1 2025:CGHC:56751 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR MAC No. 613 of 2022 1 - Reliance General Insurance Company Limited Through Its Legal Officer, Reliance General Insurance Company Limited, 301-302, Corporate House, 169 Rnt Marg, Opposite Jhabua Tower, Indore (M.P.) ... Appellant versus 1 - Smt. Tarkeshwari Janghel W/o Late Shri Khagendra Singh Janghel, Aged About 27 Years R/o Tikrapara, Chuikhadan, At Present R/o Station Para, Ward No. 8, Rajnandgaon, Tahsil And, District : Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh 2 - Mahaveer Nishad S/o Samay Nishad Aged About 36 Years R/o Marari Tola, P.S. Birsha, District Balaghat (M.P.) 3 - Radha Singh Lodhi D/o Shri Murli Singh Lodhi Tatibandh, Raipur, Tahsil And, District : Raipur, Chhattisgarh ... Respondent(s) For Appellant : Ms. Harneet Kaur, Advocate For Respondent(s) : 2 Hon’ble Shri Justice Sanjay Kumar Agrawal Order on Board 21/11/2025 1. Heard on I.A. No. 01/2022, application for condonation of delay. The instant appeal being filed after 827 days from the prescribed period of limitation. 2. It was stated in the application that the counsel appearing before the tribunal at Rajnandgaon on behalf of the appellant company has opined for filing an appeal and forwarded the file to Raipur office and earlier Law Officer at the relevant time has tendered his resignation to join some other company and the file could not be processed and then the new officer has been appointed at Raipur who has forwarded the file to regional office at Indore and then the Indore office has forwarded the file to head office at Mumbai for necessary approval and sanction for filing an appeal. The Covid- 19 pandemic period is also liable to be excluded. Therefore, it would be expedient to condone the delay in filing the appeal in the interest of justice. 3. The award was passed on 13.11.2017 and the appeal was preferred by the appellant on 04.05.2022 with a delay of 827 days (excluding the Covid-19 pandemic period). The delay of 827 days in processing the file by Law Officers cannot be a ground to condone the inordinate delay and would not constitute sufficient cause within the meaning of Section 5 of Indian Limitation Act, 1963 4. Accordingly, I.A. No. 01/2022 is rejected and consequently, the appeal is also dismissed. Sd/- (Sanjay K. Agrawal) JUDGE Madhurima