IN THE HIGH COURT OF HIMACHAL PRADESH AT SHIMLA CMP(M) No.459 and 460 of 2026 Decided on 20th May, 2026 Sh. Bishan Dass …Applicants Versus Himachal Road Transport Corporation and others …Respondents Coram Hon’ble Mr. Justice Ajay Mohan Goel, Judge 1Whether approved for reporting? For the applicants: Mr. Ashok Kumar Thakur, Advocate. For the respondents: Mr. Virender Singh Kanwar, Advocate. Ajay Mohan Goel, Judge (Oral) By way of these two applications, a prayer has been made for condonation of 2 years and 11 months delay to file the application to bring on record the legal representatives of the deceased petitioner as also for setting aside abatement. 2. The original writ petition was filed by one Sh. Bishan Dass on 08.09.2022. Sh. Bishan Dass passed away on 15.01.2023. Thereafter, when the petition was listed on 20.04.2023, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner informed this fact to the Court and the Hon’ble Division Bench 2 of this Court was pleased to fix the case for 18.05.2023 to enable the legal representatives of the deceased to move an appropriate application. 3. On 18.05.2023, the Hon’ble Division Bench passed the following order:- “Since the petitioner has died and the learned counsel for the petitioner has not taken any steps for impleading legal heirs of the petitioner in the petition, the petition stand abates. Needless to say that the learned counsel for the petitioner is at liberty to file application for setting aside the abatement, if any.” 4. The application under Order XXII Rule 3 of the Civil Procedure Code alongwith the present application has been filed on 10.03.2026 i.e., almost after 2 years and 9 months as from the date when the petition was dismissed as abated. The reason given in the application explaining the delay in filing the application is that the applicants could not contact the counsel as they were not aware of the details of the case filed by the original petitioner. They contacted the counsel after obtaining the details with great difficulty and thereafter, they were asked to obtain the legal heirs certificate and the death certificate. Thereafter, the applicants could not come to Shimla 3 for filing the present application and this resulted in delay of 2 years and 11 months. 5. This reasoning given in the application does not satisfies the Court. 6. Learned counsel for the petitioner informed the Court that before the petition was dismissed as abated, the legal heirs of the deceased were informed that they can move an appropriate application to substitute themselves in place of the deceased petitioner, but they did not come forward. 7. The contention that the delay, besides the reasons mentioned in the application, was on account of the applicants procuring the death certificate and the legal heirs certificate with great difficulty also does not satisfies the Court. 8. This application has been signed by the deponent on 07.03.2026 and the death certificate and legal heirs certificate are not of a recent date. The death certificate appended with the petition was issued on 18.01.2023 and the legal heirs certificate was prepared on 30.05.2023. 9. All this is suggestive of the fact that delay in filing the application was not bona fide and the story mentioned in 4 the application is a concocted one, just to satisfy the Court as to why the applicants could not earlier approach the Court. 10. Therefore, as the delay in filing the setting aside abatement application has not been satisfactorily explained by the applicants, the same is dismissed, so is the fate of the application filed under Order XXII, Rule 3 of the CPC 11. Pending miscellaneous applications, if any, also stand disposed of. (Ajay Mohan Goel) Judge May 20, 2026 (Vinod)