Kanta Devi vs. State of H.P. & Anr. CRMPM No.541 of 2026 07.04.2026 Present : Ms. Prajwal Busta, Advocate, for the applicant/appellant. Mr. Pawan Kumar Nadda, Additional Advocate General, for the respondents-State. CRMPM No.541 of 2026 This is an application for condonation of delay in filing application seeking special leave to appeal against judgment of acquittal dated 30.04.2025 passed in case FIR No.181/2022 dated 09.12.2022 at Police Station Dharampur, District Solan, under Sections 376 & 506 IPC and Section 4 of the POCSO Act. The appeal proposed to be filed by complainant against acquittal is not required to be filed along with application seeking special leave to appeal. Faced with aforesaid fact, learned counsel for the applicant submits that this application be treated as an application for condonation of delay in filing appeal against acquittal. Prayer is accepted. It has been submitted that applicant had applied for legal aid and Legal Aid C ounsel was appointed in June 2025. The applicant contacted and met the counsel in July 2025, however, at that time, applicant was not having complete documents with her. Therefore, she was advised to obtain entire record of the case so as to enable learned counsel to draft an appeal against acquittal. The applicant was able to supply the documents to the counsel in the first week of December, and thereafter, appeal was drafted and filed in the Registry during winter vacation. It has been further submitted that, as per the information available with the applicant, State has not filed any appeal against acquittal, despite the fact that a heinous crime was committed by respondent-accused against the minor victim. Taking into consideration the entire facts and circumstances, the delay in filing the appeal is condoned. Application is allowed and stands disposed of. Cr.A(A-DB) No._______ of 2026 [Cr.A(A-DB) ST No.1050/2026] Be registered. Notice. Mr. Pawan Kumar Nadda, Additional Advocate General, appears, waives and accepts notice on behalf of respondent No.1. Notice be issued to respondent No.2, returnable on next date, on taking steps within one week. List for consideration on 08.07.2026. Record be requisitioned. CRMP(M) No._______ of 2026 [CRMPM ST No.1051/2026] For filing an appeal by the complainant, leave to appeal is not required to be filed, therefore, this application is disposed of, being not pressed. (Vivek Singh Thakur) Judge (Ranjan Sharma) Judge 7th April, 2026 (Pardeep)