STATE OF GUJARAT Vs. PUNABHAI BHESIYABHAI GAMIT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present application has been preferred by the State for condonation of delay of 1573 days in preferring captioned First Appeal.

(2.) Mr. Vidit Sharma, learned advocate for the respondents submitted that, the Division Bench of this Court on 28/1/2021 in Civil Application No.3761 of 2019 in F/First Appeal No.23319 of 2019 with allied matters, had rejected all those applications, wherein condonation of delay of 1569 days had been sought.

(3.) While countering the same, Mr. Soaham Joshi, learned AGP for the applicants referred to the case of Karim Abdullah v. Heirs of Deceased Bail Hoorbai Jama & Ors ., reported in 1975 (16) GLR 835, to submit that ordinarily a litigant does not stand to benefit by lodging an appeal late and as per the principle laid down refusing to condone delay can result in a meritorious matter being thrown out at the very threshold and cause of justice being defeated. He submits that a pedantic unpragmatic approach should not be adopted and reasonable opportunity should be granted, since there is no presumption that delay is occasioned deliberately or on account of any culpable negligence or malafide.