Order No. 20 date: 18-10-2019

Sri Shyamal Gupta, Member

This day is fixed for passing order in respect of IA/990/2019.

By filing this petition, it is submitted by the Petitioner/OP that though it submitted survey report along with the WV, in this case, certain facts are required to be established before this Commission for proper adjudication of this case for which, evidence is required to be adduced by the Surveyor without which OP would not be able to establish its defence properly before this Commission.  Accordingly, the OP prayed for due liberty to adduce evidence of the Surveyor.

By filing WO, it is submitted by the Complainant that, in this case, OP filed WV and evidence in the year 2017.  Subsequently, following due process of law, this Commission fixed 11-12-2018 for final hearing.  On the date fixed, at the prayer of the OP, the date of final hearing was refixed on 06-05-2019.  On that day too, hearing of the case could not be started in view of the resolution passed by the Bar Council of West Bengal. Thereafter, on 13-09-2019, the OP moved the instant IA.  Terming it as a dilatory tactics on the part of the OP, the Complainant prayed for summary rejection of the IA.

Having heard both sides and on perusal of the documents on record, we find that no plausible ground is shown by the OP to justify the necessity of filing evidence on behalf of the Surveyor concerned.  Although it asserted that ‘certain facts are required to be established before this Commission for proper adjudication of the case’, there is virtually no clarity as to what actually are those ‘certain facts’ and why the same is so crucial for proper adjudication of this case and lastly, why due steps were not taken in this regard two years ago. 

We cannot be oblivious of the fact that this beneficial legislation has been enacted for expeditious disposal of cases and in fact, time limit for disposal of cases has also been set out in the statute.  The complaint case was filed in the year 2016 and even after 3 years, the matter could not be disposed of for one reasons or the other.  In view of this, we do not deem it appropriate to turn the clock back at this stage, particularly when the inevitability of such move is not duly explained.

In view of this, we are constrained to reject this petition.  Fix 23-03-2020 for final hearing.