Inordinate delay in filing the first appeal was condoned because...

Inordinate delay in filing the first appeal was condoned because the controlling test was the acceptability of the explanation, not the length of delay alone. Applying a liberal construction of "sufficient cause", the Tribunal accepted that multiple pending criminal proceedings and the assessee's confinement in jail were circumstances beyond his control. Refusal to condone would have shut out adjudication on merits, so the dismissal of the appeal on limitation was not sustained. The matter was restored to the CIT(A) for disposal on merits after giving the assessee a reasonable opportunity.

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