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17. At this juncture, it would be apposite to refer to a decision of this Court in Bhavnagar University v. Palitana Sugar Mill (P) Ltd., (2003) 2 SCC 111 wherein this Court whilst weighing the consideration(s) qua the mandatory nature of timelines prescribed upon a public functionary observed as under:

“42. We are not oblivious of the law that when a public functionary is required to do a certain thing within a specified time, the same is ordinarily directory but it is equally well settled that when consequence for inaction on the part of the statutory authorities within such specified time is expressly provided, it must be held to be imperative.”