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Judgment
The appellants have filed this appeal against the order dated 29.09.2018 passed by DRT-II, Chandigarh whereby their application for recall of ex parte final order passed by it in O.A.No. 302/1997 of SIDBI qua deceased defendant Shri Subhash Sethi has been rejected as time barred after holding that DRT has no power to condone the delay for which purpose an application for condonation of delay was also filed.
After hearing counsel for the parties and considering their written arguments as well I have unhesitatingly come to the conclusion that the view of the learned Presiding Officer of DRT that DRT has no power to condone the delay in filing of application for setting aside of ex parte final order dated 29.09.2018 cannot be sustained in view of the latest judgment dated 29.10.2018 of Hon'ble Punjab and Haryana High Court, which is the jurisdictional High Court of DRTs at Chandigarh, in the caseof "M/s Oswal Spinning and Weaving Mills Limited and othersVs.UCO Bank" and another(CWP No. 21519 of 2018) wherein after noticing the judgment dated 24.10.2017 of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in CIVIL APPEAL NO.16962 OF 2017, "International Asset Reconstruction Company of India Ltd. versus The Official Liquidator of Aldrich Pharmaceuticals Ltd. and Others", relied upon in the impugned order by the DRT, has held that the DRTs have the jurisdiction to condone delay in general but not the delay in fling of appeals under Section 30 of the Recovery of Debts Due to Banks and Financial Institutions Act, 1993 against orders passed by Recovery Officers. Since the aforesaid judgment of Hon'ble Punjab and Haryana High Court was delivered after the DRT had passed the impugned order the impugned order taking a contrary view appears to have been taken. Though some observations have been made on the merits of the delay condonation also but the final decision taken was that DRT cannot condone the delay. In view of this conclusion the DRT ought not to have entered into the facts pleaded in support of delay condonation application.
This appeal, therefore has to succeed and matter needs to be remanded back to DRT for fresh disposal on merits of appellants' application for condonationof delay in filing of applicaton under Order IX Rule 13 CPC keeping in mind that it has the power to entertain the application moved by the appellants herein seeking condonation of delay in moving the application under Order IX Rule 13 CPC.
This appeal is accordingly allowed. The impugned order dated 29.09.2018 passed by DRT-II, Chandigarh is set aside. The DRT is directed to decide on merits, uninfluenced by any observations made in the impugned order, the application for condonation of delay filed by the appellants herein for condoning the delay in moving the application for setting aside of final order dated 09.09.1998 in O.A.No. 302/1997 qua deceased defendant Shri Subhash Sethi only. The parties shall now appear before the DRT on 21.09.2019 at 2 p.m. for receiving further directions.