spb/- 1 ca1606-09.sxw IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CIVIL APPELLATE SIDE JURISDICTION CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 1606 OF 2009 IN FIRST APPEAL (ST.) NO. 8064 OF 2009 New India Assurance Co. Ltd., ... Applicant/Appellant. V/s. 1 Shri Premnarayan Gangabhushan Shukla & Ors. ... Respondents. --- Mr. Ramesh Cheulkar for the Applicant/Appellant. Mr. Sagar Joshi for the Respondent Nos.1 & 2. ----- CORAM : D. G. KARNIK, J. DATE : 14th FEBRUARY, 2011. P.C. 1 Heard learned counsel for the applicant/appellant and the learned counsel for the respondent nos. 1 and 2. None present for the respondent No.3 though served. 2 By this application the applicant prays for condonation of delay of over three months in filing of an appeal. 3 The reasons given for condonation of delay are routine and find place in almost every appeal filed by the present applicant - insurance company. The impugned judgment and award was passed on 30th July, 2008. Certified copy was applied late. It was not applied on the next spb/- 2 ca1606-09.sxw date but after more than a week. Certified copy was ready on 30th September, 2008 and was not collected for 18 days and collected only on 18th October, 2008. The delay caused in making late application for the certified copy as also the delay caused for not collecting the certified copy for 18 days after it was ready is not explained. Then it is stated in the application that the certified copy was received from the Advocate on 24th November, 2008. Why the certified copy which was collected on 18th October, 2008 was not received by the Insurance Company for more than a month from October 18, 2008 is not explained in the application. It is then stated that the copy reached by the regional office from the branch office on 19th December, 2008. The delay of over a month in sending the copy by the branch office to the regional office is also not explained. The regional office took nearly four weeks to take further steps and sought opinion of an Advocate only after 14th January, 2009 on intimation from the head office. This delay is also not explained. Then it is stated that the final decision to go for appeal was taken on 28th January, 2009 and it was communicated to the Advocate on 3rd February, 2009. The Appeal memo was signed and even verified before a notary public on 2nd March, 2009 but was not lodged on the same day but was lodged only after four days thereafter i.e. on 6th March, 2009. Thus there is a delay at every stage. This delay at an every stage has not been explained at all except by making a general statement : “ the delay is not intentional nor caused due to negligence or deliberate”. On the other hand the delay is caused because of negligence at every stage and that has culminated into a delay of over three months. 4 However, taking into consideration that the appellant is a spb/- 3 ca1606-09.sxw nationalized Insurance Company, the delay is condoned subject to the payment of exemplary costs by the appellant company which shall be recovered by it from the officers responsible. The application is allowed and the delay is condoned subject to payment of costs of Rs. 15,000/- as a condition precedent. Costs shall be deposited in this court within a period of four weeks. 5 If the costs are deposited, the original claimants are permitted to withdraw the costs. If the costs are not deposited in this court within four weeks, then application shall stand rejected and consequently, the appeal shall also stand dismissed as barred by limitation. 6 The appellant company shall be entitled to reimburse itself by recovering the costs from the officer/officers who are responsible for the delay in filing of an appeal. [D.G. KARNIK, J.]