(Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Abhay S. Oka, JJ.)
Civil Appeal Diary No. 19240/2021, decided on September 5, 2022
Union of India _________________________________ Appellant;
v.
Vodafone Mobile Services Ltd. ___________________ Respondent.
With
Diary No. 19347/2021
Civil Appeal Diary No. 19240/2021 and Diary No. 19347/2021
The Order of the court was delivered by
Order
1. The appellant seeks to file the present civil appeal(s) with delay of 737 days and expects us to condone the same because it happens to be the Government of India.
2. Now turning to the application explaining this delay of 737 days as set out in the different dates in paragraph 5: On 11.7.2018 it is stated that on acting upon the opinion of the Advocate of the Department a mail was sent to the DGT headquarters which took two months to respond. Thereafter a mail was sent to DGT headquarters on 05th October, 2018 and the entrustment took place two months later on 09th January 2019. On 16th April 2019 in pursuance to inter departmental communication, a brief of the case was mailed and thereafter it took seven months for the legal department on 18th November, 2019 to form an opinion. It took another two months thereafter till 24th January, 2020 to take necessary action.
3. A similar pattern continues on the dates as then on 19th March, 2020 the file is stated to have been returned with instructions of the Secretary (Telecom) to consult Ld. ASG dealing with the telecom cases to vet the appeal. It is opined that the legal advice was sought from the legal advisor on 09th September, 2020 after six months.
4. So much for the promptness of the department in prosecuting what is stated to be an important case!
5. We are faced with number of cases of this kind where the department has a view as if Supreme Court of India is a walk in place to approach whenever they feel like. Judgments of vintage, of 1980s, when computerization did not exist, are cited and that too in matters of land acquisition cases. We have repeatedly emphasized that the delay must be explained within the parameters of the judgment in Office of the Chief Post Master General v. Living Media India Ltd. reported as (2012) 3 SCC 563. Obviously, this case has been filed as “certificate case” to put a quietus to the matter and not to take action against delinquent officer(s) responsible for the delay. We refuse to be a part of such an endeavour and the appellant must pay for wastage of judicial time. We see no reason to adopt a different course of action than what one have adopted in State of Madhya Pradesh v. Bheru Lal [SLP [C] Diary No. 9217/2020 decided on 15.10.2020] and The State of Odisha v. Sunanda Mahakuda [SLP [C] Diary No. 22605/2020 decided on 11.01.2021] and The State of Uttar Pradesh v. Shri Ram Jokhan Dhuria [SLP [C] Diary No. 46625/2019, order dated 09.09.2021.
6. In our view, this is certainly not a sufficient cause to condone the delay but an endeavor to save the back of the officers who did not work when they were so expected to work. It is clear wastage of judicial time and thus we must follow the same path as followed earlier and dismiss the application for condonation of delay with a costs of Rs. 25,000/- with the Supreme Court Group ‘C’ (Non-Clerical) Employees Welfare Association to be recovered from the officers responsible for the delay. Consequently, the civil appeals are dismissed as time barred.
7. A certificate of recovery be filed within two months from today.
8. A copy of the order be placed before the concerned Secretary to the Government of India.
9. We clarify that when the appeal is being dismissed on the ground of limitation, naturally we have not examined the matter on merits.
SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
CIVIL APPEAL Diary No(s). 19240/2021
(Arising out of impugned final judgment and order dated 13-06-2018 in TP No. 100/2018 passed by the Telecom Disputes Settlement And Appellate Tribunal)
Union of India.….Petitioner(s)
v.
Vodafone Mobile Services Ltd..….Respondent(s)
(IA No. 109953/2021-CONDONATION OF DELAY IN FILING and IA No. 109951/2021-EXEMPTION FROM FILING C/C OF THE IMPUGNED JUDGMENT and IA No. 109949/2021-STAY APPLICATION)
WITH
Diary No(s). 19347/2021 (XVII)
(IA No. 120381/2021-EXEMPTION FROM FILING C/C OF THE IMPUGNED JUDGMENT and IA No. 120380/2021-EX-PARTE STAY and IA No. 120385/2021-CONDONATION OF DELAY IN FILING APPEAL and IA No. 120383/2021-PERMISSION TO FILE ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTS/FACTS/ANNEXURES)
Date: 05-09-2022 These matters were called on for hearing today.
(Before Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Abhay S. Oka, JJ.)
UPON hearing the counsel the Court made the following
ORDER
10. The civil appeals are dismissed as time barred in terms of the signed order.
11. Pending applications stand disposed of.
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