Condonation of delay: the day-by-day explanation

Section 5 of the Limitation Act, 1963 lets a court admit an appeal or an application after the prescribed period if the applicant shows sufficient cause for the delay. It applies to appeals and applications, not to suits. For Special Leave Petitions, Order XXI, Rule 1 of the Supreme Court Rules makes Sections 4, 5, 12 and 14 applicable.

How courts read sufficient cause

In Collector, Land Acquisition v. Mst. Katiji (1987) the Supreme Court said the expression is elastic enough to let courts do substantial justice by deciding matters on the merits, and that a litigant does not stand to benefit by delaying. That case is the usual starting point for a liberal reading.

The liberal approach has limits. Later decisions refuse to condone delay that comes from negligence, inaction or want of bona fides, and treat the existence of sufficient cause as a condition that must be met, not assumed. The Court has also said that government departments are not entitled to special treatment on delay, and the merits of the case are not what an application under Section 5 is about.

Writing the explanation

1. Fix the last day of limitation and the date you filed. State the days of delay as a number.
2. Break the period into stretches: from the date of the order to the date of the certified copy, to the date instructions were given, to the date of filing.
3. For each stretch, say what happened, who did it, and attach the proof, such as the certified copy application and its date of delivery.
4. Do not use words like unavoidable circumstances. State the circumstance.
5. Support it with an affidavit by the person who knows. If the explanation depends on an advocate’s office, say so honestly.