STATE BANK OF INDIA Vs. NEERMALI DAS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In Collector, Land Acquisition Anantnag and Anr. Vs. Mst. Katiji & Ors., reported in AIR 1987 SC 1353 Thakkar, J. while dealing with the question of condonation of delay observed :

(2.) The Debts Recovery Tribunal dismissed the Original Application No. 70 of 1998 filed by the State Bank of India, an instrumentality of State, on totally erroneous ground, according to the appellant. Being aggrieved by the same the appellant herein filed an appeal before the learned appellate Tribunal together with an application under Section 20(3) of the said Act, praying for condonation of delay of 65 days in preferring the appeal.

(3.) In the said application the appellant herein in clear and specific term pleaded that all the material papers including the certified copy of the order of the Debts Recovery Tribunal obtained on 24th June 2002 were in the custody of the learned Standing counsel for the Bank. The Bank requested the counsel vide letter dated 20th June 2002 to supply all the relevant papers in order to prefer the appeal against the judgment and order of the learned Tribunal, but, as the said learned Counsel did not supply the material papers, the Bank by its letter dated 9.7.02 requested the said Counsel for fixing a date for enabling the appellant to collect the relevant papers from his residence but there has been no response. The appellant in the circumstances was constrained to address letters dated 24.7.02, 7.8.02, 23.8.02, 11.9.02, 24.9.02 and 3.10.02 requesting the learned counsel to hand over the papers in order to enable the Bank to prefer an appeal. These letters have been annexed to the application and marked as Annexure 'B' to 'B-7' respectively.