A two-judge bench of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana on 30.01.2019 in State of Punjab and others V. Sukhdev Singh (LPA No.191 of 2019) dismissed the appeal. The bench was headed by:-

1.    CHIEF JUSTICE KRISHNA MURARI

2.    JUSTICE ARUN PALLI

FACTS:

This intra-Court appeal under clause-X of the Letters Patent was directed against the judgment and order passed by the learned single Judge disposing of the writ petition filed by the appellant. Office reported delay and laches of 126 days in filing the appeal. The appeal was accompanied by an application under section 5 of the Limitation Act which was duly supported by an affidavit.

ISSUES:

1.    Whether the reasons behind the delay were justified?

2.    Whether the appeal could be condoned?

CONTENTIONS:

By appellants:

1.    That after receiving copy of the order of the learned single Judge a decision was taken to file the appeal against the same.

2.    The appellants applied for sanction which was alleged to have been granted on 22.10.2018.

3.    That after receiving sanction from the Government this appeal was prepared and filed which resulted in the delay.

OBSERVATIONS:

The court observed that:-

1.    There was no disclosure as to when the matter was sent for sanction of the Government.

2.    No reasons had been disclosed as to why the appeal had been presented in January, 2019 when the sanction was granted as back as on 22.10.2018.

3.    The averments made in delay condonation application do not inspire any confidence.

4.    It appears that the same had simply been made for the purposes of condonation of delay.

HELD:

The court dismissed the appeal as delay being insufficiently explained was not liable to be condoned.

For full judgement refer: 

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