The court's power to condone delay in filing an appeal or an application under Section 5 of the Limitation Act, 1963, is not excluded by the special period of limitation provided in Section 127(1) of the Electricity Act, 2003.

I.P. Mukerji, J.

The appeal of the petitioner before the Appellate Authority under Section 127 of the Electricity Act, 2003, was delayed by only a few days. It relied upon Section 127(1) of the said Act which provided that any person aggrieved by a final assessment order made under Section 126 of the Act could prefer an appeal within 30 days of that order to the Appellate Authority. Since it was not preferred within this time, the Appellate Authority felt that it had no power to condone the delay and admit it. Hence, by its order dated 30th June 2015, it dismissed the appeal on this technical ground. Therefore, the appeal was dismissed and the case of the petitioner closed before the Appellate Authority without its having to go into the merits of it.

2. Now, the question that arises for consideration in this writ application is whether the said Appellate Authority had the power to condone the delay. Furthermore, does this court, in exercise of its power under 226 of the Constitution of India, have the power to condone the delay and direct the Appellate Authority to hear out the appeal on merits.

3. In answering this question, analysing two provisions of the Limitation Act, 1963 is very necessary. They are Sections 5 and Section 29.

4. Section 5 provides that the court has the power to condone the delay in filing an appeal or an application.

5. Section 29 of the Limitation Act, provides that where a special period of limitation is provided by the statute expressly excluding the operation of inter alia section 5, then that section cannot be employed to condone the delay in filing the same.

6. Section 29(2) of the Limitation Act, 1963, is set out hereunder:

"Savings.- (1) ..

2.Where any special or local law prescribes for any suit, appeal or application a period of limitation different from the period prescribed by the Schedule, the provisions of section 3 shall apply as if such period were the period prescribed by the Schedule and for the purpose of determining any period of limitation prescribed for any suit, appeal or application by any special or local law, the provisions contained in sections 4 to 24 (inclusive) shall apply only in so far as, and to the extent to which, they are not expressly excluded by such special or local law.

3. .."

7. I also insert Section 5 of the said Act below.

5. Extension of prescribed period in certain cases.----Any appeal or any application, other than an application under any of the provisions of Order 21 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908), may be admitted after the prescribed period, if the appellant or the applicant satisfies the court that he had sufficient cause for not preferring the appeal or making the application within such period."

8. Section 127 of the Electricity Act, 2003, inter alia is in the following terms:

"127. Appeal to appellate authority.-(1) Any person aggrieved by a final order made under Section 126 may, within thirty days of the said order, prefer an appeal in such form, verified in such manner and be accompanied by such fee as may be specified by the State Commission, to an appellate authority as may be prescribed. The period of limitation provided for filing an appeal before the Appellate Authority is 30 days from the date of the final assessment made order under Section 126 of the said act."

9. Except when the statute provides otherwise under section 5 a judicial authority has an unlimited power to condone the delay in preferring an appeal or making an application.

10. In this case the assessment order was made on 31st March 2015.

11. It was received by the petitioner on 08th April 2015.

12. On 24th April 2015 a writ application which was filed by her challenging the final assessment was dismissed.

13. The appeal was lodged before the Appellate Authority on 16th May 2015.

14. If one counts the time from the date of assessment the appeal was delayed by about 17 days.

15. Now, if one considers the stipulation in Section 29(2) of the Limitation Act, 1963, the Electrici