Gujarat HC’s 17-day delay rebuke comes 17 yrs later

AHMEDABAD: Gujarat high court recently rebuked the state government for delaying the filing of an appeal since it had lost trace of a file for 17 days. Interestingly, the rebuke came a good 17 years after the appeal urging the HC to pardon the delay was filed in 1998. Hearing on the appeal took place for the first time recently in August 2015.
In the appeal, the government had clarified that the delay was the result of a file that was untraceable for 17 days since a clerk in the state social welfare department first went on casual leave and was transferred later.
Refusing to pardon the delay after all these years, Justice G R Udhwani came down heavily for the “vague explanation”. “The rules contemplate handing over of the charge by the employee on leave to another employee so that public work does not suffer… The so-called loss of file for about 17 days is nothing but a negligent act and cannot be considered a good ground for condoning the delay,” Justice Udhwani said.
The case is quite curious too. A special court in Mehsana ordered the social welfare department to pay compensation to a victim of caste atrocity. The trial completed in 1997 proved that the beneficiary was no victim of caste violence. The court ordered the government in July 1997 to recover the compensation amount from the beneficiary.
After some delay in deciding, the state government filed an appeal arguing that neither the department nor the victim was heard by the trial court before passing the recovery order. It also argued that there is no rule for such a recovery.
But the HC has now observed that only a victim can raise grievance against the order of recovery. “Why should the social welfare department have any issue against the court order when it is in its favour?” court asked.