- (1.) The contempt petition is not pressed by the petitioner. It is dismissed as such. The civil revision is against the order of dismissal of the execution petition for delivery of property. There had been a decree for ejectment passed in favour of the petitioner on 13.08.1981. The defendant appears to have preferred an appeal which was dismissed on 15.01.1982 confirming the decree of ejectment. The execution petition has been levied by the petitioner on 24.03.1982 after the disposal of the case in appeal. During the pendency of the petition, there was a suit instituted by a third party arraying the decree holder as well as the judgment debtor as parties in the suit and sought for a restraint disturbing his possession. The Court had passed an order of status quo regarding the property on 07.04.1983 and this continued till the suit was ultimately dismissed on 13.08.1994. It appears that in the meanwhile the execution petition itself was dismissed on 20.12.1983 for default for non payment of process fee by the decree holder.
(2.) After dismissal of the third party suit, there had been yet another attempt by the judgment debtor's wife to file a suit for an injunction in relation to the same property on 22.09.1994. It appears that the suit was dismissed and appeal filed against it was also dismissed. The execution petition was filed at the second time on 03.10.1996.
(3.) The execution was resisted by the representatives of the judgment debtor contending that their suit was decreed on 30.01.1981 itself and the time began to run from the said date when there had been no stay of operation of the decree in any higher forum. The petition filed on 03.10.1996 that was beyond a period of 12 years from the date when the decree was passed was resisted to be barred by limitation as per Article 136 of the Limitation Act. The plaintiff had sought for exclusion of time during when third party had filed suit and sought for order of status quo but the Court held that the time began to run from the date of decree itself and it could be stopped only in three circumstances: One, where the decree was conditional; when the contingency of such condition was fulfilled; two, where the decree was preliminary till the passing of final decree and three, where its enforceability is made post-dated or postponed by orders of the Court itself. The Court accepted these objections and dismissed the execution petition.;