This appeal under Section 19 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 (for short ‘the Act’) has been filed by the Managing Director, Kerala Water Authority, with an application for condonation of delay of 336 days (as per office report), which is over and above the Statutory period of 90 days as prescribed in Regulation 14 of the Consumer Protection Regulations, 2005 (for short ‘the Regulations”). The explanation furnished in the application for condonation of delay is that the certified copy of the judgment was received on 12.02.2013; after going through the judgment it was decided to file appeal before this Hon’ble Commission; the records could not be forwarded to the Counsel in Delhi for preparing the appeal, because in the meanwhile, the office of the appellant was shifted from the existing office to a new building; in the shifting process, accidently the records got misplaced and could be traced and entrusted with the lawyer at Delhi only in the month of December, 2013; Counsel immediately, on receipt of the records, drafted the appeal and the same could be filed only on 02.01.2014. It is pleaded that there was no deliberate delay on the part of the appellant and whatever delay has been caused, it is due to the circumstances beyond their control. We are not at all satisfied with the above explanation. The assertions made in the application are utterly vague. Except for mentioning the dates of receipt of copy of the order and filing of this appeal, there is no indication as to when and how the record was traced out and sent to the Lawyer at Delhi after ten months of receipt of copy on 12.02.2013. Having regard to the observations of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Anshul Aggarwal V. New Okhla Industrial Development Authority, (2011) 14 SCC 578, wherein it has held that while deciding the application filed for condonation of delay, the Court has to keep in mind that the special period of limitation has been prescribed under the Act for filing appeals and revisions in consumer matters and the object of expeditious adjudication of the consumer disputes will get defeated if the appeals and revisions which are highly belated are entertained, we are not convinced that a sufficient cause has been made out by the appellant for condonation of delay of 336 days. Consequently, the first appeal is dismissed as barred by limitation. |
