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2026 Supreme(Online)(Mad) 40399
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
M.DHANDAPANI, J
M.BALAJI – Appellant
Versus
The Secretary to Government – Respondent
For the Appellants/Petitioners:
For the Respondents:Government Advocate
Court may direct consideration of a delayed notary renewal request on merits within a reasonable time.
Headnote:The petitioner moved the court seeking a direction to the relevant authorities to renew his Notary Certificate of Practice, which had expired on 16.12.2022. The application for renewal was submitted with a delay of 293 days on 07.10.2023. Relying on Rule 8B of the Notaries Rules, the petitioner argued that the government officials are empowered to condone such delays if the application is filed within one year of expiry. The court, noting the limited request made by legal counsel, chose not to adjudicate on the merits of the condonation request. The primary issue brought before the court was whether the relevant authority should exercise its powers under the proviso to Rule 8B to condone the delay in filing for renewal. The court held that the authority should consider the representation of the petitioner in light of the statutory provisions, emphasizing that the decision must be made in accordance with the law within a specified timeframe. The writ petition was disposed of with a direction to the respondent to consider the petitioner's representation and pass an appropriate order within six weeks.
| Table of Content |
|---|
| 1. facts and statutory requirements regarding notary certificate renewal (Para 1 , 2) |
| 2. counsel submissions requesting consideration of representation (Para 3 , 4) |
| 3. court directs competent respondent to decide application on merits within six weeks (Para 5) |
ORDER
This petition has been filed seeking a direction to the respondents to renew his Certificate of Practice as Notary for a period of five years from 17.12.2022 to 17.12.2027 on the basis of his application submitted on
07.10.2023.
2.The case of the petitioner is that his Notary Certificate of Practice was lastly renewed for a further period of five years with effect from 17.12.2017 meaning it remained valid up to 16.12.2022. It was therefore required to be renewed for another five-year period from 17.12.2022 to 17.12.2027. Rule 8B further states that an application for renewal of Certificate of Practice must be submitted to the appropriate Government at least six months prior to the date of expiry. In the present case, since the petitioner’s Certificate of Practice was valid upto 16.12.2022, he ought to have applied for renewal on or before 17.06.2022 itself. However, due to genuine reasons stated in his application dated 07.10.2023, he failed to submit the renewal application within the prescribed time, resulting in a delay of 293 days. The proviso to Rule 8B empowers the appropriate Government to condone such delay, if the application is not submitted before the said period of six months. Further, where an application within the stipulated six-month period. Furthermore, where an application is received within one year from the date of expiry, the appropriate Government may, after considering the reasons stated, renew the Certificate of Practice with effect from the date of its expiry. In the present case, the Certificate of Practice expired on 16.12.2022. However, the petitioner submitted his application on 07.10.2023 within one year and with a delay of 293 days. Instead of considering the reasons and renewing the certificate, the 3rd respondent issued the show cause notice dated 08.03.2024 which is arbitrary and illegal. Hence the present writ petition has been filed.
3.The learned counsel for the petitioner would submit that it would suffice, if a direction is issued to the 2nd respondent to consider the petitioner's representation within a reasonable time to be fixed by this Court.
4.The learned Government Advocate appearing for the respondents would submit that the second respondent will consider the petitioner's representation and pass appropriate orders within a reasonable time to be fixed by this Court.
5.Considering the limited request made by the learned counsel for the petitioner, this Court, without going into the merits of the case, directs the second respondent to consider the petitioner’s representation dated 07.10.2023 on merits and in accordance with law and pass appropriate orders, within a period of six (6) weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order, 6.With the above directions, this writ petition is disposed of. No costs.
