Serial No. 02 Regular Cause List HIGH COURT OF JAMMU& KASHMIR AND LADAKH AT SRINAGAR CONCR No. 08/2019 [CrlM No. 80/2019] State through Crime Branch, Srinagar … Appellant(s) Through: - Mr Abdul Rashid Malik, Sr. AAG with Mr Younis Hafiz, Assisting Counsel. V/s Samiullah Ganai & Ors. … Respondent(s) Through: - Mr I. A. Parray, Advocate; and Mr Altaf Mehraj, Advocate. CORAM: Hon’ble Mr Justice Sanjeev Kumar, Judge Hon’ble Mr Justice Puneet Gupta, Judge (ORDER) 05.02.2025 01. This is an application seeking leave to file appeal against the Judgment of Acquittal dated 4th of July, 2017 recorded by the learned Sessions Judge, Baramulla (for short “the Trial Court”) in favour of the Respondents herein, in Criminal File No. 138/Sessions and 58/Sessions in FIR No. 34/2010 registered at Police Station, Crime Branch, Srinagar under Sections 419, 420, 467, 468, 469 471, 201, 120-B, 193 RPC. 02. The Application is delayed by 526 days and the only explanation tendered for such a huge delay is that it took some time to take a decision for filing the Acquittal Appeal and also for obtaining the requisite sanction from the Department of Law. 03. We cannot take such a plea as sufficient cause responsible for delaying the filing of appeal for a period of more than 500 days. We can understand that there is some delay in taking decisions in the Government due to red-tapism and movement of files from one desk to another, yet, we cannot lose sight of the fact that here the delay is not of few days but of more than one and a half year. Such a delay, on the asking of the State, cannot be condoned. 04. For the aforesaid reasons, we find no merit in this application. The same is, accordingly, dismissed, along with the application seeking leave to file appeal. Resultantly, the Criminal Appeal shall also stand dismissed. Interim direction(s), if any subsisting as on date, shall stand vacated. (Puneet Gupta) (Sanjeev Kumar) Judge Judge SRINAGAR February 5th, 2025 “TAHIR” Tahir Manzoor Bhat I attest to the accuracy and authenticity of this document