Supreme Court imposes cost of Rs. 25,000 on Gujarat Govt for lethargy and incompetence in filing SLPs

Supreme Court imposes cost of Rs. 25,000 on Gujarat Govt for lethargy and incompetence in filing SLPs

On 13 January 2021, the Supreme Court of India (SC) bench headed by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul has dismissed the Special Leave Petitions (SLPs) and imposed costs of Rupees 25,000 onthe Gujarat Governmentfor filing it after a delay of more than one year

Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Dinesh Maheshwari and Hrishikesh Roy observed, "The State Government has approached this Court without any cogent or plausible ground for condonation of delay. In fact other than the lethargy and incompetence of the Government, there is nothing which has been put on record."

The facts of the case are, the State of Gujarat & Ors. (Petitioners/ Government) filed SLPs before the SC against Deep Associations (Respondents). The Government filed the SLPs after a delay of 476 days and it stated that the delayhas not been caused deliberately but on account of 'various steps required to be taken by the department at a different level before deciding on filing an appeal and the time taken in getting the judgment and other documents before the Court.'

The SC stated, "We have repeatedly discouraged State Governments and public authorities in adopting an approach that they can walk into the SC as and when they please ignoring the period of limitation prescribed by the Statutes as if the Limitation statute does not apply to them."

Referring to its earlier judgments regarding the filing of delayed SLPs including, the State of Madhya Pradesh & Ors. v. Bheru Lal [SLP [C] Diary No.9217/2020 decided on 15 October 2020 and the State of Odisha & Ors. v. Sunanda Mahakuda [SLP [C] Diary No.22605/2020 decided on 11 January 2021- It was stated that the leeway which was given to the Government on account of innate inefficiencies was the result of certain orders of this Court which came at a time when technology had not advanced and thus, greater indulgence was shown.

The SC further clarified that the position is no more prevalent as our nation is technologically advanced now and the current legal position has been elucidated by the judgment of the SC in the case of Office of the Chief Post Master General & Ors. v. Living Media India Ltd. & Anr. (2012) 3 SCC 563.

The Bench added, "We have also categorized such kind of cases as certificate cases filed with the only object to obtain a quietus from the SC on the ground that nothing could be done because the SC had dismissed the appeal. The objective is to complete a mere formality and save the skin of the officers who may be in default in following the due process or may have done it deliberately. We have deprecated such practice and process and we do so again.

We refuse to grant such certificates and if the Government suffers losses, it is a time when concerned officers responsible for the same bear the consequences. The irony, emphasized by us repeatedly, is that no action is ever taken against the officers and if the Court pushes it, some mild warning is all that happens."

The SC dismissed the SLPs filed by the Government and held, "Looking to the period of delay and the casual manner in which the application has been worded, we consider appropriate to impose costs on the petitioner/ Government of Rs.25,000/- for wastage of judicial time, which has its own value and the same be deposited with the SC Employees Mutual Welfare Fund within four weeks."

The order of the SC further directs "The amount should be recovered from the officers responsible for the delay in filing the SLP and a certificate of recovery of the said amount should be also filed in the SC within the same period of time."