Kullu, and subsequent appeals to the High Court were rejected on account of a 254-day delay in filing, which the High Court refused to condone.
The primary issue before the Supreme Court was whether the delay in filing the appeal before the High Court should have been condoned. The appellant argued that financial constraints prevented him from paying the court fee on time. However, the Court held that this was not a valid reason, particularly since the appellant was an affluent businessman. The judgment emphasized that while courts should adopt a lenient approach in condoning delays, a reasonable justification must be provided. The Court highlighted that an appeal could still be filed with deficient court fees under Section 149 of the Civil Procedure Code (CPC), provided the deficiency was rectified within the stipulated period.
