Page No.# 1/3 GAHC040019342025 THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT (HIGH COURT OF ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH) (ITANAGAR BENCH) Case No. : IA(Crl)/106/2025 Smti Leakhao Konyak Wife of Shri Eli Ketok, permanent resident of Bank Colony, PO and PS Khonsa, Tirap District, Arunachal Pradesh 792130 VERSUS The State of AP and 2 Ors through the PP of AP 2:Honlai Anna (Complainant) Age: 0 Occupation : Son of Shri Manwang Anna resident of Village Kheti PO and PS Khonsa Tirap District Arunachal Pradesh 792130 3:Smti Chathian Anna Age: 0 Occupation : Wife of Late Janne Alley resident of Village Kheti PO and PS Khonsa Tirap District Arunachal Pradesh 79213 Advocate for the Petitioner : Bomchi Taipodia, Advocate for the Respondent : P P of AP, BEFORE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE MANISH CHOUDHURY Page No.# 2/3 HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE BUDI HABUNG ORDER 24.11.2025 [Manish Choudhury, J] Heard Ms. D. Yoka, learned counsel for the applicant and Mr. T. Ete, learned Additional Public Prosecutor, Arunachal Pradesh for the State respondents. 2. The instant interlocutory application under Section 5 of the Limitation Act, 1963 is preferred seeking condonation of delay of 150 days, which period of delay is stated to have occurred in filing the accompanying criminal appeal under Section 415 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita [BNSS], 2023. 3. The applicant as the appellant has preferred the accompanying criminal appeal against a Judgment and Order dated 20.03.2025 passed by the Court learned Sessions Judge, Khonsa Sessions Division, Tirap District, Arunachal Pradesh [‘the Trial Court’, for short] in Sessions Case no. 34 of 2023. By the Judgment and Order dated 20.03.2025, the Trial Court has convicted the applicant-appellant for the offences under Sections 450/451/364/302/367/326 of Indian Penal Code [IPC] and for such conviction, the applicant-appellant has been sentenced in various manner. For the offence under Section 302, the applicant-appellant has been sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life, out of which, first part of ten years shall be spent under rigorous imprisonment, and to pay a fine of Rs. 10,000/-. The sentences passed against the applicant-appellant for convicting him for the other sentences are lesser than the sentence of imprisonment for life. 4. We have gone through the statements and averments made in the application, more particularly, paragraph 2 to 7 thereof. 5. Mr. Ete, learned Additional Public Prosecutor has submitted that since the applicant- appellant has been sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life, the State has no objection if the accompanying criminal appeal is heard on merits after condoning the period of delay. Page No.# 3/3 6. Having regard to the explanation provided in the interlocutory application, we are of the considered view that the applicant-appellant has been able to explain the period of delay showing sufficient cause. In any view of the matter, this Court is of the considered view that since the applicant-appellant has been sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life along with other sentences, the accompanying criminal appeal is required to be heard on merits after condoning the delay of 150 days. 7. The instant interlocutory application is accordingly allowed. 8. The Registry to register the accompanying criminal appeal and thereafter, to list the criminal appeal for admission. JUDGE JUDGE Comparing Assistant