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6. Seeking to question the aforesaid order dated 22.06.2021, the defendant-appellant preferred a writ petition under Article 227 of the Constitution of India before the High Court.

6.1. It was essentially submitted on behalf of the appellant that on 06.05.2021, the Court was closed due to imposition of lockdown in pandemic control measures; and on 22.06.2021, the application was filed seeking time for filing written statement on medical ground as the counsel for the appellant was in quarantine. It was yet further submitted with reference to the orders passed by this Court in Suo Motu Writ Petition (Civil) No. 3 of 2020 that, while computing the period of limitation prescribed under the general law or under special laws, the period between 15.03.2020 to 14.03.2021 would stand excluded; and on 27.04.2021, the suspension of limitation was further extended by this Court. Thus, it was contended that counting of limitation by the Trial Court without taking into consideration the period of lockdown was erroneous. Reference was made to various decisions of this Court, including those in SCG Contracts (India) Private Limited v. K.S. Chamankar Infrastructure Private Limited and Ors.: (2019) 12 SCC 210 and SS Group Pvt. Ltd. v. Aaditiya J. Garg and Anr.: 2020 SCC OnLine SC 1050.

Orders passed in SMWP No.3 of 2020

14. The major deal of arguments in the present case has revolved around the orders passed by this Court in Suo Motu Writ Petition (Civil) No. 3 of 2020 and the effect thereof on the prayer of the appellant for another opportunity to file its written statement. Having regard to the questions involved, it shall be apposite to take note of all the relevant orders passed by this Court.

14.1 The said suo motu petition was taken up by this Court in rather peculiar and extraordinary circumstances in the wake of the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, where the normal functioning of almost all the institutions got disrupted due to serious illness of a large populace and due to various containment measures taken by the administrative authorities, including lockdowns. The functioning of Courts and other juridical institutions also suffered set-backs and, in fact, with regular spike in COVID-19 cases, when the Governments announced lockdowns in the interest of public safety and health, it was obvious to this Court that the litigants and their authorised agents would be facing serious hardships and difficulties in relation to their litigations and more particularly, in relation to the period of limitation when it would be well-nigh impossible for them to file the proceedings within the prescribed period of limitation, if the same was expiring during the period of such health emergencies and enforcement of the measures of containment. Having regard to the circumstances, this Court exercised its plenary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution of India and passed an order on 23.03.2020 in the said SMWP No. 3 of 2020 that reads as under:-

We are exercising this power under Article 142 read with Article 141 of the Constitution of India and declare that this order is a binding order within the meaning of Article 141 on all Courts/Tribunals and authorities.

This order may be brought to the notice of all High Courts for being communicated to all subordinate Courts/Tribunals within their respective jurisdiction.

Issue notice to all the Registrars General of the High Courts, returnable in four weeks.” 14.2. Apart from the aforementioned order passed in general terms, this Court also passed various orders from time to time in SMWP No. 3 of 2020 in relation to the specific classes and categories of cases. On 06.05.2020, this Court dealt with an interlocutory application and directed that the limitation prescribed under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 19968 and under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 shall stand extended with effect from 15.03.2020 until further orders. It was also provided that in case limitation had expired after 15.03.2020, the period between 15.03.2020 and lifting of lockdown in the jurisdictional area would be extended for a period of 15 days after the lifting of lockdown. Then, on 10.07.2020, this Court took note of the submissions made by the learned Attorney General as regards the proceedings in terms of Section 29-A of the Act of 1996, which does not prescribe a period of limitation but fixes the time for making an arbitral award. This Court directed that the aforementioned orders dated 23.03.2020 and 06.05.2020 shall also apply for extension of time limit for passing of arbitral award. This Court further dealt with the requirements of Section 23(4) of the Act of 1996, which provides for a time period of six months for completion of the statement of claim and defence; and it was directed that the aforesaid orders shall apply for extension of the time limit prescribed under the said Section 23(4) too. Yet further, this Court also examined the 8 Hereinafter also referred to as ‘the Act of 1996’ requirements of Section 12-A of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, which prescribes the time limit for completing the process of compulsory pre- litigation mediation and directed that the said time limit would also stand extended from time to time and for 45 days after lifting of lockdown. The relevant parts of the order dated 10.07.2020 could also be usefully extracted as under:-

19. When the movements and gatherings of persons were fraught with dangers and when lockdowns became inevitable, the institutions related with the task of administration of justice were also required to respond to the challenges thrown by this pandemic. In this regard, this Court, apart from taking various measures of containment, also took note of the practical difficulties of the litigants and their lawyers; and this led to the suo motu order dated 23.03.2020 in SMWP No. 3 of 2020. 19.1. In the consciously worded order dated 23.03.2020, this Court, while taking note of the difficulties likely to be faced by the litigants in filing their petitions/applications/suits/appeals/proceedings within the period of limitation, ordered that the period of limitation in all such proceedings, irrespective of the limitation prescribed under general or special laws, whether condonable or not, shall stand extended w.e.f. 15.03.2020 until further orders. This order was passed in exercise of plenary powers of this Court under Article 142 of the Constitution of India, which are complementary to other powers specifically conferred by various statutes. Even if the above referred provisions of CPC had not been stated in specific terms, the general mandate of the order dated 23.03.2020 was to extend the period of limitation provided in any law for the time being in force, irrespective whether the same was condonable or not, w.e.f. 15.03.2020 and until further orders. Noticeably, on 06.05.2020, when special periods of limitation under different enactments like the Act of 1996 were referred to, this Court further ordered that the limitation prescribed thereunder shall stand extended w.e.f. 15.03.2020 until further orders. It was a time when the country was under the grip of lockdown, and the Court provided that in case limitation had expired after 15.03.2020, the period between 15.03.2020 and lifting of lockdown in the jurisdictional area would be extended for a period of 15 days after lifting of lockdown.