2012 (11) TMI 375 - SC - Central Excise

Condonation of delay - delay of 317 days in filing special leave petition - request to Chairman Central Board of Excise and Customs to have an enquiry conducted by a senior officer in order to fix the responsibility on the officer(s) responsible for causing delay in preferring the present petition Held that - In the Special Leave Petition (Civil) No. 29989 of 2010 arising out of the same judgment filed by the respondent show cause notice was served on the Department sometime in the month of November 2010 and counter affidavit on their behalf was filed in January 2011 - it cannot be pleaded on behalf of the concerned Commissionerate that they were not aware of the impugned order passed by the Tribunal - for the reasons best known to the department the present special leave petition was filed only in the month of June 2011 - all these factors will be taken into consideration by the enquiry officer

Summary

Issues: Condonation of delay in filing special leave petition, Enquiry into responsibility for delay

In the judgment delivered by the Supreme Court of India, the court dismissed the special leave petition due to an inordinate delay of 317 days in filing it. The court found that no sufficient cause was made out for condonation of the delay. However, before concluding the matter, the court directed the Chairman of the Central Board of Excise and Customs to conduct an enquiry to fix responsibility on the officer(s) accountable for the delay in filing the petition. The court highlighted that despite the respondent serving a show cause notice to the Department in November 2010 and filing a counter affidavit in January 2011 regarding the same judgment, the special leave petition was only filed in June 2011. The court emphasized that the concerned Commissionerate could not claim ignorance of the impugned order passed by the Tribunal. The court instructed that the enquiry be completed within four weeks of receiving a copy of the order, and the Chairman was to submit the report within two weeks thereafter for the court's review. The office was directed to forward a copy of the order to the Chairman for compliance.