IMPORTANT POINTS
(1) Condonation of Delay and bona fide Prosecution – A delay of 455 days in filing the Review Application was condoned because the applicant was actively pursuing the claim through an Execution Application and a Miscellaneous Application for clarification. The Commission found this to be a bona fide narrative rather than a pretence, satisfying the requirement for “sufficient cause.”
(2) Error Apparent on the Face of Record – The Commission clarified that while the original order did not expressly refuse interest from the date of the complaint, the failure to mention any commencement date was a clerical/judicial oversight. Under the principles of review, an error arising from oversight or inadvertence is a valid ground for modification.

ORDER

IA/6260/2025

This Application has been moved praying for condoning the entire delay in the filing of the Review Application. The background is that on 16.01.2024, First Appeal No. 87 of 2016 that has given rise to this Review Application was allowed with a direction for payment of Rs.64,24,404/- to the Appellants alongwith interest @ 6% per annum and litigation cost of Rs.50,000/-. In the event of default of payment within the time prescribed the rate of interest would stand enhanced to 9%. The Insurance Company complied with the Order and made the payments but the interest was paid only from the date of the order of this Commission i.e. 16.01.2024.

2. The Appellant filed an Execution Application No. 230 of 2024 contending that the interest should be paid from the date of the filing of the Complaint but the Insurance Company in its reply to the Execution Application contested the matter urging that the interest has only been awarded from the date of the order and not from the date of the filing of the original Complaint. The Bench hearing the Execution Application therefore made an enquiry as to whether any review has been sought or not.

3. The explanation given in Paragraph No.4 of the Application is that since as per the understanding of the Appellant this Commission had impliedly granted the interest to the Appellant from the date of filing of the Complaint, but after contest by the Insurance Company in the Execution proceedings as referred to above, the Review Application has been filed in order to overcome this inadvertent error in the Order dated 16.01.2024, and as such there is no delay inasmuch as the Applicant was pursuing the remedy before this very Commission in the Execution Application.

4. A reply to the said delay condonation Application has been filed and Mr. Bhatt has urged that the delay of 455 days is huge and inordinate and there is no plausible explanation for filing this Review Application belatedly.

5. It is further stated in the Reply that the Appellant had claimed interest from the date of filing of the Complaint after the decision which was replied to by the Insurance Company on 05.04.2024 itself. In the said Reply the Insurance Company made the following statement:—

“We may also like to inform you that we have also sought clarification and we have been informed by our defending counsel that during the proceedings your counsel had strenuously argued for payment of interest from the date of filing the complaint and the same was not considered and the National Commission allowed interest from the date of order which we have already complied with.

“We have clearly given the detailed calculation to you (explained hereinabove again) and please be informed that no further payment is due and the award as per the order of the National Commission is fully satisfied”.

6. Mr. Bhatt therefore submitted that if the said relief was not granted by this Commission and this fact was known to the Applicant in April, 2024 itself, then there was no reason for the Applicant to have waited for more than a year and therefore there is no valid explanation for the delay.

7. He submits that even otherwise the Review is misconceived and not maintainable and the claim of interest is non-admissible.

8. Having considered the submissions raised and perused the affidavits what we find is that the final Order was passed by this Commission on 16.01.2024 and on 15.03.2024 the Insurance Company made the payments and credited an amount of Rs.65,37,768/- but the interest that was included therein @ 6% was only from 16.01.2024 till 15.03.2024, which was for a period of 60 days to the tune of Rs.63,364/-.

9. On receiving this amount the Applicant wrote a letter to the Insurance Company on 26.03.2024 requesting the payment of interest from the date of filing of the Complaint. This was denied by the Insurance Company on 05.04.2024 and the Applicant aggrieved by the said reply moved the Execution Application No. 230 of 2024 before thi