2000 (8) TMI 1039

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....harma and Complaint Case No. 323 of 1999 - entitled Shri Anand Prakash v. Shri B.B. Sharma the same are being disposed of by this common order. 2. The facts, relevant for the disposal of the abovementioned three appeals, lie in a narrow compass. The appellant Shri Anand Prakash had filed three separate complaints before the District Forum, under section 12 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 ('the Act'), alleging that he had deposited a sum of Rs. 1.40 lakhs, by way of loan, with Shri B.B. Sharma, Chairman, Hoffland Finance Ltd. who gave him 100 Equity Shares of Indian Rayon Industries Ltd.; 100 Shares of India Petro-Chemicals Corporation Ltd.; and 100 Shares of Reliance Industries Ltd., as a security against the abovesaid loan amount, ....

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....of the provisions contained in section 15 of the Act, the present appeals should have been filed within a period of thirty days of the order. However, proviso to above section provides that the State Commission may entertain an appeal even after the expiry of the abovesaid period of thirty days, if it is satisfied that there was sufficient cause for not filing the same within the abovesaid period. The words 'sufficient cause', occurring in proviso to section 15 of the Act are of utmost significance. As per settled law, culled out from various judicial decisions, the above expression 'sufficient cause', though deserves to receive a liberal construction, yet, a just and equitable balance has to be maintained between the right secured by the r....