Gujarat High Court
Reliance General Insurance Co Ltd vs Kajalben Fatesinh Vasava on 1 December, 2023
Author: Gita Gopi
Bench: Gita Gopi
NEUTRAL CITATION
C/CA/1989/2023 ORDER DATED: 01/12/2023
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/CIVIL APPLICATION (FOR CONDONATION OF DELAY) NO. 1989 of
2023
In
F/FIRST APPEAL NO. 33266 of 2023
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RELIANCE GENERAL INSURANCE CO LTD
Versus
KAJALBEN FATESINH VASAVA
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Appearance:
MR RATHIN P RAVAL(5013) for the Applicant(s) No. 1
for the Respondent(s) No. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7
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CORAM:HONOURABLE MS. JUSTICE GITA GOPI
Date : 01/12/2023
ORAL ORDER
1. Heard the learned advocate for the applicant.
2. By way of this application under Section 5 of
the Limitation Act, 1963, the applicant has
prayed for condonation of delay of 365 days
occurred in preferring the appeal.
3. Learned advocate for the applicant submits
that on receipt of the copy of the judgment
and award, file was sent for legal opinion
and because of the inter departmental process
of seeking opinion and sanction and further,
the necessity of depositing the statutory
NEUTRAL CITATION
C/CA/1989/2023 ORDER DATED: 01/12/2023
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amount and for making arrangement of Court
fees and other expenses, delay of 365 days
has occurred in preferring the appeal.
4. In the case of Collector, Land Acquisition,
Anantnag and Another v. Mst. Katiji and
Others reported in AIR 1987 SC 1353 it has
been observed as under:-
"3. The legislature has conferred
the power to condone delay by
enacting Section 5 of the Indian
Limitation Act of 1963 in order to
enable the Courts to do substantial
justice to parties by disposing of
matters on 'merits'. The expression
"sufficient cause" employed by the
legislature is adequately elastic
to enable the courts to apply the
law in a meaningful manner which
subserves the ends of justice that
being the life-purpose for the
existence of the institution of
Courts. It is common knowledge that
this Court has been making a
justifiably liberal approach in
matters instituted in this Court.
But the message does not appear to
have percolated down to all the
other Courts in the hierarchy. And
such a liberal approach is adopted
on principle as it is realized
that:-
NEUTRAL CITATION
C/CA/1989/2023 ORDER DATED: 01/12/2023
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1. Ordinarily a litigant does not
stand to benefit by lodging an
appeal late.
2. 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.
3. "Every day's delay must be
explained" does not mean that a
pedantic approach should be made.
Why not every hour's delay, every
second's delay? The doctrine must
be applied in a rational common
sense pragmatic manner.
4. When substantial justice and
technical considerations are pitted
against each other, cause of
substantial justice deserves to be
preferred for the other side cannot
claim to have vested right in
injustice being done because of a
non-deliberate delay.
5. There is no presumption that
delay is occasioned deliberately,
or on account of culpable
negligence, or on account of mala
fides. A litigant does not stand to
benefit by resorting to delay. In
fact he runs a serious risk.
6. It must be grasped that
judiciary is respected not on
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C/CA/1989/2023 ORDER DATED: 01/12/2023
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account of its power to legalize
injustice on technical grounds but
because it is capable of removing
injustice and is expected to do
so."
5. Having heard the learned advocate for the
applicant and considering the averments made
in the application and as the delay is
sufficiently explained and in view of the
facts and circumstances of the case, the
delay of 365 days occurred in filing the
appeal deserves to be condoned and is hereby
condoned.
6. Accordingly, the present application is
allowed.
(GITA GOPI,J)
Maulik
