The court ruled that insufficient administrative reasons do not justify a delay of 990 days in filing an appeal, emphasizing the need for a substantial cause under the Limitation Act.

JUDGMENT

D.N. Patel, Chief Justice (Oral)

CM APPL. 33416/2020

1. Present application has been filed under Section 5 of the Limitation Act, 1963 seeking condonation of delay of 990 days in preferring the present Letters Patent Appeal.

2. This appeal has been preferred against the judgment and order of the learned Single Judge dated 12.03.2018 in W.P.(C) No. 10969/2016 (Annexure A-1 to the memo of this appeal).

3. We have perused the application seeking condonation of delay. The explanation sought to be given to justify the delay is that after the judgment was rendered on 12.03.2018, being a Government Institution, Appellant was bound to seek legal opinion from the Competent Authority, before initiating the process for filing an appeal. Dispatch registers pertaining to the year 2005 were searched and thereafter, approval to file the appeal was given on 29.04.2019 and the file was sent to the counsel for drafting the appeal. It is also averred in the application that the process of granting approval took some time as the legal department takes care of all the legal matters of the department and the officers were extremely busy in scrutinizing cases filed under Section 24(2) of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 for the purpose of preferring SLPs before the Hon'ble Supreme Court. It is further sought to be explained that during the relevant period, counsel was trying to gather information from the Appellant regarding similar cases pending in the Courts and their outcome so that appropriate remedy could be resorted to. Additionally, after the appeal was drafted and sent for approval and signature on 07.02.2020, the same could not be returned to the counsel until 29.09.2020 on account of pandemic COVID-19. It is urged that the delay is unintentional and bona fide and be condoned in the interest of justice. For ready reference, relevant paragraphs of the application are extracted hereunder:

"2. That as the present appeal challenges the impugned order dated 12.3.2018 which affects the settled preposition of law on the issue of delay while moving application for alternative plot within the stipulated period of one year. However, being a government institution, the appellant was bound to seek legal opinion from the competent authority before initiating the accompanying appeal. The dispatch registers pertaining to the year 2005 were searched and approval to file the present LPA was given on 29.4.2019 and vide letter dated 3.5.2019, the file was sent to the counsel for drafting of appeal. It is stated that the consideration of the said aspect of granting approval or not took some time as the legal department of the appellant has been extremely busy while scrutinizing the cases filed under section under 24 (2) of the new Act, 2013 for the purposes of referring the SLP before the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India and thus which the accompanying appeal could not be approved within the period of limitation. The appeal also could not be filed as during the period, the counsel tried to abstract information from the appellant regarding the cases of similar nature which may have been dismissed by the Hon'ble Court and further remedy may have been taken thereafter. The delay in filing the present appeal also occurred as during the period, the proposal was moved within the department to condone the little delay however the said proposal was turned down. The present appeal was thereafter drafted immediately and sent for approval and signature on 07.02.2020 but due to pandemic Covid-19, the delay further occurred and signed appeal could be returned to t