Bombay High Court

THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER MINOR IRRIGATION DIVISION,PUNE AND ANR.versusLAXMAN SHANKAR NIMBALE AND ORS.

Decided: 8 September 2026
Disposal: Rejected

Holding

The court held that no sufficient cause for condonation of delay was shown, so the first appeal could not survive.

Summary

The applicant sought condonation of a six‑year delay in filing a first appeal against an award passed by the District Court under Section 18 of the Land Acquisition Act. The applicant argued that the delay was due to the time taken to obtain a certified copy of the award and to complete procedural formalities, and also claimed exclusion of the period from March 2020 to February 2022. The court held that the date of the award (04 October 2017) gave the applicant knowledge of the judgment, and that the applicant failed to provide a satisfactory explanation for the delay between 2017 and 2020, as well as between March 2022 and October 2023. Consequently, the court found no sufficient cause to condone the delay. The first appeal was therefore dismissed, and the related interim applications were also disposed of.

Issues considered

Whether the six‑year delay in filing the first appeal can be condoned.
Whether the period from March 2020 to February 2022 can be excluded from the delay calculation.
Whether the first appeal can survive without condonation of delay.

Legislation cited

Land Acquisition Act — s. 18

Subjects

condonation of delay
first appeal
Land Acquisition Act
Section 18
procedural delay
appeal dismissed

Judgment

                                                                           78-fa-st-31810-2023.doc


                      Shabnoor
                                 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
                                         CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

                                     FIRST APPEAL (ST) NO.31810 OF 2023

                      Executive Engineer Minor Lift
SHABNOOR              Irrigation Management Division Pune
AYUB
PATHAN                & Anr.                                       … Appellants
Digitally signed by               V/s.
SHABNOOR AYUB
PATHAN                Laxman Shankar Nimbale & Ors.                … Respondents
Date: 2026.09.08
18:11:19 +0530

                                                   WITH
                                    INTERIM APPLICATION NO.17689 OF 2023
                                                   WITH
                                    INTERIM APPLICATION NO.17687 OF 2023

                      Mr. Arnav Urankar a/w Ramesh Dube Patil i/b Jay &
                      Co., for the Appellant/Applicant.
                      Mr. A. R. Patil, Addl. GP, for the State – Respondent.


                                                  CORAM      : AMIT BORKAR, J.

                                                  DATED      : SEPTEMBER 8, 2026
                      P.C.:



                      1.      By this application, the applicant has requested that the
                      delay of about six years in filing the First Appeal be condoned. The
                      appeal arises from the Award passed by the District Court in Land
                      Reference No. 04 of 2009 under Section 18 of the Land Acquisition
                      Act.

                      2.      The applicant seeks condonation of the delay mainly on the
                      ground that after the certified copy became available and was
                      delivered on 08 December 2020, the matter was considered by the


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                                                     78-fa-st-31810-2023.doc


legal department. A decision was then taken to file an appeal.
According to the applicant, some additional time was required to
complete the necessary official and procedural formalities before
filing the First Appeal.

3.    The applicant has also claimed the benefit of exclusion of the
period from March 2020 to February 2022. However, the record
shows that the judgment and Award were passed on 04 October
2017. It is not disputed that the applicant was a party to the
proceedings and was heard before the Award was passed.
Therefore, in law, the date of the judgment itself must be treated
as the date on which the applicant had knowledge of the
impugned judgment and Award. It further appears that the
application for a certified copy was made only on 29 September
2020. Even if the period from March 2020 until the date of
applying for the certified copy is excluded from consideration, the
applicant has not given any satisfactory explanation for the delay
between 04 October 2017 and 29 September 2020. Similarly, no
sufficient explanation has been given for the period from March
2022 till October 2023. The reason stated in paragraph 8 is
general in nature and does not satisfactorily explain the delay
during these periods. In these circumstances, this Court finds that
sufficient cause for condonation of delay has not been shown.
Hence, no case is made out for condoning the delay and the
application deserves to be rejected.

4.    As a result, the First Appeal cannot survive for consideration.




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                                                78-fa-st-31810-2023.doc


5.   Consequently, the Interim Applications also do not survive
and are disposed of accordingly.

                                         (AMIT BORKAR, J.)




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