1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY NAGPUR BENCH, NAGPUR CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 1409/2009 IN FIRST APPEAL (st) NO.5901/2009 (The General manager, Central Railway vs. Smt.Leelabai w/o madhukarrao Kakapure and another ) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Office Notes, Memoranda of Coram, appearances, Court's orders or directions Court's or Judge's orders and Registrar's order Mr Alok Upasani ,Adv.for applicant Mr M P Gulhane, Adv.for Respondents Coram : A.P.BHANGALE, J. Dated : November 26, 2009 Heard. By this application, the applicant prays for condonation of delay of 38 days in filing the appeal, on the ground that after receiving copy of the impugned judgment, the appellant had to send the judgment to the office in order to seek legal opinion from the Law Officer at Bombay C.S.T. as to whether it is a fit case for preferring appeal. Later, the appeal was drafted but delay has occurred, which is neither intentional nor deliberate. 2. Learned counsel for respondent vociferously objected grant of application on the ground that no special treatment can be extended to the appellant merely because it is a public body. He made a reference to the ruling in Life Insurance Corporation Mumbai vs. S Parekh & Co. and others, reported in 2008(4) Mh.L.J. 816. Perused the citation. It 2 appears that in that case, the Division Bench of this Court, found that there was no any sufficient cause so as to condone the inordinate delay of ten years in order to seek the relief of setting aside the ex-parte decree and, therefore, observed that merely because it is a public body it cannot expect special treatment because mere holding of meetings by the officers of the appellant with Advocates for years was no justification to condone delay; nor it can be termed as the bona fide mistake by any stretch of imagination. As such, the application for condonation of delay was rejected. 3. In my view, the ruling cited would not be attracted in the facts and circumstances pleaded by this application as applicant was required to follow the official process to seek legal opinion as to whether the appeal has to be preferred or not; and after necessary sanction the appeal could be drafted and filed and hence the delay is condonable, of course, subject to costs of Rs. 250/- payable to the Respondent No.1 within four weeks. 4. Delay is condoned. Application is allowed accordingly. JUDGE. sahare