Delhi High Court - Orders
Vipin Kumar vs Union Of India & Anr on 8 March, 2022
Author: V. Kameswar Rao
Bench: V. Kameswar Rao
$~42, 44 and 47
* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
+ W.P.(C) 3864/2022 & CM. Nos. 11509/2022 and 11510/2022
VIPIN KUMAR
..... Petitioner
Through: Ms. Bhawna Piplani, Adv.
versus
UNION OF INDIA & ANR.
..... Respondents
Through: Ms. Nidhi Banga, Sr. Panel Counsel.
AND
+ W.P.(C) 3890/2022 & CM. Nos. 11570/2022 and 11571/2022
MOHD BABAR
..... Petitioner
Through: Ms. Bhawna Piplani, Adv.
versus
UNION OF INDIA & ANOTHER
..... Respondents
Through: Mr. Shoumendu Mukherji, Sr. Panel
Counsel with Ms. Megha Sharma,
Adv.
AND
+ W.P.(C) 3902/2022 & CM. Nos. 11595/2022 and 11596/2022
PUNAM SHEKHAWAT & ANR.
..... Petitioners
Through: Ms. Bhawna Piplani, Adv.
versus
Signature Not Verified
Digitally Signed By:ANIL
KUMAR YADAV
Signing Date:10.03.2022
17:43:55
UNION OF INDIA & ANR.
..... Respondents
Through: Mr. Vikrant N. Goyal, Adv. for UOI.
CORAM:
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE V. KAMESWAR RAO
ORDER
% 08.03.2022 CM. No. 11510/2022 in W.P.(C) 3864/2022 CM. No. 11571/2022 in W.P.(C) 3890/2022 CM. No. 11596/2022 in W.P.(C) 3902/2022 Exemptions allowed subject to all just exceptions. Applications stand disposed of.
W.P.(C) 3864/2022 & CM. No. 11509/2022 W.P.(C) 3890/2022 & CM. No. 11570/2022 W.P.(C) 3902/2022 & CM. No. 11595/2022
1. These three petitions have been filed by the petitioners with a common prayer seeking a direction declaring their disqualification for the financial years 2014-2016 issued vide a decision / lists in the year 2018 viz. June 18, 2018, August 08, 2018 and December 07, 2018 under the provisions of Section 164 of the Companies Act, 2013 as illegal.
2. On a pointed query to the learned counsel for the petitioners regarding the delay that has taken place in approaching this Court in the year 2022, the only submission advanced by the learned counsel for the petitioners is that this Court has decided a petition on similar / identical facts and the petitioners were not aware of the impugned lists.
3. On the other hand Mr. Shoumendu Mukherji, Sr. Panel Counsel appearing for the respondents in W.P.(C) 3890/2022 has screen shared the order passed by the Division Bench of this Court in two writ petitions being Signature Not Verified Digitally Signed By:ANIL KUMAR YADAV Signing Date:10.03.2022 17:43:55 Anamika Devi v. Union of Inida & Anr. W.P.(C) 4356/2020 and Gaurav Kumar v. Union of India & Anr. W.P.(C) 4357/2020 decided on July 20, 2020, wherein the Division Bench on the issue of delay and laches noting the submissions made on behalf of the petitioners therein that they were not aware of the publication of the list, has dismissed the said petitions by holding in Paragraphs 4 to 6 as under:
"4. The aforesaid submission is not acceptable. Ignorance cannot bestow any benefit on a litigant and nor can it be a ground to condone a delay of almost three years in approaching the court for relief. We may note that the petitioners had been disqualified for a period of five years commencing from 01.11.2016 and continuing to remain in force till 31.10.2021. By now, a little over one yeare of the period of disqualification is left to expire. But no steps have been taken by the petitioners to seek legal recourse in all this duration.
5. Powers of judicial review vested in the court are discretionary in nature and in particular facts and circumstances, the court can decline to exercise the said power more so, when a party approaches the court for relief with a delay of almost three years, without an explanation worth the name for the said delay.
6. For the aforesaid reasons, we decline to entertain the present petitions on the ground of delay, which are accordingly dismissed along with the pending applications."
4. Insofar as the plea of the learned counsel for the petitioners that this Court had entertained an earlier petition is no ground to entertain these petitions. More so, the order which has now been relied upon by the counsel for the respondents in Anamika Devi (supra) of the Division Bench was not shown to the Court when the earlier writ petition was decided.
5. For parity of reasons I do not see any reason to entertain the present Signature Not Verified Digitally Signed By:ANIL KUMAR YADAV Signing Date:10.03.2022 17:43:55 petitions which have been filed with delay of more than 3 years.
6. The petitions are dismissed. No costs.
CM. No. 11509/2022 in W.P.(C) 3864/2022 CM. No. 11570/2022 in W.P.(C) 3890/2022 CM. No. 11595/2022 in W.P.(C) 3902/2022 Dismissed as infructuous.
V. KAMESWAR RAO, J MARCH 8, 2022/jg Signature Not Verified Digitally Signed By:ANIL KUMAR YADAV Signing Date:10.03.2022 17:43:55