Ge Capital Services India vs Sabhajeet Yadav

C. Viswanath, J

The present Revision Petition has been filed with the prayer to call for the record of the fora below and set aside the order dated 18.03.2016 passed in Appeal No. 574 / 2015 by the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Maharashtra, Mumbai.

The Petitioner in his Revision Petition stated that the Appeal filed by the Petitioner was dismissed without affording any chance to explain reasons for not joining the proceedings before the District Forum. It was at the stage of Execution Petition filed by the Respondent, that the Petitioner learnt about the exparte order, when for the first time a notice dated 11.02.2014 (as per Maharashtra Land Revenue Code 1966 under section 180 and 181, Regarding Procedure of Attachment) was received.

The Petitioner also deposited an amount of Rs.1.05 lakh on 15.02.2014 in the Collector's Office Bandra (E) Mumbai as stated in the notice dated 11.02.2014. The Petitioner partly complied with the order of the District Forum. Further, when Summons were received asking him to appear before the BKC Police Station, Mumbai on 22.08.2014, he came to know that there was an order of the District Forum for return of the vehicle. He then obtained a duplicate copy of the order of the District Forum on 13.03.2015. There upon he filed Appeal before the Maharashtra State Commission on 07.05.2015.

The Learned Counsel for the Petitioner as well as Respondent were heard. As prayed for records of both the lower fora have been called and we have carefully gone through the record.

The State Commission rejected MA / 15 / 259, application for condonation of delay of 1431 days. In the result, State Commission held that FA bearing number A/15/574 did not survive. The only ground for condonation of delay of 1431 days stated by the Petitioner was that the notice sent by the District Forum was not received, as the appellant company had shifted their office in 2010.

The State Commission rightly observed that the Petitioner failed to furnish details of shifting of the office. Nowhere the delay in filing Appeal before the State Commission was justified by giving sufficient reasons. Only a passing reference for condonation of delay was made in the application in a casual manner.

The District Forum passed ex parte order on 06.01.2011. The period of limitation for filing the appeal was 30 days. The Petitioner argued that he was not aware of the order of the District Forum to file the appeal in time before the State Commission. The State Commission, while dismissing the application for condonation of delay of 1431 days, observed that the Petitioner failed to furnish details of shifting of the office in the year 2010. No evidence has been provided to show that the postal authorities or the Complainant was informed of the change in the address. The State Commission also observed that the delay in filing the Appeal before it was not justified by giving sufficient reasons. The application for condonation of delay was made in a casual manner with only a passing reference. The State Commission, therefore, dismissed the application for condonation of delay in filing the appeal and consequently the First Appeal itself. It is also an admitted fact that the Petitioner became aware of the order of the District Forum on 11.02.2014 when an execution petition was filed by the Respondent. The Petitioner also deposited an amount of Rs.1.05 lakh on 15.02.2014 in the office of Collector, Bandra East, Mumbai. Having come to know of the order of the District Forum way back on 11.02.2014, the Petitioner ought to have taken steps to file the Appeal immediately, especially in view of the fact that he had already lost sufficient time. He appears to be very casual in his approach and filed the Appeal only on 07th May, 2015. He has also no where explained, giving sufficient reasons for not filing the First Appeal as late as 07th May, 2015 with a delay of nearly 1 year 3 months from 11.02.2014, the date he admits that he became aware of the order of the District Forum.

The Petitioner appears to have not acted diligently and remained inactive for fairly a long time. The Hon'ble Apex Court held that the settled legal proposition of law of limitation has to be applied with all its rigour when the statute so prescribes, though it may harshly affect a particular party. The Petitioner has not been able to give adequate and sufficient reason which prevented him to approach the State Commission within the limitation.

It is a settled proposition of law that condonation of delay is not a matter of right and the applicant has to set out the case showing sufficient reasons for not being able to come to the Court/ Commissions within the stipulated period of limitation. The Hon'ble Supreme Court in the matter of Ram Lal and Ors. Vs. Rewa Coalfields Limited, AIR 1962 Supreme Court 361 has held as under:

"It is, however, necessary to emphasise that even after sufficient cause has been shown a party is not entitled to the condonation of delay in question as a matter of right. The proof of a sufficient cause is a condition precedent for the exercise of the discretionary jurisdiction vested in the Court by Section 5. If sufficient cause is not proved nothing further has to be done; the application for condoning delay has to be dismissed on that ground alone. If sufficient cause is shown then the Court has to enquire whether in its discretion it should condone the delay. This aspect of the matter naturally introduces the consideration of all relevant facts and it is at this stage that diligence of the party or its bona fides may fall for consideration; but the scope of the enquiry while exercising the discretionary power after sufficient cause is shown would naturally be limited only to such facts as the Court may regard as relevant."

The burden is put upon the applicant to show sufficient causes for the delay. The expression 'sufficient cause' has been discussed and defined by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Basawaraj & Anr. Vs. The Spl. Land Acquisition Officer, 2013 AIR SCW 6510, as under:

"Sufficient cause is the cause for which defendant could not be blamed for his absence. The meaning of the word "sufficient" is "adequate" or "enough", inasmuch as may be necessary to answer the purpose intended. Therefore, the word "sufficient" embraces no more than that which provides a platitude, which when the act done suffices to accomplish the purpose intended in the facts and circumstances existing in a case, duly examined from the view point of a reasonable standard of a cautious man. In this context, "sufficient cause" means that the party should not have acted in a negligent manner or there was a want of bona fide on its part in view of the facts and circumstances of a case or it cannot be alleged that the party has "not acted diligently" or "remained inactive". However, the facts and circumstances of each case must afford sufficient ground to enable the Court concerned to exercise discretion for the reason that whenever he court exercises discretion, it has to be exercised judiciously. The applicant must satisfy the Court that he was prevented by any "sufficient cause" from prosecuting his case, and unless a satisfactory explanation is furnished, the Court should not allow the application for condonation of delay. The court has to examine whether the mistake is bona fide or was merely a device to cover an ulterior purpose. (See: Manindra Land and Building Corporation Ltd. V. Bhootnath Banerjee & Ors, AIR 1964 SC 1336; Lala Matadin V. A.Narayanan, AIR 1970 SC 1953; Parimal V. Veena alias Bharti AIR 2011 SC 1150 L2011 AIR SEW 1233); and Maniben Devraj Shah V. Municipal Corporation of Brihan Mumbai, AIR 2012 SC 1629: (2012 AIR SCW 2412).

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It is a settle legal proposition that law of limitation may harshly affect a particular party but it has to be applied with all its rigour when the statute so prescribes. The Court has no power to extend the period of limitation on equitable grounds. "A result flowing from a statutory provision is never an evil. A Court has no power to ignore that provision to relieve what it considers a distress resulting from its operation." The statutory provision may cause hardship or inconvenience to a particular party but the Court has no choice but to enforce it giving full effect to the same. The legal maxim "dura lex sed lex" which means "the law is hard but it is the law", stands attracted in such a situation. It has consistently been held that, "inconvenience is not" a decisive factor to be considered while interpreting a statute.

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The law on the issue can be summarized to the effect that where a case has been presented in the court beyond limitation, the applicant has to explain the court as to what was the "sufficient cause" which means an adequate and enough reason which prevented him to approach the court within limitation. In case a party is found to be negligent, or for want of bona fide on his part in the facts and circumstances of the case, or found to have not acted diligently or remained inactive, there cannot be a justified ground to condone the delay. No court could be justified in condoning such an inordinate delay by imposing any condition whatsoever. The application is to be decided only within the parameters laid down by this court in regard to the condonation of delay. In case there was no sufficient cause to prevent a litigant to approach the court on time condoning the delay without any justification, putting any condition whatsoever, amounts to passing an order in violation of the statutory provisions and it tantamounts to showing utter disregard to the legislature".

11.The Hon'ble Supreme Court has clearly held that party who has not acted diligently or remain inactive is not entitled for condonation of delay. The Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of "R. B. Ramlingam vs. R. B. Bhavaneshwari, I (2009) CLT 188 (SC)" has also described the test for determining whether the petitioner has acted with due diligence or not. The Hon'ble Supreme Court has held as under:

"We hold that in each and every case the Court has to examine whether delay in filing the special appeal leave petitions stands properly explained. This is the basic test which needs to be applied. The true guide is whether the petitioner has acted with reasonable diligence in the prosecution of his appeal/petition."

12.Also in the case of "Anshul Aggarwal Vs. New Okhla Industrial Development Authority (2011) 14 SCC 578, the Hon'ble Supreme Court has warned the Commissions to keep in mind while dealing with such applications the special nature of the Consumer Protection Act. The Hon'ble Supreme Court has held as under:

"It is also apposite to observe that while deciding an application filed in such cases for condonation of delay, the Court has to keep in mind that the special period of limitation has been prescribed under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 for filing appeals and revisions in consumer matters and the object of expeditious adjudication of the consumer disputes will get defeated if this court was to entertain highly belated petitions filed against the orders of the consumer foras."

13.The State Commission has rightly dismissed the application for condonation of delay filed by the Petitioner as no sufficient cause was shown for condoning the inordinate delay of 1431 days. Since the application for condonation of delay was dismissed, the appeal stood dismissed.

14.In view of the above, we find no infirmity or illegality in the order passed by the State Commission. Revision Petition, therefore, stands dismissed.