Neutral Citation No. - 2025:AHC:114305-DB Chief Justice's Court Case :- SPECIAL APPEAL DEFECTIVE No. - 443 of 2025 Appellant :- State of U.P. and 2 others Respondent :- Abhishek Mishra Counsel for Appellant :- A.C.S.C., Rama Nand Pandey Counsel for Respondent :- Arya Suman Pandey, Jitendra Sarin Hon'ble Arun Bhansali, Chief Justice Hon'ble Kshitij Shailendra, J. Order on Delay Condonation Application No. 02 of 2025 1. This appeal is directed against order dated 18.12.2024 passed in Writ C No. 42229 of 2024, whereby the writ petition filed by the respondent seeking quashing of order dated 02.08.2024 passed by Additional Secretary, Regional Office, Prayagraj for correction in the date of birth from 13.10.2005 to 13.08.2005 recorded in the high school marks-sheet, was allowed. 2. The learned Single Judge, after hearing the parties, as the application was rejected on the ground of delay, came to the conclusion that the delay of about one year in filing the application for correction in the date of birth in the high school marks-sheet cannot be considered to be an inordinate delay so as to reject the application and directed the appellants to consider and decide the application in accordance with law. 3. The appeal is barred by 162 days. 4. An application seeking condonation of delay has been filed supported by an affidavit inter alia indicating that the order impugned dated 18.12.2024 was served in the office of Additional Secretary, Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad on 22.01.2025 and after a passage of two months, a request was made to the Chief Standing Counsel seeking legal opinion which was given on 26.03.2025 to file special appeal. Permission to file special appeal was granted on 05.05.2025 by the Special Secretary and the appeal thereafter has been filed on 30.06.2025. 5. The indications made in the application, are nothing but simply an eye-wash presuming that whatever reason is indicated in the application under Section 5 of the Limitation Act, 1963, the appellants being State would be accepted by the Court and the delay would be condoned. 6. A bare look at the dates indicated reveals that the conduct of the appellant-Officers has been negligent. The limitation for filing the appeal is 30 days which is well known, despite that, on receipt of the judgement on 22.01.2025 after the same was delivered on 18.12.2024, a request letter was sent for the first time after a passage of two months on 22.01.2025 seeking legal opinion. 7. The affidavit is silent as to why the counsel representing the State before the learned Single Judge did not send the judgement and opinion in time. Thereafter also, once the legal opinion was delivered on 26.03.2025, the permission to file appeal was granted on 05.05.2025 and after two months, the appeal was filed on 30.06.2025. 8. Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Postmaster General & others Vs. Living Media India Limited & another : (2012) 3 SCC 563, has laid down as under: "29) In our view, it is the right time to inform all the government bodies, their agencies and instrumentalities that unless they have reasonable and acceptable explanation for the delay and there was bonafide effort, there is no need to accept the usual explanation that the file was kept pending for several months/years due to considerable degree of procedural red-tape in the process. The government departments are under a special obligation to ensure that they perform their duties with diligence and commitment. Condonation of delay is an exception and should not be used as an anticipated benefit for the government departments. The law shelters everyone under the same light and should not be swirled for the benefit of a few. 30) Considering the fact that there was no proper explanation offered by the Department for the delay except mentioning of various dates, according to us, the Department has miserably failed to give any acceptable and cogent reasons sufficient to condone such a huge delay. Accordingly, the appeals are liable to be dismissed on the ground of delay." 9. In view of the above fact situation, it is apparent that the conduct of the appellants-State in filing the appeal with a delay of 162 days, is ex-facie negligent and, therefore, no sufficient cause is made out for condoning the delay in filing the appeal. The application seeking condonation of delay is, therefore, dismissed. Consequently, the appeal is also dismissed. Order Date :- 16.7.2025 Sandeep/AKShukla (Kshitij Shailendra, J) (Arun Bhansali, CJ) Digitally signed by :- SANDEEP KUMAR High Court of Judicature at Allahabad