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5. He claims that looking to his past incarceration, he informed the officials of the NIA of his desire to plead guilty to the charges, and the officials promised him that they will ensure that he will be let off with the minimum sentence of 5 years. He was also promised that he would be transferred to a jail in his home state i.e. Taloja Central Jail in Mumbai, to undergo the remaining portion of his sentence. For this reason, he did not feel it necessary to collect all the relevant documents related to his case. He moved an application on 29.03.2017 to plead guilty to all the charges framed against him. Consequently, his statement conveying his intention to plead guilty was recorded on 12.04.2017. He submits that contrary to the assurance given to him, the Special Court NIA, Patiala House Courts passed the order on sentence on 21.04.2017, sentencing him to rigorous imprisonment for up to 7 years in respect of the several offences, and to undergo the default sentence of 30 days in respect of each of the offences on non payment of fine. He claims that he was devastated with the sentence pronounced by the Special Court and he went into severe depression for about 6 months. With the help of kind hearted inmates and support of his family, he came out of his depression and started exploring the avenues available to him. He learnt that the legal aid cell within Tihar Jail, New Delhi would provide him the necessary legal assistance needed to challenge the order on sentence. He attempted to consult a lawyer, but he was informed that he would need to first collect the documents regarding the case against him. Since the appellant was confined in High Security Section of the Jail, he faced difficulty in freely speaking to fellow inmates, let alone to collect documents. He had nearly given up and resigned to his fate. However, he informed his uncle based in Maharastara regarding the trouble faced by him in collecting documents and obtaining legal advice. His uncle then assured him of his help. He states that his uncle, who is the pairokar for the purpose of the present appeal, resides in Maharashtra and does not know anyone in Delhi. He describes the steps taken by his uncle to seek help from an NGO called National Confederation of Human Rights Organizations (NCHRO) and how the appellant's uncle put him in touch with Mr. Aditya Wadhwa, Advocate. He states that his counsel tried to get the documents from the other advocates appearing in the case and even they did not have the complete documents. Further, the counsel was informed that due to the new Special NIA Court being constituted in Patiala House Courts, the files are being transferred to the newly constituted Special NIA Court and hence it would be difficult to identify and procure the said documents. He claims that one of the advocates appearing in the case supplied the documents to the counsel for the appellant. Upon perusing the same, it became evident that the appellant had a strong case and that he had been harshly sentenced. The aforesaid are stated to be the reason for the delay of 314 days in filing the appeal.

6. So far as the delay of 44 days in refiling is concerned, the appellant states that the appeal was initially filed on 30.05.2018 and was refiled on 30.08.2018, resulting in delay of 44 days in refiling. He states that at the time of initial filing on 30.05.2018, he did not have in his possession the complete papers in the matter. He states that the appeal was initially filed, so as to save further delay in filing. Refiling had been done with additional documents which his counsel had procured with great difficulty. Delay in refiling had occurred on account of obtaining of certified copies of the Charge and Order on charge, which were provided to the appellant only on 26.07.2018.

91. Having held that the applications moved by the appellant to seek condonation of delay are maintainable, we now proceed to consider the same on merits. The appellant seeks condonation of 314 days delay in filing the appeal. The appellant seeks further delay of 44 days in re-filing the appeal. The appeal, itself, is directed against the order on sentence. Pertinently, the appellant was incarcerated when he was sentenced by the Special NIA Court. In that situation, he was heavily dependent on his family and friends to file his appeal. The appellant has explained that when he learnt of the sentence pronounced against him, he went into depression for about 6 months. Thereafter, he started exploring avenues available to him. He states that he attempted to consult a lawyer but he did not have the relevant documents. He was confined in high security section of the jail and, consequently, it was difficult for him to arrange the documents. Then his uncle from Maharashtra assured him of help. His uncle contacted an NGO who, in turn, put him in touch with Mr. Aditya Wadhwa, Advocate. He also explains that, in the meantime, the special NIA Court was shifted, which also delayed the procurement of documents.