Gujarat High Court
Defence Estate Officer(Deesa Air ... vs State Of Gujarat on 1 October, 2021
Author: Ashokkumar C. Joshi
Bench: Ashokkumar C. Joshi
C/CA/4378/2019 ORDER DATED: 01/10/2021
IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 4378 of 2019
In
F/CIVIL REVISION APPLICATION NO. 31673 of 2019
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R/CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 4535 of 2019
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R/CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 4537 of 2019
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R/CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 4538 of 2019
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DEFENCE ESTATE OFFICER(DEESA AIR FIELD)
Versus
STATE OF GUJARAT
=======================================
Appearance:
MR ANKIT SHAH(6371) for the Applicant(s) No. 1
RULE SERVED(64) for the Respondent(s) No. 1,2
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C/CA/4378/2019 ORDER DATED: 01/10/2021
CORAM:HONOURABLE DR. JUSTICE ASHOKKUMAR C. JOSHI
Date : 01/10/2021
ORAL ORDER
1. Applicant - Defence Estate Officer (Deesa Air Field) has filed all these applications under Section 5 of the Limitation Act, 1963 for condonation of delay of 187 days caused in preferring the main civil revision applications.
2. Heard learned advocate Mr. Keval Brahmbhatt for learned advocate Mr. Ankit Shah for the applicant. Though served, none appears for the respondents.
3. Having heard the learned advocates for the respective parties and considering the averments made in the applications, more particularly, the explanation qua delay, it appears that sufficient cause has been shown for the condonation of delay. Further, as per the catena of decisions of the Apex Court, every matter is required to be decided on merits rather than mere technicalities and therefore, in the considered opinion of this Court, if delay is condoned, the same would meet the ends of justice. The prime purpose for which Section 5 of the Limitation Act, 1963 was enacted was to enable the Courts to do substantial justice and that is the prime reason as to why very elastic expression and sufficient cause is employed therein so as to sub- serve the ends of justice.
3.1 The Court has also gone through the decision rendered by the Apex Court in State of Haryana v. Chandra Mani & Ors., 1996 (3) SCC 132 = MANU/SC/0426/1996, as relied by the learned advocate for the applicant, relevant of which reads as Page 5 of 7 Downloaded on : Sat Oct 02 05:31:14 IST 2021 C/CA/4378/2019 ORDER DATED: 01/10/2021 under:
"When the State is an applicant, praying for condonation of delay, it is common knowledge that on account of impersonal machinery and the inherited bureaucratic methodology imbued with the note-making, file-pushing, and passing-on-the-buck ethos, delay on the part of the State is less difficult to understand though more difficult to approve, but the State represents collective cause of the community. Therefore, certain amount of latitude is not impermissible. If the appeals brought by the State are lost for such default no person is individually affected but what in the ultimate analysis suffers, is public interest. The expression "sufficient cause" should, therefore, be considered with pragmatism in justice-oriented approach rather than the technical detection of sufficient cause for explaining every day's delay. The factors which are peculiar to and characteristic of the functioning of the Governmental conditions would be cognizant to and requires adoption of pragmatic approach in justice-oriented process."
3.2 A beneficial reference may also be made to a decision of the Co-ordinate Bench of this Court in Mafatlal Apparels v. Akbarbhai Ganibhai Saiyed & Ors., 2017 Law Suit (Guj) 1947, wherein it is observed as under:
"As far as the decisions relied upon by Mr. Dave the same are not applicable to the facts of the present case since in the reference, the case of the employees was being represented by Union leader and he informed the employees to remain present only when called for. They were never aware about dismissal of the reference and where never informed that the reference was dismissed for want of prosecution. The Coordinate Bench of this Court in case of Rajesh Pukhraj Chauhan v. Sinter Plast Containers and another has held that it is trite that a litigant is permitted to litigate for his rights by having a decision from the Court of law on merits, rather than he is ousted on technical ground. A liberal approach is not out of place."
4. In the aforesaid backdrop, the present applications succeed Page 6 of 7 Downloaded on : Sat Oct 02 05:31:14 IST 2021 C/CA/4378/2019 ORDER DATED: 01/10/2021 and are allowed accordingly. Delay of 187 days caused in preferring the main civil revision applications is condoned. Rule is made absolute accordingly in each application.
4.1 Registry to place a copy of this order in each application.
[ A. C. Joshi, J. ] hiren Page 7 of 7 Downloaded on : Sat Oct 02 05:31:14 IST 2021