Page No.# 1/4 GAHC010004652025 undefined THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT (HIGH COURT OF ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH) Case No. : I.A.(Crl.)/121/2025 KUSHAL BORDOLOI S/O. SRI SHANTIRAM BORDOLOI, R/O. VILL.- SOLMARI MIKIRGAON, P/S. MORIGAON, DIST. MORIGAON, ASSAM. VERSUS THE STATE OF ASSAM AND ANR REP. BY THE PP, ASSAM. 2:HIMA PATOR D/O. SRI SUMBOR PATOR R/O. VILL.- SOLMARI MIKIRGAON P/S. AND DIST. MORIGAON ASSAM Advocate for the Petitioner : MR. K P PATHAK, LEGAL AID COUNSEL Advocate for the Respondent : PP, ASSAM, Linked Case : KUSHAL BORDOLOI VERSUS THE STATE OF ASSAM AND ANR G Page No.# 2/4 ------------ Advocate for : MR. K P PATHAK Advocate for : appearing for THE STATE OF ASSAM AND ANR G BEFORE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE MANISH CHOUDHURY HONOURABLE MRS. JUSTICE MITALI THAKURIA ORDER Date : 16.06.2025 [M. Choudhury, J] Heard Mr. P. Das, learned counsel appearing for Mr. K.P. Pathak, learned Legal Aid Counsel for the applicant and Mr. R.R. Kaushik, learned Additional Public Prosecutor for the opposite party no. 1, State of Assam. 2. As per Lawazima Order dated 19.05.2025 of the Lawazima Court, the service of notice upon the respondent no. 2/informant is complete. 3. The instant application under Section 5 of the Limitation Act, 1963 is preferred seeking condonation of delay of 106 days, which have occurred in preferring the accompanying criminal appeal against a Judgment and Order dated 24.07.2024 passed by the Court of learned Additional Sessions Judge – cum – Special Judge [POCSO] Morigaon [‘the Special Court’, for short] in POCSO Case no. 11/2021. By the Judgment and Order dated 24.07.2024, the applicant-appellant has been convicted for the offences under Section 376[3], Indian Penal Code and Section 6, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences [POCSO] Act, 2012. In view of Section 42, POCSO Act, the applicant-appellant has been sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for 20 [twenty] years and to pay a fine of Rs. 10,000/-, in default of payment of fine, to undergo rigorous imprisonment for another three months under Section 376[3], IPC. Further, he has been convicted under Section 450, IPC and has been sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for 10 [ten] years and to pay a fine of Rs. 5,000/-, with default stipulations. The learned Special Court has ordered that both the sentences are to run Page No.# 3/4 concurrently. 4. We have gone through the statements and averments made in this application, more particularly, Paragraph – 4 & 5 thereof. 5. After the Judgment and Order dated 24.07.2024, the applicant sought free legal assistance on 30.07.2024 to prefer an appeal. It was on 12.08.2024, the Secretary, District Legal Services Authority, Morigaon forwarded the matter to the Gauhati High Court Legal Services Committee and the learned Legal Aid Counsel came to be appointed on 20.08.2024. Because of the incorrect nomenclature in preferring the appeal as Criminal Appeal instead of Criminal Appeal [J] initially, the memo of appeal, preferred earlier, had to be withdrawn and a fresh memo of appeal had to be preferred. 6. Having regard to the statements and averments made in this application, we are of the considered view that the applicant-appellant has been able to explain the period of delay of 106 days showing sufficient cause. Moreover, since the applicant-appellant has been sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for 20 [twenty] years, we are also of view that interest of justice would be better sub-served if the accompanying criminal appeal is heard on merits after condoning the period of delay. The opposite party no. 2/informant has not appeared despite service of notice. 7. It is further observed that the accompanying criminal appeal will be heard on merits after ensuring service of notice upon the opposite party no. 2/informant. 8. In view of the above, the instant application seeking condonation of delay of 106 days in preferring the accompanying criminal appeal is allowed. 9. The Registry to register the accompanying criminal appeal and, thereafter, to list the same for admission. JUDGE JUDGE Page No.# 4/4 Comparing Assistant