The HC allowed the petitions, holding the appeals were...

The HC allowed the petitions, holding the appeals were instituted within the extended limitation and therefore not time-barred. The court set aside the impugned orders and restored the petitioners' appeals to the appellate authority for fresh adjudication on merits in accordance with law. The HC relied on a comparable Division Bench decision of Patna HC which observed that the notification relied upon predated the purported cut-off, undermining any rationale for denying filing on the ground of limitation. Consequently, the petitions were allowed and the matter remitted for reconsideration by the appellate authority.