IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
CIVIL APPEAL NO. OF 2024 [arising out of SLP (C) No. 16388/2023]
ASHUTOSH JAIN Appellant
VERSUS
THE ASSISTANT ESTATE OFFICER & ORS. Respondents
O R D E R
1. Leave granted.
2. A learned Judge of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana at Chandigarh
has dismissed the appellant’s writ petition1 vide the judgment and
order dated 24th May, 2023 on the ground of inordinate delay of 42
years in approaching the High Court without sufficient explanation.
3. The facts giving rise to the writ petition have been noted in the
impugned judgment and order; hence, we refrain from repeating the
same here except. However, we cannot but painfully observe that the
crux of the dispute, having its roots in non-payment of certain dues and
triggering proceedings for eviction under the Public Premises (Eviction
of Unauthorized Occupants) Act, 19712, ultimately boiled down to the
appellant facing imminent eviction from his home for a short deposit of
Rs.2,250/- resulting in the proceedings lingering on for so long.
1 No. 11029 of 2023 (O&M) 2 the 1971 Act
4. It is indeed true that the appellant had challenged orders dated 9th
June, 1978, 5th January, 1980 and 14th December, 1994 in the writ
petition presented in 2023. Viewed narrowly, bearing in mind the dates
of the im...