Jharkhand High Court

Jharkhand State Mineral Development ... vs Nirmal Singh on 15 September, 2025

Author: Rajesh Shankar

Bench: Rajesh Shankar

                                                   2025:JHHC:28115-DB


    IN THE HIGH COURT OF JHARKHAND AT RANCHI
                I.A. No. 7280 of 2025
                        In/And
               L.P.A. No. 410 of 2024
 1. Jharkhand State Mineral Development Corporation, through its
     Chairman, Ranchi
 2. The Managing Director, Jharkhand State Mineral Development
     Corporation, Ranchi                   ...      ...      Appellants
                                   Versus
 1. Nirmal Singh, S/o Late Sunder Singh, R/o Village-Salo, PO-
     Polpol, PS-Satbarwa, District-Palamu
 2. Paras Nath Tiwari, S/o Late Ramkaran Tiwari, R/o Village & PO-
     Barolata, PO-Daltonganj, District-Palamu
 3. Om Prakash Singh, S/o Late Ambika Singh, R/o Village-Kamta,
     Pipri, Khurd, PO-Piprikala, Vishunpura, PS-Meral, District-Garhwa
 4. Sanjay Kumar Pandey, S/o Late Nageshwar Pandey, R/o Village-
     Lohra, PO-Garikash, PS-Patan, District-Palamu
 5. Dwarika Mahto, S/o Late Ramvilash Mahto, R/o Village-Mahugai,
     PO-Kanda, PS-Bishrampur, District-Garhwa
 6. Srimati Urmila Devi, W/o Late Dubraj Singh, R/o Saltuwa, PO-
     Saltuwa, PS-Chainpur, District-Palamu
 7. Bishvanath Mahto, S/o Late Kailash Mahto, R/o Damaro, PO-
     Basna, PS-Bishrampur, District- Palamu
 8. Smt. Dhanpati Devi, W/o Late Parmeshwar Singh, R/o Village-
     Kanda, PO-Kanda, PS-Bishrampur, District-Palamu
 9. Birendra Ram, S/o Late Lukeshwar Mochi, R/o Village-Kanda,
     PO-Kanda, PS-Bishrampur, District-Palamu
 10. Lalu Mochi, S/o Late Sukan Mochi, R/o Village-Kutmu, PO & PS-
     Pandu, District-Palamu
 11. Yamuna Singh, S/o Late Sudhu Singh, R/o Mahugain, Village-
     Kanda, PO-Kanda, PS-Bishrampur, District-Palamu
 12. Amit Kumar Dubey, S/o Late Harivash Dubey, R/o Village-
     Chainiya, PO-Rajhara, PS-Bishrampur, District-Palamu
                                           ...    ...    Respondents
                                    -----

CORAM: HON'BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE RAJESH SHANKAR For the Appellants : Mr. Indrajit Sinha, Advocate Mr. Ankit Vishal, Advocate For the Caveators/Respondents : Mr. Saurabh Shekhar, Advocate Mr. Aman Dayal Singh, Advocate

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Order No. 06 Dated: 15.09.2025

I.A. No. 7280 of 2025 has been filed under Section 5 of the

Limitation Act to condone the delay of 870 days in filing the Letters

Patent Appeal challenging the judgment dated 12.04.2022 passed by

the learned Single Judge in W.P.(S) No. 2835 of 2014.

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2. In the application filed seeking condonation of delay, it

is stated that the delay was caused due to procedural formalities.

According to the applicants, they had received information about the

judgement of the learned Single Judge and put up the same before

the Managing Director of the first applicant. It was then examined by

the Managing Director and he decided to seek legal opinion in the

matter. The file was then sent to the office of the Advocate General

seeking opinion and the Advocate General rendered opinion on

16.05.2024. Thereafter further steps were taken and the appeal was

filed on 02.07.2024.

3. It appears that between the date of judgment on

12.04.2022 and the date when the file was sent to the office of the

Advocate General, there is a gap of more than 2 years and no steps

were taken to secure the opinion of the Advocate General in order to

ensure that the appeal is filed within the period of limitation of 30

days. There appears to be gross negligence on the part of the

applicants in taking steps expeditiously for filing the L.P.A.

4. In Postmaster General and others v. Living

Media India Limited and another1, the Supreme Court held:

"25. We have already extracted the reasons as mentioned in the "better affidavit" sworn by Mr Aparajeet Pattanayak, SSRM, Air Mail Sorting Division, New Delhi. It is relevant to note that in the said affidavit, the Department has itself mentioned and is aware of the date of the judgment of the Division Bench of the High Court in Office of the Chief Postmaster v. Living Media India Ltd. as 11-9-2009. Even according to the deponent, their counsel had

(2012) 3 SCC 563

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applied for the certified copy of the said judgment only on 8-1-2010 and the same was received by the Department on the very same day. There is no explanation for not applying for the certified copy of the impugned judgment on 11-9-2009 or at least within a reasonable time. The fact remains that the certified copy was applied for only on 8- 1-2010 i.e. after a period of nearly four months.

26. In spite of affording another opportunity to file better affidavit by placing adequate material, neither the Department nor the person-incharge has filed any explanation for not applying the certified copy within the prescribed period. The other dates mentioned in the affidavit which we have already extracted, clearly show that there was delay at every stage and except mentioning the dates of receipt of the file and the decision taken, there is no explanation as to why such delay had occasioned. Though it was stated by the Department that the delay was due to unavoidable circumstances and genuine difficulties, the fact remains that from day one the Department or the person/persons concerned have not evinced diligence in prosecuting the matter to this Court by taking appropriate steps.

27. It is not in dispute that the person(s) concerned were well aware or conversant with the issues involved including the prescribed period of limitation for taking up the matter by way of filing a special leave petition in this Court. They cannot claim that they have a separate period of limitation when the Department was possessed with competent persons familiar with court proceedings. In the absence of plausible and acceptable explanation, we are posing a question why the delay is to be condoned mechanically merely because the Government or a wing of the Government is a party before us.

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28. Though we are conscious of the fact that in a matter of condonation of delay when there was no gross negligence or deliberate inaction or lack of bona fides, a liberal concession has to be adopted to advance substantial justice, we are of the view that in the facts and circumstances, the Department cannot take advantage of various earlier decisions. The claim on account of impersonal machinery and inherited bureaucratic methodology of making several notes cannot be accepted in view of the modern technologies being used and available. The law of limitation undoubtedly binds everybody, including the Government."

(Emphasis supplied)

5. The said judgment has been followed by the Supreme

Court in several cases such as Commissioner of Customs

Chennai v. M/s Volex Interconnect (India) Pvt. Ltd.2, Pr.

Commissioner Central Excise Delhi-1 v. Design Dialogues

India Pvt. Ltd.3, Union of India v. Central Tibetan Schools

Administration & Others4, Union of India & Others v. Vishnu

Aroma Pouching Private Limited and another5, and State of

Uttar Pradesh & Others v. Sabha Narain & others6.

6. In Union of India v. Jahangir Byramji Jeejeebhoy

(D) through his legal heir7, the Supreme Court held that it is not

permissible to look into the merits of the matter as long as it is not

convinced that sufficient cause has been made out for condonation

of long and inordinate delay; that it hardly matters whether a litigant

(2022) 3 SCC 159

(2022) 2 SCC 327

(2021) 11 SCC 557

(2022) 9 SCC 263

(2022) 9 SCC 266

2024 INSC 262 : 2024 SCC OnLine SC 489

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is a private party or a State or Union of India when it comes to

condoning gross delay of more than 12 years; length of delay is a

relevant matter which the court must take into consideration while

considering whether the delay should be condoned or not; from the

tenor of the approach of the appellants, it appears that they want to

fix their own period of limitation for instituting the proceedings for

which law has prescribed a period of limitation; once it is held that a

party has lost his right to have the matter considered on merits

because of his long inaction, it cannot be presumed to be non-

deliberate delay and in such circumstances, he cannot be heard to

plead that the substantial justice deserves to be preferred as against

the technical considerations. It was reiterated while considering plea

for condonation of delay, Court must not start with the merits of the

main case and the Court owes a duty to first ascertain the bona fides

of the explanation offered by the party seeking condonation. It

declared that delay should not be excused as a matter of generosity.

7. This was also reiterated in State of Madhya Pradesh

v. Ramkumar Choudhary8.

8. In the case of Shiv Amma (Dead) by LRS Vs.

Karnataka Housing Board & Others in Civil Appeal No. 11794

of 2025, the Hon'ble Supreme Court decided on 12.09.2025 has

held as under:

"261. Thus, for the reasons aforesaid, the impugned order of the High Court deserves to be set aside. Before we proceed to close this judgment, we deem it appropriate to make it abundantly clear that administrative lethargy and laxity can never stand as a sufficient ground for condonation of delay, and we

Special Leave Petition (C) Diary No. 48636 of 2024 dt.29.11.2024

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want to convey an emphatic message to all the High Courts that delays shall not be condoned on frivolous and superficial grounds, until a proper case of sufficient cause is made out, wherein the State- machinery is able to establish that it acted with bona fides and remained vigilant all throughout. Procedure is a handmaid to justice, as is famously said. But courts, and more particularly the constitutional courts, ought not to obviate the procedure for a litigating State agency, who also equally suffer the bars of limitation from pursuing litigations due to its own lackadaisical attitude.

262. The High Courts ought not give a legitimizing effect to such callous attitude of State authorities or its instrumentalities, and should remain extra cautious, if the party seeking condonation of delay is a State-authority. They should not become surrogates for State laxity and lethargy. The constitutional courts ought to be cognizant of the apathy and pangs of a private litigant. Litigants cannot be placed in situations of perpetual litigations, wherein the fruits of their decrees or favourable orders are frustrated at later stages. We are at pains to reiterate this everlasting trend, and put all the High Courts to notice, not to reopen matters with inordinate delay, until sufficient cause exists, as by doing so the courts only add insult to the injury, more particularly in appeals under Section 100 of the CPC, wherein its jurisdiction is already limited to questions of law.

263. Limitation periods are prescribed to maintain a sweeping scope for the lis to attain for finality. More than the importance of judicial time, what worries us is the plight of a litigant with limited means, who is to contest against an enormous State, and its elaborate and never-exhausting paraphernalia. Such litigations deserve to be disposed of at the very threshold,

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because, say if a party litigating against the State, for whatever reason, is unable to contest the condonation of delay in appeal, unlike the present case, it reopens the lis for another round of litigation, and leaves such litigant listless yet again. As courts of conscience, it is our obligation that we assure that a litigant is not sent from pillar to post to seek justice.