2019 (12) TMI 1136

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.... heirs has been filed under Section 28 of FEMA, 1999 and rules made thereunder read with order XXII, Rules 4 & 5 CPC read with Section 151 CPC and Section 5 of the Limitation Act on dated 01.11.2018 by the Company M/s. Sree Sanjay Agro Traders Pvt. Ltd. represented by authorized signatory/director Shri Sanjay Kumar alongwith a copy of death certificate dated 14.11.2017 issued by Municipal Corporation Guntur. In the said common application, it is contended that Shri M. Ramesh Babu died on 26.10.2017. 3. On 07.05.2019, the learned counsel for the appellants sought time to file condonation of delay application for delay in filing the substitution of legal heirs application and time was allowed to file the same. An application for condonation of delay was filed on 27.05.2019. In the said application, the proposed LRs of the deceased prayed to condone the delay of 296 days in filing the application for substitution of Legal Representatives/Heirs inter alia on the following grounds: a) That by Order dated 07.05.2019, this Hon‟ble Tribunal has given liberty to the Appellant to file an Application for Condonation of Delay in filing Application for Substitutions of LRs in ....

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....of 296 days in filing the application for substitution may kindly be condoned in the interest of justice otherwise irreparable loss and injury would be caused to the Appellants and the Legal Heirs of the deceased Sh. Ramesh Babu Muppalaneni, the Managing Director of the Appellant Company i.e. M/s. Sanjay Agro Traders (P) Ltd., Guntur." 4. On the other hand, reply has been filed on behalf of the respondent wherein, inter-alia following grounds have been taken with a prayer to dismiss the application as no sufficient cause has been shown in the application: a) In the present case, the Appellant took the plea that "that the family members are totally dejected and sad due to the sad demise of their near and dear one and by also said effect of the said Impugned Order. That this fact could not be on record primarily due to such sad situation in the family and also due to honest oversight." b) Even though assuming without prejudice to the oral arguments and the stand of the Respondent, that the family members were in grief of the loss, the Advocate representing the Appellants should have moved an application for bringing the legal heirs on record. The applica....

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....resaid reasons are general in nature. There is a huge delay of 370 days in filing the application. It is not the case of the proposed appellants that they are not aware of the pendency of the appeals before Appellate Tribunal, it is also not the case that the proposed LRs were not running the Company or that the Company was closed after the sad demise of deceased appellant for one year. 7. The main consideration before this Tribunal is whether there are sufficient causes on the part of the proposed LRs in filing the application for substitutions of LRs. As per the Judgment passed by Hon‟ble Supreme Court in Katari Suryanarayana & Ors. Vs. Koppisetti Subba Rao & Ors. 2009 (11) SCC 183, their Lordships noted certain principles applicable for the purpose of considering applications for setting aside abetment. The principles are reproduced below: "(i) The words "sufficient cause for not making the application within the period of limitation‟ should be understood and applied in a reasonable, pragmatic, practical and liberal manner, depending upon the facts and circumstances of the case, and the type of case. The words "sufficient cause‟ in Section 5 of the ....

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....ia in the Civil Appellate Jurisdiction in Civil Appeal Nos.8183-8184 of 2013 arising out of S.L.P. (C) Nos. 24868-24869 of 2011 in the matter of Esha Bhattacharjee Vs. Managing Committee of Raghunathpur Nafar Academy and others, their Lordships noted certain principles applicable for the purpose of introducing liberal construction normally is to introduce the concept of reasonableness as it is understood in its general connotation. The relevant paras of the judgment are reproduced below: "12. A reference to the principle stated in Balwant Singh (dead) v. Jagdish Singh and others[15] would be quite fruitful. In the said case the Court referred to the pronouncements in Union of India v. Ram Charan[16], P.K. Ramachandran v. State of Kerala[17] and Katari Suryanarayana v. Koppisetti Subba Rao[18] and stated thus:- "25. We may state that even if the term "sufficient cause" has to receive liberal construction, it must squarely fall within the concept of reasonable time and proper conduct of the party concerned. The purpose of introducing liberal construction normally is to introduce the concept of "reasonableness" as it is understood in its general connotation. ....