The Hon’ble Gujarat High Court expounded that courts under Section 5 of the Limitation Act have the discretion to condone delay in the application of an application if the delay is justified, and accepting the application is necessary to serve the interests of justice.
Brief Facts:
The Applicant in the present case was an agriculturist and only after taking legal assistance and making arrangements for court fees, could file the appeal, leading to a delay of 643 days. The applicant pleaded for the court to hear the issue on merits and not dismiss it due to the delay in filing the application.
Contentions of the Applicant:
It was submitted that the ‘delay’ was justified as the Applicant was an agriculturist and had to take legal assistance and arrange for legal fees before an application could be filed by him. Further, the Applicant was ready and willing to waive the interest in case of any enhancement for the delayed period.
Observations of the Court:
It was ruled that under Section 5 of the Limitation Act, 1963, the Court has the authority to condone a delay in filing of an application. It was further noted that in the interests of justice, it is sometimes important to not focus too much on the technical aspects. The Bench, while referring to the case of Collector, Land Acquisition, Anantnag and Another v. Mst. Katiji and Others (AIR 1987 SC 1353), observed,
“Refusing to condone delay can result in a meritorious matter being thrown out at the very threshold and cause of justice being defeated. As against this when delay is condoned the highest that can happen is that a cause would be decided on merits after hearing the parties”.
Decision of the Court: The Court accepted the application and agreed to hear the case on merits.
Case Title: Aatmasingh Vjirsingh Rayshik v. Tata Magic Car Driver
Coram: Hon’ble Ms. Justice Geeta Gopal.
Case No.: F/FIRST APPEAL NO. 30472 of 2023.
Advocate for the Applicant: Adv. Mr. Bhalodi
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