FAO No. 1103 of 2009 (O&M) 1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH -- FAO No. 1103 of 2009 (O&M) Date of decision: August 31, 2009 M/s Shree Ganesh Rice and General Mills, Malerkotla, District Sangrur ........ Appellant Versus The Punjab State Civil Supplies Corporation Limited and others .......Respondent(s) Coram: Hon'ble Ms Justice Nirmaljit Kaur -.- Present: Mr. S P Garg, Advocate for the Appellant Mr, C S Bakshi, Advocate for the respondents -.- 1. Whether Reporters of local papers may be allowed to see the judgement? 2. To be referred to the Reporter or not? 3. Whether the judgement should be reported in the Digest? Nirmaljit Kaur, J. The Punjab State Civil Supplies Corporation Limited (PUNSUP), had challenged the award dated 07.04.2008 passed by the Arbitrator before the District Judge, Sangrur, who set aside the same vide judgement dated 16.10.2008 and remanded the case back to the Arbitrator, to decide the same afresh in consonance with the agreement dated 02.11.1994. Vide the same order, the appellant-miller was also directed to attend the office of the Managing Director, PUNSUP on 29.11.2007 at 10.00 a.m. for further proceedings. After remand, the Arbitrator started the proceedings. No appeal was filed against the aforesaid FAO No. 1103 of 2009 (O&M) 2 judgement dated 16.10.2008. Thereafter, after a delay of more than 400 days, the present appeal has been filed accompanied with an application for condonation of delay of 407 days on the ground that a similar issue has been decided by the High Court only on 06.08.2008 in FAO No. 2696 of 2007. It was stated that the appellant decided to suddenly challenge the order dated 16.10.2008 after the passing of the judgement dated 06.08.2008 in an other case. An explanation for delay on the ground that a judgement having been passed in a similar case i.e. in FAO No. 2696 of 2007 cannot be made a ground to condone the colossal delay of 407 days in filing the present appeal. Even otherwise on merits, a perusal of the judgement dated 06.08.2008 passed in FAO No. 2696 of 2007, shows that it was passed on the basis of consensus having been arrived at between the parties. As such, no law point has been decided in the same so as to enable the appellant-miller to apply the same judgement in the facts of this very case. It was also not denied that the appellant miller has started appearing before the Arbitrator, who too has commenced the proceedings. Thus, there is no merit in the appeal either. Accordingly, the application for condonation of delay as well as the appeal is dismissed being devoid of merits. (Nirmaljit Kaur) Judge August 31, 2009 mohan