Page No.# 1/3 GAHC010031642025 2025:GAU-AS:8729-DB THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT (HIGH COURT OF ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH) Case No. : I.A.(Crl.)/208/2025 MANIK SENCHOWA @ MANIK SENCHUA S/O. LT. NILAMBAR SENCHOWA, R/O. NALIAPOOL, BAZAR PATH, P/S. DIBRUGARH, DIST. DIBRUGARH, ASSAM. VERSUS THE STATE OF ASSAM REPRESENTED BY THE LEARNED PUBLIC PROSCUTOR, GAUHATI HIGH COURT, GUWAHATI 2:RAJ KUMAR SHARMA S/O. LT. RAM NATH SHARMA R/O. AMOLAPATTY P/O. AND P/S. NAHARKATIA DIST. DIBRUGARH ASSAM-786610 Advocate for the Petitioner : MAYUR DAS, MR. T KALITA,MS IVY HUSSAIN,MR. P P BORTHAKUR Advocate for the Respondent : PP, ASSAM, BEFORE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE MANISH CHOUDHURY HONOURABLE MRS. JUSTICE MITALI THAKURIA ORDER 26.06.2025 [Manish Choudhury, J] Page No.# 2/3 Heard Mr. P.P. Borthakur, learned counsel for the applicant-appellant and Ms. A. Begum, learned Additional Public Prosecutor, Assam for the opposite party-respondent no. 1. 2. We have perused the Report dated 03.04.2025 forwarded by the Office of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Dibrugarh and the Report of the Process Server annexed thereto. 3. As per the Report dated 03.04.2025 addressed to the Assistant Registrar, GHC, service of notice has been duly effected upon the opposite party-respondent no. 2. 4. The instant application under Section 5 of the Limitation Act 1963 is preferred seeking condonation of delay of 654 days, which have occurred in preferring the accompanying Criminal Appeal under Section 415[2] of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita [BNSS], 2023. The accompanying Criminal Appeal is preferred against a Judgment dated 06.02.2023 and an Order on sentence dated 10.02.2023. By the Judgment dated 06.02.2023, the applicant-appellant has been held guilty of the offence under Section 302, Indian Penal Code [IPC]. By the Order on sentence dated 10.02.2023, the applicant-appellant has been sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs. 3,000/-, in default of payment of fine, to undergo simple imprisonment for another month. 5. We have gone through the statements and averments made in the instant interlocutory application, more particularly, Paragraph 3, 4 & 5 thereof. 6. It has been averred that the mother of the applicant-appellant has been suffering from paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia and congestive heart failure and after the conviction of the applicant-appellant, she had to undergo medical treatment for her ailment. As the applicant-appellant has only two minor children apart from his mother in the family, an appeal could not be preferred in time. The mother could ultimately prefer the appeal on 05.03.2025. In the process, the delay of 654 days have occurred. 7. Having regard to the statements and averments made in the instant application, we are of the considered view that the applicant-appellant has been able to explain the period of Page No.# 3/3 delay of 654 days showing sufficient cause. Since the applicant-appellant has been sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life, we are also of the considered view that the interest of justice will be better subserved if the accompanying criminal appeal is heard on merits leaving aside any technical consideration. The applicant-appellant is in incarceration since 06.02.2023. 8. For the aforesaid reasons, the instant application seeking condonation of delay of 654 in preferring the accompanying criminal appeal is allowed. 9. The Registry to register the accompanying criminal appeal and thereafter, to list the appeal for admission. JUDGE JUDGE Comparing Assistant