Sufficient cause for condoning delay must be proved with material evidence; inadequate medical proof will not justify revision interference.

Delay of more than 140 days in filing appeals could be condoned only on proof of sufficient cause under Section 20(2) of the Karnataka Sales Tax Act, 1957. The medical certificate and supporting materials were found inadequate because they did not show the period of treatment, inability to move, or any circumstance preventing the assessee from carrying on business or filing the appeals in time. The delay was treated as attributable to negligence, and the revisional court declined interference because the factual finding that no sufficient cause was shown was neither perverse nor based on disregard of relevant material.

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Issues: Whether the delay of more than 140 days in filing the appeals against the assessment and penalty orders was liable to be condoned on the basis of the medical certificate and other materials, and whether the finding that no sufficient cause was shown called for interference in revision.

Analysis: Section 20(2) of the Karnataka Sales Tax Act, 1957 empowers the appellate authority to admit an appeal filed beyond thirty days only if sufficient cause for the delay is shown. The appellate authority and the Tribunal examined the medical certificate and found that it did not disclose the period of treatment, inability to move, or any material showing that the assessee was prevented from attending business activities or from filing the appeal within time. The Tribunal also found that the delay was attributable to negligence. The revisional court noted that, although a liberal approach is desirable in condonation matters, sufficient cause must still be established and the fact-finding authority's conclusion can be interfered with only if it is perverse or ignores relevant material.

Conclusion: The finding that sufficient cause was not shown for condonation of delay was upheld and no interference was made in revision.

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