DEVENDRA KUMAR GOEL Vs. PEARLS INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS LIMITED

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present First Appeal (FA) has been filed by the Appellant against the order dtd. 26/9/2017 of the State Commission Punjab in CC No. 382/2016. The First Appeal has been filed with a delay of 2321 days as per calculations made by the Registry of NCDRC.

(2.) In order to condone the delay in filing the First Appeal, the Appellant has to satisfy this Commission that there was sufficient cause for preferring the FA after the stipulated limitation period. An IA No. 6275 of 2024 dtd. 10/2/2024 has been filed u/s 5 of the Limitation Act seeking condonation of delay. In the said IA, period of delay mentioned is 78 months and following reasons for delay/grounds for condonation have been mentioned:-

(3.) A perusal of the records before us show that the impugned order of the State Commission was pronounced on 26/9/2017 and the present First Appeal has been filed on 17/4/2024 i.e. after a period of 2395 days. Allowing the period of 44 days for obtaining the first free certified copy of the impugned order which was obtained on 9/11/2017, and the statutory permissible period of 30 days, as well as covid exempted period from 15/3/2020 to 28/2/2022 and granting them an additional 90 days from 1/3/2022 i.e. till 29/5/2022 as per judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court, the delay in filing the First Appeal comes to 1515 days.