TMI Blog2013 (10) TMI 1052X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... condoned. It is, however, made clear that this Court expresses no opinion whatsoever on the merit of the appeal or of the maintainability of the appeal otherwise and it will be open to the parties to take all points before the learned Tribunal including the question of maintainability of the appeal - Decided in favour of Revenue. - W.P. No. 971 of 2012 - - - Dated:- 1-2-2013 - Indira Banerjee, J. Shri R. Bharatdwaj with T.M. Siddiqui, Advocates, for the Petitioner. Shri Manoj Malhotra, Advocate, for the Respondent. ORDER The Court : This writ application filed by the Commissioner of Customs (Airport), Kolkata, is directed against Order No. M-166-167/Kol/2012,/S-301-302/Kol/2012,/A-197-198/Kol dated 4th April, 2012 passed b ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rejected the application for condonation of delay. 6. The order impugned is a cryptic order. The learned Tribunal found that delay of about one month from 15th March, 2010 to 21st April, 2010 had not been explained, though in the application for condonation of delay, the petitioners contended that the preparation of the appeal and the requisite connected ground work for filing of the appeal had taken about a month s time. 7. The learned Tribunal appears to have adopted a pedantic approach. It is now well settled that in considering an application for condonation of delay Courts including Tribunals should adopt liberal approach as held by the Hon ble Supreme Court in the case of Collector Land Acquisition, Anantnag v. Katiji reported in ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... The fact that it was the State which was seeking condonation and not a private party was altogether irrelevant. The doctrine of equality before law demands that all litigants, including the State as a litigant, are accorded the same treatment and the law is administered in an even-handed manner. 8. The Court cannot be oblivious to the fact that departmental appeals involve unavoidable procedural delays by reason of pushing of files from one authority to the other, obtaining of the requisite clearances and the like, and a month s time for preparation of the appeal and connected ground work for filing the appeal is not unreasonable. 9. In the view of this Court the learned Tribunal ought to have taken a more liberal approach. The impug ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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