1985 PLP 983 (SCMR)

QAISER KHAN, J.‑‑Mst. Mahmuda Begum is the widow, Mst. Rukhsma and Mst. Shehla the daughters/and Mian Arif the son of Mian Bashiruddin. They are the owners of Bungalow No. 63, Ghazi Road, Sialkot Cantt. On the 30th of November, 1973 Mst. Mahmuda Begum on her own behalf and on behalf‑ of her children as their Mukhtar‑i‑Am agreed to sell the bungalow to Major Malik Muhammad Ishaq and three others. Mst. Mahmuda Begum received Rs. 10,000 as advance at the time of the execution of the agreement and the balance of Rs. 36,000 was to be received by her at the time of registration of the sale‑deed which was to take place within two months with the previous approval of the Army authorities as the bungalow was situated in the Cantonment area. Certain other terms and conditions were also mentioned in the agreement which are not material for the purposes of this petition. On the 21st of November, 1974 Major Malik Muhammad Ishaq and others instituted a suit against Mst. Mahmuda Begum and others for possession of the bungalow by specific performance of the agreement. The defendants contested the suit but the learned Civil Judge who tried it decreed it on the 28th of October, 1975. Mst. Mahmuda Begum and others applied for copy of the judgment on the 29th of October, 1975 and received it on the 26th of November, 1975. With the assistance of Syed Liaquat Ali and Muhammad Ashraf Qureshi, Advocates, they filed an appeal against the aforesaid judgment and decree of the Civil Judge in the Court of the District Judge, Sialkot on the 27th of November, 1975. The appeal was admitted for regular hearing on the 3rd of April, 1976. In the meantime the appellants engaged Mr. Ziaullah Shaikh a Senior Advocate from Lahore and on the 12th of June, 1976 when he appeared in Court he requested for the return of the memo. of appeal on the ground that it was beyond the pecuniary jurisdiction of the District Judge. The appeal was, therefore, returned to him the same day which he filed in the High Court on the 14th of June, 1976 alongwith an application for condonation of the delay in not filing the appeal within time. The learned Judge in the High Court however by his order dated the 25th of January, 1977 refused to condone the delay and dismissed the appeal as time‑barred. This is a petition for special leave to appeal against the aforesaid order of the High Court. The contention of the learned counsel for the petitioners is that Mst. Mahmuda Begum was Parda Nasheen lady and she was misled by the wrong advice of her counsel and that she should not suffer on account of the wrong advice of her counsel. This point needs consideration and we, therefore, allow this petition and grant leave to appeal. The petitioners should deposit security in the sum of Rs. 1,000 (rupees one thousand) and status quo should be maintained in the meantime. M. I. Leave granted.