ORDER

P.V. Balakrishnan , J. C.M.A.No.1 of 2025 This is an application to condone the delay of 443 days in filing the review petition, which is filed seeking review of judgment dated 17.01.2024 passed in W.A.No.1301 of 2017. 2. The reasons stated by the applicant for condoning the delay are as follows;

''2. There is a delay of 443 number of days in the filing of the above review petition. The judgment in the writ appeal was passed by this Hon'ble Court on 17.01.2024. The certified copy of the judgment was received on 25.01.2024. The same was delivered to the office of this review petitioner on 01.02.2024. The Counsel for the BSNL gave a legal opinion on 02.02.2024 with an opinion to file a Special Leave Petition before the Hon'ble Supreme Court. Pursuant to the opinion of the Standing Counsel, a letter was forwarded to the concerned Circle Office from the Office of the Principal General Manger Telecom, Ernakulam intimating approval/recommendation for filing Special Leave Petition as per the legal opinion. On 11.03.2024, the Circle Office Thiruvananthapuram sought for the history of the case and sent a mail to that effect. After collecting the brief records available, and arranging the papers in chronological order along with the connected documents pertaining to the Industrial Tribunal as well as the writ petition and writ appeal were forwarded on 19.04.2024 to the Circle Office Trivandrum from the Office at Ernakulam. Meanwhile, on 05.09.2024, the Corporate Office which is the Head Office of the BSNL at New Delhi directed the Ernakulam office to file an MA seeking extension of time. Immediately the Standing Counsel of the BSNL was approached who gave a legal opinion on 06.09.2024 that there is no scope to file time extension. Further to the same on 27.09.2024, the Corporate Office New Delhi sought for further clarifications on the case. In these circumstances, attempts were made to trace out the entire files from 1991 onwards as details were sought by the Corporate Office.

3. It is submitted that the litigation was initiated 31 years back which involves policy decisions taken during 1992, by Department of Telecommunication. Within these 33 years several changes was evolved in the Department. Consequent on corporatization of the service provision, functions of Department of Telecommunications, Govt of India has decided to transfer the business of providing telecom services in the country that was run and entrusted with Department of Telecom Service (DTS) and the Department of Telecom Operations (DTO) as was provided earlier by DOT to the newly formed Company viz, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited w.e.f. 01.10.2000. Even the canteen under question was handed over to a third party during 2000. As such, employees along with its assets were transferred from DOT to BSNL w.e.f. 01.10.2000. Subsequently, during 31.01.2020 on implementation of the Voluntary Retirement Scheme - 2019, thousands of employees retired voluntarily from BSNL Ernakulam. This has jeopardized the day to day activities of the Business Area and many of the offices were shifted and rearranged due the drastic reduction of staff in most of the buildings. Due to the above said reasons a considerable time was forced to be taken to trace out the old records and correspondences in connection with the litigation for analyzing the orders of the Hon'ble court. It was in these circumstances that the review petitioner was functioning to trace out the entire records of the matter as sought by the head office.

4. Meanwhile, it was found that the old files in connection with the Canteen Mattancherry was not traceable and thus finally on 21.11.2024, the same was called for from the Divisional Engineer's Office Kochi und