ALLAH DEWAYYA and others vs BAKA through L.Rs, and others
This matter concerns an application for the re-admission of a civil appeal that was previously dismissed in default by the Supreme Court of Pakistan. The core legal question before the Court was whether the appellant had demonstrated sufficient cause for their non-appearance and failure to comply with procedural requirements, specifically the filing of paper books, on the date the appeal was originally dismissed. The appellant sought to justify the absence by citing the death of one of the parties, Mst. Ghulam Fatima. Upon review, the Court observed that the deceased party had remained alive for a significant period following the grant of leave to appeal, and that the appellant had failed to provide any explanation for the non-filing of the required paper books or to ensure representation by an Advocate-on-Record or other parties. Consequently, the Court held that no sufficient cause had been established to justify setting aside the order of dismissal. The application for re-admission was found to be without merit and was accordingly dismissed, reinforcing the necessity of procedural compliance and diligent prosecution of appeals.
- Does the death of a party justify the failure to file paper books or appear in court when the party remained alive for a significant period after the grant of leave to appeal?
- What constitutes sufficient cause for setting aside an order of dismissal in default in the Supreme Court?
- Is an application for re-admission of an appeal maintainable when the appellant fails to provide an explanation for non-compliance with procedural rules?
- Order XIV Rule 4, Supreme Court Rules 1980
ORDER
' This application for re-admission of Civil Appeal No,1902 of 2001 which was dismissed in default on 18-7-2005 is put up for consideration.
2. The appellant has shown ground in paras.3, 4 and 5 of the application for non-appearance on the date of hearing of appeal, i,e, 18-5-2005 when the appeal was dismissed by this Court.
3. It is stated by learned counsel for the respondents that Mst. Ghulam Fatima died on 6-8-2004 as such she remained alive for about three years after the grant of leave to appeal by this Court.
Copies of paper books as required to be supplied under Order XIV, rule 4 of the Supreme Court Rules, 1980, could not be filed, hence summonses were issued against the petitioner when the matter was placed in Court and on the said date when neither any explanation. To the non-filing of paper books was furnished nor any one appeared on behalf of the appellant. In case Mst. Ghulam Fatima had expired then Advocate-on-Record at least could have entered his appearance or the appellant Allah Dewayya or anyone of the petitioner could have appeared before the Court. In the circumstances, we find no sufficient cause is shown for the purpose of setting aside the impugned order of dismissal. We find no merit in this application which is dismissed accordingly.