S. No.48 Regular IN THE HIGH C0URT 0F JAMMU & KASHMIR AND LADAKH AT SRINAGAR CM 3483/2024 IN MAC APP 22/2024 UNITED INDIA INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED …Appellant(s) Through: Mr. N.H. Khuroo, Advocate Vs. BILAL AHMAD WANI AND ORS. ...Respondent(s) Through: Mr. Nazir Ahmad Ganie, Advocate Mr. I.A. Sofi, Advocate CORAM: HON’BLE MR JUSTICE JAVED IQBAL WANI, JUDGE ORDER (ORAL) 18.04.2025 1. The instant application has been filed by the appellant/applicant herein seeking condonation of delay of 57 days in filing the appeal against award dated 4th December, 2023, passed in claim petition titled as “Bilal Ahmad Wani Vs. Javaid Ahmad Mir and Others” by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Pulwama. 2. The contents of the instant application, being relevant for determination, are extracted and reproduced in extenso hereunder: “a. That the office of the appellant company at Srinagar which has filed this appeal, is not competent in itself to decide whether to satisfied the award or challenge the same in appeal, which decision has to be taken by the competent authority being the Regional Office of the appellant company at Chandigarh. Accordingly, after receiving the award copy, was processed and forwarded to the Regional Office Chandigarh for its instructions. b. That as the Regional Office Chandigarh, is the controlling office of a number of subordinate offices, one amongst them being the office at Srinagar and it looks after not only legal cases of these offices, but even Administrative matters of its own office and of its subordinate offices, hence it has consumed sometime with the Regional Office to go through the case records and the award and finally, it has decided to file an appeal against the award before this Hon'ble High Court and the file was returned to the office at Srinagar for taking steps to file the appeal. c. That, the said office at Srinagar has also taken some days in processing the case and finally was handed over to the Advocate N.H. Khuroo for drafting the appeal. The counsel so deputed has also consumed some days in going through the case file and drafting the appeal which he has forwarded to the office at Srinagar for its approval and signatures. It has again consumed a few days with the office at Srinagar to go through the draft of the appeal and finally it was approved and after subscribing signatures on the appeal by the competent office it was return to the Advocate for filing the same before the Registry of the Hon'ble High court and the filing of the appeal, requiring some procedural and paper work and again consuming the days and finally the same was submitted before the Registry of this Hon'ble Court. d. That in view of the above facts and reasons, the delay in filing of the appeal is neither deliberate nor intentional, and as such the delay deserves to be condoned in the interest of justice.” 3. Objections to the application have been filed by the respondent 1, wherein the application is being opposed. Heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the material on record. 4. Perusal of the record indisputably suggests that the award in question has been passed in presence of the counsel for the appellant/applicant herein, after having contested the claim petition before the Tribunal. However, a bare perusal of the aforesaid contents of the application in hand show that the appellant/ applicant herein has not spelt out the details and dates as to when the matter after the passing of the award was referred to the Regional Office at Chandigarh for its opinion and instructions for future course of action. It has also not been detailed out as to when a decision was taken by the Regional Office for filing of the appeal, inasmuch as when the file was returned by the Regional Office to the office at Srinagar for taking steps for filing the appeal. The aforesaid contents of the application are also silent as to when the matter was handed over to the counsel namely Mr. N.H. Khuroo for drafting of the appeal, and that how much time was consumed by the said counsel in drafting and filing the appeal 5. Before proceeding further in the matter, it is deemed appropriate to refer to the position of law governing the extension of time of period of limitation in certain cases, contained in Section 5 of the Limitation Act, which provides that in certain cases, extension of time for filing an appeal or application can be granted subject to the appellant/ applicant herein satisfying the Court that there has been a “sufficient cause” for not preferring the appeal or making the application within the prescribed time. The Hon’ble Apex Court in case titled as “Perumon Bhagvathy Devaswam vs. Bhargavi Amma”, 2008 (8) SCC 321, at Para 13 has inter alia enunciated the following principle qua an application under Section 5 of the Limitation Act; "(iii) The decisive factor in condonation of delay is not the length of delay, but sufficiency of a satisfactory explanation." A reference to a judgment of the Apex Court in case titled as” P.K Ramachadran vs. State of Kerala” reported in AIR 1998 SC 2276, " would also be appropriate and advantageous wherein, at Para 6 following has been held; "Law of limitation may harshly affect a particular party but it has to be applied with all its rigor when the statute so prescribe and the Courts have no power to extend the period of limitation on equitable grounds. The discretion exercised by the High Court was thus, neither proper nor judicious. The order condoning the delay cannot be sustained. This appeal, therefore, succeeds and the impugned order is set aside. Consequently, the application for condonation of delay filed in the High Court would stand rejected and the Miscellaneous First Appeal shall stand dismissed as bared by time. No costs." 6. Having regard to the aforesaid position of law inasmuch as the aforesaid contents of the instant application, it is manifest that the appellant/ applicant herein has failed to provide a “sufficient cause” for condoning the delay in preferring the appeal against the award. It appears that probably the application has been filed under the impression that the expression “sufficient cause” would receive liberal consideration in favour of the appellant/ applicant herein. 7. It is significant to note here that the appeal accompanying the instant application arises out an award passed under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, which Act has been enacted for providing a cheap, speedy remedy and justice by way of compensation to a claimant and law is settled that a justice oriented approach has to be adopted in such matters without showing any kind of latitude against casual and non-diligent approach of a party seeking condonation of delay even without showing a “sufficient cause” thereof in line and tune with the law laid down by the Hon’ble Apex Court in the judgments supra. 8. 8. The application in hand, therefore, for the aforesaid reasons, is liable to be dismissed and is accordingly dismissed, and as a consequence whereof, the accompanying appeal shall also stand dismissed along with connected CM(s), if any. 9. The statutory amount claimed to have been deposited by the appellant/applicant herein before this Court is directed to be returned back to the appellant/applicant herein along with interest, if any. (JAVED IQBAL WANI) JUDGE SRINAGAR 18.04.2025 Mir Arif (i) Whether the order is reportable? Yes. (ii) Whether the order is speaking? Yes.