JHARKHAND HIGH COURT ISSUES ORDER ON THE DISTRICT LAND ACQUISITION OFFICER V/S JYOTISH MAHTO AND ORS.

RANCHI, India, Aug. 5 -- Jharkhand High Court issued the following order on July 4:

1. This application is filed under Section 5 of the Limitation Act, 1963 by the applicants to condone the delay of 219 days in filing the Letters Patent Appeal challenging the judgment dt. 20.06.2024 of the learned Single Judge in W.P. (S) No. 3450 of 2018.

2. In the application seeking condonation of delay, it is stated that due to unforeseen circumstances the said delay occurred in filing the Letters Patent Appeal.

3. According to the applicant, staff of the applicant went on strike from 22.07.2024 to 21.08.2024; that the first respondent was asked to submit certain documents to the Land Acquisition Office within 10 days of notice dt. 18.09.2024; Model Code of Conduct was issued in the month of October 2024 for the Jharkhand Assembly Election; the respondents submitted the required documents to the Land Acquisition Office in January 2025; the Circle Officer was directed on 17.01.2025 to enquire into and submit a report on the Jamabandi of the disputed land to be made available within 24 hours; he gave such a report on 18.01.2025; thereafter, more time was consumed in drafting and preparation of the Letters Patent Appeal; and then the Letters Patent Appeal was filed on 24.02.2025.

4. The record reveals that the applicant had applied for issuance of certified copy of the impugned judgment on 07.02.2025, though the judgment of the learned Single Judge had been pronounced on 20.06.2024. No reason is assigned why the applicant-State could not even apply for the certified copy of the impugned judgment of the learned Single Judge till the said date.

5. Moreover, the plea of the applicant that the respondent was asked to submit certain documents to Land Acquisition Office cannot be accepted because there was already an adjudication of the claim of the respondent in the writ petition in favour of the respondent. Nothing prevented the applicant from filing the appeal within a period of 30 days from the date of judgment of the learned Single Judge, because the judgment was pronounced in presence of the counsel for the applicant.

6. The coming into force of Model Code of Conduct for the Jharkhand Assembly Election could not constitute any bar for filing the appeal within the period of limitation because it came into effect in October 2024, by which time the time for filing appeal had already expired.

7. The applicant has clearly been negligent in taking steps to file the appeal within the time permitted by law and no sufficient cause has been shown for condoning the inordinate delay of 219 days n filing the Letters patent Appeal.

8. Therefore, the application for condonation of delay is dismissed. Consequently, the Letters Patent Appeal is also dismissed.

9. All pending applications shall stand closed.

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