HON’BLE MR. SUDEB MITRA, PRESIDING MEMBER  

Order No. :

Date : 13.09.2024 

     Being aggrieved by and dissatisfied with the judgement and final order dated 16.03.2023 passed by the Ld. DCDRC, Bankura in CC/82/2016, on contest, allowing the complaint case No. 82/2016 in part, in favour fo the complainant of CC/82/2016, Pabitra Banerjee, the complainant of CC/82/2016 preferred Appeal No. A/37/2013 dated 19.05.2023 together with IA/59/2023 dated 19.05.2023 seeking condonation of delay in filing A/37/2023 dated 19.05.2023 against the judgement of CC/82/2016 dated 16.03.2023.

    By filing the instant petition (IA/59/2023 dated 19.05.2023) the applicant/complainant Dr. Pabitra Banerjee submitted that his parents are both elderly persons and are beyond 70 years of age and are both sick with various old age ailments needing constant attention both medically nd physically. Besides the application’s wife was laid up with high fever and was under medical treatment from 06.05.2023 for a considerable span of time. It is asserted by the applicant that because of these compelling reasons, the applicant/appellant/complainant Dr. Pabitra Banerjee could not meet the Ld. Counsel within 45 days from the date of pronouncement of judgement of CC/82/2016 and delayed in filing Appeal against the judgement of CC/82/2016 and that could be done from his part after the recovery of health of the applicant’s wife Sumana Ghosal @ Banerjee on 17.05.2023. It is pressed from the end of the applicant that on 19.05.2023 this Appeal could be ready and filed on that day.

    By filing the instant IA/59/2023 dated 19.05.2023, the applicant has prayed for condonation of delay of 11 days (according to the Applicant’s assessment) in filing the Appeal (A/37/2023 dated 19.05.2023) before this Commission.     

     Heard the contesting sides in respect of this IA.

Point for consideration

Now it is to be determined as to whether the instant IA/59/2023 dated 19.05.2023 praying for condonation of delay in preferring Appeal A/37/2023 dated 19.05.2023 against the judement of CC/82/2016 pronounced on contest on 16.03.2023, deserves positive consideration or not.    

Decision with reasons

    It appears from the available materials on record that CC/82/2016, against the judgement of which Appeal A/37/2023 dated 19.05.2023 is intended to be preferred by the complainant of CC/82/2016 i.e. by the Applicant of the IA/59/2023 dated 19.05.2023 Dr. Pabitra Banerjee, the said CC/82/2016 was filed on 23.11.2016 before the Ld. DCDRC, Bankur. So, the Appeal period to prefer, against the judgement of CC/82/2016 dated 16.03.2023, is 30 (thirty) days from the date of pronouncement of judgement of CC/82/2016 dated 16.03.2023, as per scopes of Sec. 15 of the C.P. Act of 1986, which has been governing the procedure of CC/82/2016, as per scopes of the C.P. Act of 1986, on it’s being filed on 23.11.2016, i.e. much prior to coming into existence of C.P. Act of 2019 on 20.07.2020, 24.07.2020 respectively, where the statutory time to prefer Appeal against the judgement of any complaint case pronounced by any DCDRC is 45 days from the date of pronouncement of judgement with certain latitude granted in the relevant section of C.P. Act of 2019 that deals with the time stipulation for preferring Appeal against the judgement of any complaint case, passed by the concerned Ld. DCDRC.

     Having regard to the available materials on record, I feel inclined to hold that there was delay of more than 11 (eleven) days, as claimed by the Applicant/Appellant Dr. Pabitra Banerjee, in preferring the Appeal against the judgement of CC/82/2016 dated 16.03.2023 since the CC/82/2016 was filed as per scopes of C.P. Act of 1986, on 23.11.2016.

    Here in this case, from the judgement of CC/82/2016 dated 16.03.2023, the Appeal must have been preferred by 15.04.2023 instead of 19.05.2023 as per scopes of Sec. 15 of C.P. Act of 1986, that governs the provisions of proceedings of CC/82/2016 since, I run the risk of repetition, it was filed on 23.11.2016, much prior to the coming into existence of C.P. Act of 2019, in July 2020.

    This appears further from the materials on record that no time was wasted for proceeding the complaint case of the judgement of CC/82/2016 from the day of filing application for that purpose, by the applicant/complainant of CC/82/2016.

    However, considering the submissions of both sides, irrefuted claims of sufferings of the elderly parents of the applicant that consumes much of his allocable time for preparation for preferring the Appeal against the judement of his filed CC/82/2016, in the absence of assessment that there was deliberate causation of delay or gross negligence on the part of the applicant/appellant in preferring Appeal and taking into consideration that substantial justice being paramount and pivotal and for that reason technical consideration should not be given undue and uncalled for emphasis, having regard to the scopes of Sec. 15 of C.P. Act of 1986, the instant payer of the application for condonation of delay in preferring the Appeal A/37/2023 is allowed for the ends of justice.

     Hence, it is

                        Ordered

    That the IA/59/2023 filed by the Applicant Dr. Pabitra Banerjee seeking condonation of delay in preferring A/37/2023 is allowed on contest but without cost.

    Accordingly, 20.12.2024 is fixed for hearing of A/37/2023 before this Commission at Asansol West Bengal.

Both sides must come ready on the date fixed.

Free copies of this order be furnished free of cost to the contested parties of this IA forthwith as perscopes of the C.P. Act of 1986, relevant rules and regulations as amended time to time.