Mst. MEHRUNNISA BEGUM vs Syed MUHAMMAD SHAH And Other
This petition for leave to appeal was filed before the Supreme Court of Pakistan, challenged on the ground of being time-barred by either 33 or 20 days. The petitioner sought condonation of delay, citing the death of her Mukhtar (agent) as the reason for the inability to pursue the case diligently. The core legal question was whether the death of the petitioner's Mukhtar constituted sufficient cause to condone the delay in filing the petition. The Supreme Court held that the plea was factually unsustainable because the Mukhtar had died during the pendency of the appeal in the High Court, yet the appeal was subsequently pursued and attended to by counsel without interruption. Consequently, the Court found no sufficient cause for condonation of delay. The key principle laid down is that a claim for condonation of delay based on the death of an agent is invalid where the record demonstrates that legal proceedings continued to be actively pursued by counsel following the agent's death.
- Does the death of a Mukhtar constitute sufficient cause for condonation of delay if the legal proceedings were actively pursued by counsel after the death?
- Can a petition be dismissed as time-barred if the petitioner fails to provide sufficient cause for the delay?
ORDER
1. KARAM ELAHEE CHAUHAN, J. This petition is barred by 33 days according to the office note but 20 days according to the learned, counsel for the petitioner. The learned counsel has prayed for condonation of delay because according to his instructions, the Mukhtar of his client had died and for this reason she was not in a position to keep a watch over this case. It is not disputed that the Mukhtar died during the pendency of the appeal in the High Court, and, therefore, the plea that the case could not be attended to is not correct inasmuch as it was after his death that the appeal was taken up by the High Court and was duly pursued and attended to by her counsel. Finding no sufficient cause for condonation of delay. The petition is dismissed as time-barred.