TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2022 (9) TMI 1335
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....However, he places reliance on the judgment of the Supreme Court in the case of Suo Motu Writ Petition (Civil) No.3 of 2020 in re: Cognizance for extension of Limitation to contend that COVID period i.e. from 15.03.2020 till 10.02.2021 is liable to be ignored inasmuch as the revision has been filed on 10.02.2021 and in case the said period is ignored then the delay in filing the revision would be of 250 days. The delay is sought to be explained by contending that the order passed by the learned Tribunal was served on the revisionist on 09.04.2019 although a proposal for filing of the revision was sent on 28.10.2020 to the office of Additional Commissioner Grade-2, Commercial Tax, Lucknow and a letter was also forwarded on 06.11.2020 seek....
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....on and thereafter the documents were sent. Later, the permission was sought for filing of revision which was received from the law department vide sanction letter dated 15.07.2019 and a request subsequently was made in July, 2019 to the office of the learned Chief Standing counsel, High Court, Lucknow for filing of a revision. The file was allotted for drafting after a period of almost one month and it took the learned Standing counsel a period of almost four and half months to file the revision and hence the delayed filing of revision. 8. The delay which often occurs on the part of the department in filing the appeals/revisions has been considered threadbare by the Apex Court in the case of Living Media India Ltd (supra) wherein t....
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...., their agencies and instrumentalities that unless they have reasonable and acceptable explanation for the delay and there was bona fide effort, there is no need to accept the usual explanation that the file was kept pending for several months/years due to considerable degree of procedural red tape in the process. The government departments are under a special obligation to ensure that they perform their duties with diligence and commitment. Condonation of delay is an exception and should not be used as an anticipated benefit for the government departments. The law shelters everyone under the same light and should not be swirled for the benefit of a few." 9. Likewise, the Apex Court in the case of of Central Tibetan Schools (supra)....
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....hing which has been put on record. We have repeatedly discouraged State Governments and public authorities in adopting an approach that they can walk in to the Supreme Court as and when they please ignoring the period of limitation prescribed by the statutes, as if the Limitation statute does not apply to them. In this behalf, suffice to refer to our judgment in State of M.P. v. Bherulal [State of M.P. v. Bherulal, (2020) 10 SCC 654 : (2021) 1 SCC (Civ) 101 : (2021) 1 SCC (Cri) 117 : (2021) 1 SCC (L&S) 84] and State of Odisha v. Sunanda Mahakuda [State of Odisha v. Sunanda Mahakuda, (2021) 11 SCC 560] . The leeway which was given to the Government/public authorities on account of innate inefficiencies was the result of certain orders of thi....
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....ose special costs of Rs 1 lakh in this case to be recovered from the officer(s) concerned, to be deposited with the Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Welfare Fund within four weeks. 9. The special leave petitions are dismissed as time-barred in terms aforesaid. Pending application stands disposed of. 10. Incidentally, the judgment of the Apex Court in the case of Central Tibetan Schools (supra) is a judgment by three Hon'ble Judges. 11. The Apex Court in the case of Volex Interconnect (supra) has held has under:- "2.This is one more case of what we have already categorised as "certificate cases" and we do not delve further, as the purpose seems just to bring the matter to the Courts to put a closure t....