UNION OF INDIA Vs. DIGAMBER DATT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The applicants/appellants Union of India represented by the Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry of Home Affairs; the Director General of Assam Rifles; and the other Officers related with Assam Rifles seek to maintain intra-court appeals against the common order dated 23.03.2017, as passed in WP(C) Nos. 403 of 2014 and 311 of 2016 and as modified on 19.04.2017, whereby the learned Single Judge of this Court had accepted the claim of the writ petitioners (the respondents herein) for appropriate rank and pay scales as per the Fifth Central Pay Commission and the Office Memorandum dated 22.01.1998 and for other consequential reliefs; and has directed as under:-

(2.) As per the office report, these appeals, filed on 04.10.2017 and 05.10.2017 respectively, are barred by limitation by a period of 158 days; however, the applicants/appellants would calculate that the appeals are barred by limitation by 137 and 138 days respectively. Be that as it may, the applicants have filed respective applications seeking condonation of delay, inter alia, with the following submissions(Reproduced from MC (WA) No. 54 of 2017) :-

(3.) The respondent have filed objections to these applications while pointing out, inter alia, that the applicants had been seeking enlargement of time before the learned Single Judge for implementation of the impugned orders dated 23.03.2017 and have concealed such facts in these applications seeking condonation of delay. It is also contended that by the own showing of the applicants, the matters had been processed in a lackadaisical manner which shows want of due diligence on their part.