Condonation of Delay: time spent pursuing a bona fide review petition excluded, appeal permitted and remanded for merits.

When a litigant, acting on bona fide legal advice, prosecutes the matter before an incorrect forum, the period spent in those proceedings is excluded when assessing delay for condonation under the Limitation framework; the appellate court erred in denying condonation without hearing on maintainability. Applying that principle, the time consumed by a review petition pursued bona fide was excluded, no unexplained delay remained, and condonation was granted. The appeal was allowed in principle and the matter remanded to the first appellate court for adjudication on merits.

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Issues: Whether the first appellate court erred in refusing condonation of delay by ignoring settled principles and the pendency of a review petition filed bona fide on legal advice, and whether the appeal should be allowed.

Analysis: The Court examined the factual sequence where the appellant's advocate filed a review petition instead of an appeal and the review petition was later held not maintainable. Applying Section 14 of the Limitation Act and established principles, the Court treated the pendency of the review petition pursued under bona fide legal advice as a period to be excluded when considering delay in filing the appeal. The Court held that the first appellate court should not have rejected the condonation application on the basis that the appeal was allegedly not maintainable without affording the appellant an opportunity to be heard on maintainability. The Court found that after excluding the period attributable to the bona fide pursuit of the review petition, there was no unexplained delay warranting refusal of condonation. The matter was therefore suitable for condonation of delay and remand for adjudication of the appeal on merits.

Conclusion: Issue answered in the affirmative; delay is condoned and the appeal is allowed. The matter is remanded to the first appellate court for adjudication.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a litigant, acting on bona fide legal advice, prosecutes the matter before an incorrect forum, the period spent in such bona fide proceedings is to be excluded for the purpose of condonation of delay under Section 14 of the Limitation Act.

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