Himachal Pradesh High Court
Lac Hp Pwd And Another vs . Milap Chand And Others on 1 April, 2025
LAC HP PWD and another vs. Milap Chand and others
CMP(M) No.5 of 2024
01.04.2025 Present: Mr. B.N. Sharma, Additional Advocate General, for the
applicants-appellants/State.
Mr. Vinod Chauhan, Advocate, for respondents No.1, 2(a)
to 2(d), 3, 4, 5 & 7 to 14.
CMP(M) No.5 of 2024
In the filing of the present appeal, there is a delay of 272
days. The same has been duly explained in the application
filed for condonation of delay. Even otherwise, while dealing
with an application for condonation of delay filed by the State,
one has to be conscious of the bureaucratic delays, impersonal
nature of the governmental functioning, institutional interest
and hence a justice oriented liberal approach has to be taken
while dealing with such applications.
In this respect, it would be appropriate to refer to
decision of the Hon'ble Apex Court passed in State of
Manipur and others vs. Koting Lamkang, 2019 (10) SCC
408. The relevant extract of the same is being reproduced
herein below:-
"7. But while concluding as above, it was necessary for
the Court to also be conscious of the bureaucratic delay
and the slow pace in reaching a government decision and
the routine way of deciding whether the State should
prefer an appeal against a judgment adverse to it. Even
while observing that the law of limitation would harshly
affect the party, the Court felt that the delay in the appeal
filed by the State, should not be condoned. against a
judgment adverse to it. Even while observing that the law
of limitation would harshly affect the party, the Court felt
that the delay in the appeal filed by the State, should not
be condoned.
8. Regard should be had in similar such circumstances to
the impersonal nature of the Government's functioning
where individual officers may fail to act responsibly. This
in turn, would result in injustice to the institutional interest
of the State. If the appeal filed by State are lost for
individual default, those who are at fault, will not usually
be individually affected"
Other than the aforesaid, it would also be appropriate to
refer to judgment dated 09.10.2023, passed in Civil Appeal
No.5867 of 2015 titled Sheo Raj Singh (deceased) through
LRs. and others vs. Union of India and another. The
relevant extract of the same is being reproduced herein
below:-.
"37. Having bestowed serious consideration to the rival
contentions, we feel that the High Court's decision to
condone the delay on account of the first respondent's
inability to present the appeal within time, for the reasons
assigned therein, does not suffer from any error
warranting interference. As the aforementioned
judgments have shown, such an exercise of discretion
does, at times, call for a liberal and justice- oriented
approach by the Courts, where certain leeway could be
provided to the State. The hidden forces that are at work
in preventing an appeal by the State being presented
within the prescribed period of limitation so as not to allow
a higher court to pronounce upon the legality and validity
of an order of a lower court and thereby secure unholy
gains, can hardly be ignored. Impediments in the working
of the grand scheme of governmental functions have to
be removed by taking a pragmatic view on balancing of
the competing interests."
Hence, for the reasons/sufficient cause stated in the
application & the aforesaid position of law, delay in filing the
present appeal is condoned. The application stands disposed
of.
RFA No.______/2025 (Be registered)
Admit.
Records be called for.
List for hearing in due course.
CMP No._____of 2025 ( Be registered)
During the pendency of the present appeal, operation
and execution of judgment/award dated 29.09.2022, passed by
learned Additional District Judge, Sunder Nagar, District
Mandi, H.P., in Land Reference Petition No.648 of 2013, shall
remain stayed, subject to depositing of the awarded amount
along-with up-to-date interest.
The application stands disposed of.
( Bipin C. Negi )
April 01, 2025 (KS) Judge
