Pendency for Kar Vivad Samadhan Scheme turns on filing and numbering of appeal, not later limitation dismissal.

An appeal that was lodged and numbered before the declaration date under the Kar Vivad Samadhan Scheme, 1998 was treated as pending for scheme eligibility, even though it was later dismissed as time-barred. The decisive factor was whether an appeal, reference or writ petition was admitted and pending on the date of declaration, not its eventual fate. The revenue's view that prior condonation of delay was necessary before pendency could be recognised was not accepted. On that construction, pendency arose once the appeal was presented and taken on file, and rejection under the Scheme was unsustainable.

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Issues: Whether an appeal already filed and numbered, but later dismissed as time-barred, could be treated as pending on the date the declaration was made under the Kar Vivad Samadhan Scheme, 1998, so as to make the Scheme applicable.

Analysis: The Scheme excluded cases where no appeal, reference or writ petition was admitted and pending on the date of declaration. The appeal had been lodged and numbered before the declaration was filed, and the rejection of the appeal as time-barred came only later. The decisive question was the existence of pendency on the date of declaration, not the eventual fate of the appeal. The construction urged by the revenue, requiring prior condonation of delay before treating the appeal as pending, was not accepted. Pendency was held to exist once the appeal was presented and taken on file, even if it was later found to be barred by limitation.

Conclusion: The declaration was filed when the appeal was pending, and the rejection under the Scheme was unsustainable.

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