Bombay High Court
Pune Municipal Corporation ... vs Mr.Surmilan Singh Soiban Thr. ... on 5 October, 2021
Bench: Bharati Dangre
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
INTERIM APPLICATION NO.3734 OF 2020
IN
FIRST APPEAL (ST) NO.5919 OF 2O2O
Pune Municipal Corporation through the
Commissioner .. Applicant/
Appellant
Versus
Surmilan Singh Soiban and Ors. .. Respondents
...
Mr.Vishwanath Patil with Mr.Kewal Ahya and Mr.Ankit Lodha
for the Applicant/Appellant.
...
CORAM: BHARATI DANGRE, J.
DATED : 05th OCTOBER, 2021
P.C:-
1. By the present application, the Applicant/Appellant.,
Pune Municipal Corporation, seeks condonation of delay in
instituting the First Appeal.
2. The Appellant is aggrieved by the Judgment and Award
dated 18/09/2019 passed by the MACT, Pune in MACP No.581
of 2014, directing the Appellant to pay compensation to the
claimants as determined by the impugned Judgment and
Award.
M.M.Salgaonkar
2/3 47 IA-3734-20.doc
The First Appeal is instituted by the Appellant on
07/08/2020. According to the Appellant, there is a delay of 62
days in fling the First Appeal whereas the Registry of this
Court has noted the delay to be of 207 days. When an
explanation was sought from the Registry as to how delay of
207 days has been arrived at, the calculation which has been
placed on record is to the effect that from the date of the
judgment i.e. 18/09/2019, the total period counted till fling of
the First Appeal is 179 days, out of which 90 days limitation
has been excluded alongwith period of 27 days consumed for
obtaining certifed copy. A period of 145 days is thereafter
added to 62 days as the period counted from the date from
which the limitation came to be extended in terms of the order
of the Hon'ble Apex Court in suo motu Special Leave Petition
on account on the Covid pandemic. Therefore, 145 days are
counted from 15/03/2020. In fact, the period of limitation for
the Appellant expired prior to the said date i.e. 15/03/2020
and that is how the Appellant is calculating the delay as of 62
days. According to the Registry, the delay is of 207 days by
adding the period of 145 days counted from 15/03/2020.
3. In any case, in the wake of the Covid pandemic, the
Hon'ble Apex Court has issued directions, which stopped the
running of period of limitation from 15/03/2020, on account of
the closure of the Courts and the fling being not accepted on
account of the Covid pandemic. The Appellant is surely
entitled to get the beneft of the said period.
M.M.Salgaonkar
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4. The reasons for delay are explained in paragraphs 5 to 9
of the application, which in my considered opinion, are
justifable. In any case, since the fling of proceeding was not
accepted from 15/03/2020 and the Appeal could not have
been fled till the fling in the Registry was resumed in August,
2020. The beneft has to be extended for the said period to the
Appellant, since the period of limitation itself was extended
during pandemic. Recording that suffcient cause has been
shown by the Appellant in not fling the Appeal within the
period of limitation, which expired before 15/03/2020, the
delay of 207 days, calculated by the Registry, deserves to be
condoned.
5. The Interim Application is made absolute in terms of
prayer clause (a).
( SMT. BHARATI DANGRE, J.)
M.M.Salgaonkar
