.abs IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 6825 OF 2007 in FIRST APPEAL (S) NO. 28319 OF 2007 WITH CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 6827 OF 2007 in FIRST APPEAL (S) NO. 28315 OF 2007 WITH CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 6829 OF 2007 in FIRST APPEAL (S) NO. 28328 OF 2007 WITH CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 6831 OF 2007 in FIRST APPEAL (S) NO. 28332 OF 2007 WITH CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 6833 OF 2007 in FIRST APPEAL (S) NO. 28336 OF 2007 WITH CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 6835 OF 2007 in FIRST APPEAL (S) NO. 28340 OF 2007 WITH CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 6837 OF 2007 in FIRST APPEAL (S) NO. 28343 OF 2007 WITH CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 6839 OF 2007 in FIRST APPEAL (S) NO. 28355 OF 2007 WITH CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 6841 OF 2007 in FIRST APPEAL (S) NO. 28360 OF 2007 WITH CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 6843 OF 2007 in FIRST APPEAL (S) NO. 28367 OF 2007 WITH CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 6845 OF 2007 in FIRST APPEAL (S) NO. 28372 OF 2007 WITH CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 6847 OF 2007 in FIRST APPEAL (S) NO. 28377 OF 2007 WITH CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 6849 OF 2007 in FIRST APPEAL (S) NO. 28385 OF 2007 WITH CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 6851 OF 2007 in FIRST APPEAL (S) NO. 28389 OF 2007 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Office Notes, Office Memoranda of : coram, appearances, Court’s Orders: Court’s or Judge’s orders or directions and Registrar Orders: ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Mr.D.D. Shinde with Mr.U.B. Noghot for the applicant. Mr.A.R. Patil, A.G.P. for the respondent. CORAM : B.H. MARLAPALLE & D.G. KARNIK, JJ. DATE : 7TH JANUARY 2009 P.C. P.C. P.C. : . Heard Mr.Shinde with Mr.Nighot for the applicants. . These applications pray for condonation of delay caused in filing the First Appeals. . As per the office note, the appeal is beyond time by 628 days. Admittedly, the present applicant Corporation was impleaded as respondent no.3 before the Reference Court and the impugned award came to be passed on 6th July 2005. It is admitted by the applicants that certified - 3 - true copy of the said Award was received by them within the prescribed time. The applicants did not file appeal and it is stated before us that the Special Land Acquisition Officer had submitted a proposal to the Law and Judiciary Department and by the letter dated 23rd September 2006 the Law and Judiciary Department informed that no appeal was to be filed and the Award passed on 6th July 2005 in Land Reference No.700 of 2002 would be accepted. Mr.Shinde submitted that this letter of the Law and Judiciary Department was not made known to the applicant Corporation till April 2007. We have noted that the appeal has been filed on or about 4th September 2007. So even from 23rd September 2006 or from April 2007, the appeal has not been preferred within 90 days. At the same time, nothing prevented the applicant Corporation to file an appeal on its own and without waiting for the clearance from the Law and Judiciary Department of the Government of Maharashtra as soon as the certified true copies of the impugned Awards were received by it. The Corporation is an - 4 - autonomous body of the State of Maharashtra and it does not need any clearance from the State Government to file an appeal against the Awards passed by the Reference Court in respect of the land acquired for the applicant. It is evident from the record that all along the applicant has exhibited laxity in filing the appeal. We are therefore not inclined to condone the delay of 628 days caused in filing the appeals. . Hence, the applications are rejected. Consequently, the registration of First Appeals stands refused. (D.G. KARNIK, J.) (B.H. MARLAPALLE, J.)