Aggrieved by the order dated 27.1.2006 passed by the Karnataka State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Bangalore (in short, ‘the State Commission’) in Complaint Case no.132 of 2001, the opposite party no.2 before the State Commission has filed the present appeal. The complaint before the State Commission is related to medical negligence/deficiency in service in giving treatment to the complainant. The State Commission has partly allowed the complaint by directing the appellant and the hospital to pay compensation of Rs.Two Lacs with interest @ 6% per annum from the date of complaint till realisation besides cost of Rs.2,000/-.

          The appeal has been filed after an undue delay of 1315 days and an application for condonation of delay has been filed along with the appeal. The only reason for the said delay given in the application vaguely averred as pre-occupation of the appellant with her professional commitments due to which she could not find time to file the appeal within the prescribed period of limitation.

In our view this cannot be considered to be sufficient reason for condoning the undue delay of about four years in filing the appeal. It would appear to us that the appellant had full knowledge of the passing of the impugned order as well as filing of the first appeal no. 135 of 2006 filed by the St. John Medical College Hospital as far as back in the year 2006 itself. If she was really aggrieved with the impugned order and findings of the State Commission, she could not have waited for so long to challenge the same in this Commission.

In the circumstances, we are  not  inclined to condone the delay and dismiss the appeal on this score alone.