Union Of INDIA And Anr vs. M/S Pan Parag INDIA LTD.
Held
The Court held that the reasons assigned by the applicants for the delay of 141 days in filing the accompanying appeal appear to be bonafide. In view of these reasons and in the interest of justice, the Court decided to condone the delay. The Court found the application for condonation of delay to be meritorious. The ratio decidendi is that where the reasons for delay are bonafide and the condonation serves the interest of justice, the High Court may condone such delay in filing an appeal. The operative direction was to allow the interlocutory application, condone the delay, and direct the Registry to number the appeal and list it for hearing.
Facts
This matter concerns an interlocutory application (I.A. Civil No. 375/2020) filed by the Union of India and the Assistant Commissioner, Central Tax, Central GST Division, Jorhat (the applicants/appellants) seeking condonation of a delay of 141 days in filing an appeal. The appeal is against an order dated 07.03.2019 passed by a learned Single Judge in WP(C) No. 59/2019. The respondent is M/s Pan Parag India Ltd. The applicants argue that the reasons for the delay are bonafide. The application was heard by the Gauhati High Court.
Key Issues
1. Whether the delay of 141 days in filing the appeal against the order dated 07.03.2019 passed in WP(C) 59/2019 should be condoned. The applicants, Union of India and the Assistant Commissioner, Central Tax, Jorhat, argued that the reasons provided for the delay in filing the appeal were bonafide and that condoning the delay would be in the interest of justice. The respondent, M/s Pan Parag India Ltd., did not present any arguments against the condonation of delay as recorded in the judgment. The Court had to decide whether to accept the applicants' explanation for the delay.
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
Page No.# 1/2 GAHC010033922020
THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT (HIGH COURT OF ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH) Case No. : I.A.(Civil)/375/2020 UNION OF INDIA AND ANR REPRESENTED BY THE SECRETARY, MINISTRY OF FINANCE, DEPARTMENT OF BANKING AND REVENUE, HAVING ITS OFFICE AT NORTH BLOCK, NEW DELHI-110011 2: THE ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER CENTRAL TAX CENTRAL GST DIVISION JORHAT STATION GODOWN ROAD JORHAT ASSAM PI VERSUS M/S PAN PARAG INDIA LTD. (FORMERLY KOTHARI PRODUCTS LIMITED), A COMPANY DULY INCORPORATED UNDER THE COMPANIES ACT, 1956 HAVING ITS REGD. OFFICE AT PAN PARAG HOUSE, 24/19, THE MALL, KANPUR- 208001 HAVING ONE OF ITS UNIT AT A-1 TO A-4, INDUSTRIAL ESTATE, CINNAMARA, JORHAT- 785008 Advocate for the Petitioner : MR. B SARMAH Advocate for the Respondent : DR. A SARAF
Page No.# 2/2 Linked Case : WA (Filing Number) 12408/2019 UNION OF INDIA AND ANR VERSUS M/S PAN PARAG INDIA LTD. ------------ Advocate for : Advocate for : appearing for M/S PAN PARAG INDIA LTD.
BEFORE HONOURABLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTIC
The judgment continues below.
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