Condonation of delay may be granted for a short, bona fide lapse where limitation was not timely disputed and prejudice is absent.

A short delay in filing an appeal may be treated as condonable where, after excluding the time taken to obtain the certified copy, the delay falls within the applicable grace period and no timely objection to limitation was raised. The Tribunal also treated the record as showing a bona fide misunderstanding arising from the Registry note and held that prejudice was not demonstrated. It further stated that a separate written application for condonation is not indispensable where relief can otherwise be granted under the law of limitation. On that basis, the recall request was rejected and the earlier order was left undisturbed.

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Issues: Whether the recall application should be allowed on the ground that the earlier appeal was filed beyond the statutory period without a separate written application for condonation of delay.

Analysis: The appeal was found to be delayed only marginally and, after excluding the time taken for obtaining the certified copy, the delay was treated as falling within the grace period prescribed for condonation. The absence of any objection to limitation at the relevant stage was treated as significant, and the record was viewed as supporting a bona fide misunderstanding arising from the Registry note. The Tribunal further held that a written application for condonation is not indispensable where relief can otherwise be granted under the law of limitation.

Conclusion: The recall prayer was rejected and the delay-based challenge to the earlier order was not accepted.

Final Conclusion: The order dated 23.05.2025 was left undisturbed, and the application seeking recall was dismissed for want of merit.

Ratio Decidendi: A short delay within the condonable period may be treated as condoned where no timely objection to limitation was raised and prejudice is not shown, and a written application for condonation is not mandatory under Section 5 of the Limitation Act, 1963.

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