MOVING SPARES INDIA Vs. A C C T

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS hearing is with respect to an application praying for condoning the delay in filing the application being revision case Nos. RN -417 of 2002 and RN -418 of 2002 Under Section 8 of the West Bengal Taxation Tribunal Act, 1987.

(2.) THE case of the petitioner is that the petitioner No. 1 is a partnership firm and petitioner No. 2 is one of the partners of the said firm. The petitioner filed previously one application Under Section 8 which was registered as RN -116 of 2002 and the petitioner's advocates at that time were Shri Goutam Narayan Chaudhury and Shri Alok Sur. The said application had been drafted by the said advocates and filed here on April 20, 2002. But in the month of August, 2002 the advocate Goutam Narayan Chaudhury informed the petitioner No. 2 that the said application (RN -116 of 2002) had been dismissed for default on June 17, 2002 due to failure of appearance of the said advocate on that date before this Tribunal. A restoration application was duly affirmed by the petitioner and copy of the same was served on August 27, 2002 on the Respondents with notice to the effect that restoration application would be listed on October 7, 2002 for order. Later, petitioner came to know from advocate Shri Goutam Narayan Chaudhury that the restoration application was not filed at all in the Tribunal with the affidavit of service. Due to such inaction and irresponsible conduct of the two learned advocates, the petitioner No. 2 asked them to hand over the copy of the application (RN -116 of 2002) and connected papers to enable him to engage another lawyer to get relief. Getting back the said copies, the petitioner in the middle of October, 2002 approached learned advocate Shri K.K. Saha for opinion on further course of action after handing over the copy of the earlier application to him. In the meantime, puja vacation intervened from October 23, 2002. Shri K.K. Saha, learned advocate opined for getting a fresh application drafted since the earlier one was not a proper application as per rules of pleadings. "Cease work" of the lawyers then started which continued till December 23, 2002 and thereafter this instant application being RN -417 of 2002 has been filed with a separate prayer for condoning the delay.

(3.) THE application praying for condoning the delay has been contested seriously by the learned State Representative.