(B.V. Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan, JJ.)
Jittu Yadav _______________________________________ Appellant;
v.
State of Chhattisgarh and Others __________________ Respondent(s).
Criminal Appeal No. of 2026 (Arising out of Special Leave Petition (Crl.) No. 4727 of 2026), decided on May 27, 2026
The Judgement of the court was delivered by
OPERATIVE PORTION OF THE JUDGMENT
Nagarathna, J.:—
1. Leave granted.
2. It is noted that challenge to the order of externment dated 18.06.2025 passed by the District Magistrate, District Balodabazar-Bhatapara which was appealed against before the State Government was dismissed on the ground of delay vide order dated 03.10.2025. The same was challenged before the High Court of Chhattisgarh at Bilaspur in WPCR No. 548 of 2025 and also came to be dismissed vide judgment dated 16.10.2025. We have considered the correctness of the said order in light of the provisions of the Limitation Act, 1963 (for short, “Limitation Act”), particularly, Sections 29(2) and 5 thereof. We propose to allow the appeal and restore the appeal filed by the appellant herein before the State Government under Section 9 of the Chhattisgarh Rajya Suraksha Adhiniyam, 1990 (for short, “Adhiniyam”), so as to be disposed of in accordance with law.
3. In view of the ensuing summer vacation/partial Court working days of this Court commencing from 01.06.2026 and the last working day prior thereto being 29.05.2026, on allowing this appeal, we propose to indicate only the operative portion of our judgment and release the detailed judgment later, so that the appeal filed by the appellant herein before the State Government is restored and is heard on merits as the period of externment is ending on 18.06.2026. We hence indicate the operative portion of our judgment as under:
“In our view, both from the text of Section 9 and from the overall statutory scheme of the Adhiniyam, there is no indication that the legislature intended to exclude the operation of Section 5 of the Limitation Act. There is no contra provision in the Adhiniyam expressly for not condoning the delay if an application is filed beyond thirty days under subsection (1) of Section 9 of the Adhiniyam. In the absence of such exclusion, Section 5 of the Limitation Act operates, and delay in filing the appeal can be condoned upon sufficient cause being shown in accordance with Section 5 of the Limitation Act.
4. In the result, we conclude as follows:
a. Section 9 of the Adhiniyam does not bar the application of Section 5 of the Limitation Act.
b. No application under Section 5 of the Limitation Act seeking condonation of delay being before the State Government, the application for directions filed by the appellant being Crl. M.P. No. 150947 of 2026 before this Court is taken on record and is allowed. The delay in filing the appeal is condoned.
c. Accordingly, the appeal before the State Government under Section 9 of the Adhiniyam stands restored and shall be decided on its own merits and in accordance with law as expeditiously as possible and at any rate on or before 15.06.2026. The appellant shall appear before the State Government on 01.06.2026.
d. Resultantly, the Impugned Judgment dated 16.10.2025 passed by the High Court of Chhattisgarh at Bilaspur in WPCR No. 548 of 2025 is set aside.
5. The appeal stands disposed of in the aforesaid terms.
6. Pending application(s), if any, shall also stand disposed of.”
SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
PETITION(S) FOR SPECIAL LEAVE TO APPEAL (CRL.) NO(S).4727/2026
[ARISING OUT OF IMPUGNED FINAL JUDGMENT AND ORDER DATED 16-10-2025 IN WPCR NO. 548/2025 PASSED BY THE HIGH COURT OF CHHATISGARH AT BILASPUR]
Jittu Yadav.….Petitioner(s)
Versus
State of Chhattisgarh & Ors.….Respondent(s)
IA NO. 150947/2026 – Appropriate Orders/Directions
IA NO. 69524/2026 – Exemption from Filing C/c of the Impugned Judgment
IA NO. 69527/2026 – Exemption from Filing O.T.
UPON hearing the counsel the Court made the following
ORDER
OPERATIVE PORTION:
Leave granted.
The reportable operative portion of the judgment is placed on the file.
Appeal is disposed of.
Reasoned Judgment to follow.
Pending application(s), if any, shall stand disposed of.
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