Limitation Act condonation applies to special leave applications against acquittal where no express exclusion bars section 5.

Section 5 of the Limitation Act, 1963 applies to an application under section 378(4) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 because section 378(5) does not expressly exclude it. The article notes that, in line with earlier decisions, the absence of express exclusion allows condonation of delay on sufficient cause. Applying that approach, a seventeen-day delay supported by illness was accepted on a liberal, justice-oriented assessment, and the delay was condoned.

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Issues: Whether section 5 of the Limitation Act, 1963 applies to an application under section 378(4) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, and whether the seventeen-day delay in filing the application should be condoned.

Analysis: Section 378(5) prescribes a period of limitation for an application for special leave to appeal against acquittal, but it does not expressly exclude section 5 of the Limitation Act, 1963. In the absence of such express exclusion, and in view of the settled position in the Court's earlier decisions, section 5 remains applicable. On the facts, the delay was short and the explanation of illness was accepted in a liberal and pragmatic manner, consistent with the settled approach that sufficient cause should receive a justice-oriented construction.

Conclusion: Section 5 of the Limitation Act, 1963 applies to an application under section 378(4) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, and the delay stood condoned.

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