Blitz Bureau
THE Supreme Court recently observed that although a delay cannot be condoned without sufficient cause, the case’s merit cannot be discarded solely on the technical grounds of limitation, reports Live Law. The court said that a liberal approach should be taken in condoning delays when the limitation ground undermines the merits of the case and obstructs substantial justice.
The Bench comprising Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah heard where the appellant claimed ownership rights over the suit property/land, which was classified as grazing land under the ownership of the MP Government and was allocated for the public purpose.
After a series of litigation, the matter reached the high court, where the respondent-state government filed a belated second appeal along with a delay condonation application praying to condone a delay of 1,537 days against the dismissal of the review petition by the trial court declaring the appellant as the rightful owner of the land.
The high court allowed the second appeal despite being filed belatedly noting that the suit property was a government property being allocated for the public purpose. The HC reasoned that the second appeal could not be dismissed just because it was filed belatedly when its merits needed to be examined. Challenging the HC ruling, the appellant appealed to the Supreme Court.
Upholding the high court’s decision, the judgment authored by Justice Amanullah stated that while delays should ideally not be excused without sufficient reason, the technical ground of limitation should not be used to undermine the merits of a case. When the merits require examination, substantial justice should not be compromised solely due to delay caused in preferring an appeal or filing a case.
