Probate revocation barred by delay and prior adjudication where earlier participation defeated claimed lack of knowledge.

Delay in seeking revocation of probate was not condoned because the petitioner's claimed first knowledge was inconsistent with its earlier participation in the same dispute through its controlling mind, and notice was therefore attributable much earlier than alleged. The Court also held that the revocation petition could not be used to reopen a controversy already conclusively decided in prior proceedings culminating in the Supreme Court's judgment, as that would undermine finality and amount to an abuse of process. On both grounds, the challenge to the probate grant failed.

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Issues: (i) Whether the petitioner had a sufficient and legally acceptable explanation for the delay in seeking revocation of probate, including on the question when knowledge of the relevant facts could be attributed to it. (ii) Whether the revocation petition could be entertained at all in view of the prior adjudication by superior courts on the same substantive controversy and the consequent finality of the dispute.

Issue (i): Whether the petitioner had a sufficient and legally acceptable explanation for the delay in seeking revocation of probate, including on the question when knowledge of the relevant facts could be attributed to it.

Analysis: The petitioner's plea of first knowledge through the administrator pendente lite's letter was rejected as artificial. The Court treated Sharad Subramanyan as the controlling mind of the petitioner company and held that his prior participation in the earlier round, together with the company's own reliance on the lease and related documents in the earlier proceedings, showed that the petitioner could not be treated as a detached stranger. In such circumstances, the distinction sought to be drawn between the company and its principal actor was not accepted for the purpose of limitation. The Court therefore held that the petitioner had notice much earlier than claimed and had not shown a plausible explanation for the long delay.

Conclusion: The application for condonation of delay failed.

Issue (ii): Whether the revocation petition could be entertained at all in view of the prior adjudication by superior courts on the same substantive controversy and the consequent finality of the dispute.

Analysis: The Court held that allowing the petition to proceed would effectively reopen the very controversy that had already been decided against the petitioner's side in earlier proceedings culminating in the Supreme Court's decision. The Court was not persuaded that the matter could be converted into a fresh round merely by invoking a different procedural route or by asserting a separate corporate identity. The emphasis was on preventing an abuse of process and preserving the finality attached to the prior adjudication.

Conclusion: The revocation petition was not to be entertained and would fail in any event.

Final Conclusion: The petitioner failed on limitation and was also barred from reopening a concluded controversy, so the challenge to the probate grant did not survive.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a petitioner's claimed lack of knowledge is inconsistent with its earlier participation in the same dispute through its controlling mind, limitation will not be extended, and a subsequent petition cannot be used to relitigate an issue already conclusively decided in prior proceedings.

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