AO/298/2023
2026 Latest Caselaw 1030 UK

Uttarakhand High Court

AO/298/2023 on 13 February, 2026

                Office Notes,
              reports, orders
SL.          or proceedings or
      Date                                             COURT'S OR JUDGES'S ORDERS
No             directions and
             Registrar's order
              with Signatures

                                 AO No.123 of 2024
                                 With
                                 AO No.298 of 2023
                                 Hon'ble Siddhartha Sah, J.

Heard Mr. Sahil Mullick, learned counsel for the appellant in AO No.123 of 2024, Ms. Sheetal Selwal, learned counsel for the respondent no.1 and Mr. Deepak Rawat, learned counsel for the respondent no.3/Insurance Company.

2. The service report indicates that the respondent no.2 has been served personally and respondent no.4 has been served through his father. Respondent nos. 2 & 4 are deemed served.

3. Heard the learned counsel for the parties on the Delay Condonation Application (IA No.01 of 2024).

4. Learned counsel for the appellant made a submission regarding the delay that has been caused, was on account of the fact that after receiving the impugned judgment, the appellant consulted various advocates for possible remedies, whereby while some advocates informed him to file a review before the MACT, Haldwani, others suggested him to approach the Hon'ble High Court. Eventually the appellant, sometimes in the last week of January, 2024, approached his counsel in Nainital, and sometimes in the third week of February, where after he approached his counsel at Nainital in the first week of March and handed over the entire records to his counsel at Nainital. The Applicant, subsequently, approached this Hon'ble High Court and the delay caused, pursuant to the passing of order dated 03.05.2023 may kindly be sympathetically looked into. The delay in filing the appeal is neither intentional nor due to negligence or lack of bonafides.

5. Per contra, learned counsel for the respondent no.3/Insurance Company invited the attention of the Court to the paragraph nos.5, 7 & 8 of the affidavit/objections filed on behalf of the respondent no.3/Insurance Company and makes a submission that the reason advanced by the appellant for not filing the appeal within the prescribed period of limitation as given by the appellant, cannot be said to be satisfactory or plausible by any stretch of imagination. The appellant has made a false and concocted story to cover up the latches for day to day explanation for the delay.

6. After going through the respective application and objections as raised by the respondent no.3/Insurance Company in the interest of justice and in view of the fact that the delay in filing the appeal needs to be considered sympathetically otherwise the recourse to appeal may not be possible by the litigants, the Delay Condonation Application (IA No.01 of 2024) is allowed. The delay in filing the appeal is hereby condoned.

7. List this matter on 26.02.2026 for hearing on admission.

(Siddhartha Sah, J.) 13.02.2026 Akash