PRINCIPAL Vs. V N JOSHI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This Civil Application has been filed seeking condonation of delay of 235 days in filing the Letters Patent Appeal.

(2.) Special Civil Application No.958/90 was decided by the learned single Judge on 3.3.2000 holding that the original petitioner was entitled to the benefit of Government Resolutions dated 18.1.89 and 8.12.89 and the clarificatory Circulars dated 24.4.90, 7.7.90 and 20.12.91 and accordingly the petitioner was found to be entitled for notional pay fixation in the higher scale for the period on and from 1.7.79 to 31.12.85 and his pay in the scale of Rs.1640-2900 with effect from 1.1.86 was required to be revised accordingly. The learned single Judge also held that the petitioner was entitled to the arrears of salary commencing from 1.1.86 and any amount paid to the petitioner by way of special allowance shall be adjusted against the amount, which may be found to be due and payable. However, no interest was granted. Further direction was issued that the exercise of revising the pay of the petitioner shall be completed within a period of 4 weeks from the date of the order i.e. from 3.3.2000 and the payment of the amount of difference of salary was to be paid within a period of 4 weeks thereafter. With the directions, as above, the Special Civil Application was allowed and the rule was made absolute.

(3.) Against this judgment and order dated 3.3.2000,Letters Patent Appeal was filed on 23.11.2000. The Appeal, as was filed on 23.11.2000, was not accompanied with any Application for condonation of delay. It appears that the Application for condonation of delay was prepared on 27.11.2000 and the same was filed on 22.12.2000. We called upon the learned AGP to show as to why the application for condonation of delay was not filed alongwith the Appeal and the only explanation, which has been given, is that the Officers of the Department were not called upon to explain the delay at the time when the Appeal was filed and they were told later on that the delay was required to be explained for filing the application for condonation of delay. The requirement of law is that any time barred appeal must be accompanied by an Application for condonation of delay, because it is known at the time of filing of the Appeal itself that the Appeal is time barred.