Court Rejects HEC's Plea to Condone Delay Citing Financial Crisis; Division Bench Says Financial Distress Is No Justification for Excessive Delay
Ranchi: Heavy Engineering Corporation (HEC) has suffered a major setback in the Jharkhand High Court, which has dismissed its appeal filed with an inordinate delay of 583 days. HEC had sought condonation of the delay, citing its poor financial condition. However, a division bench comprising Chief Justice M.S. Sonak and Justice Manoj Prasad observed that there was no direct connection between the company's financial difficulties and its failure to file the appeal within the prescribed time limit. The court made it clear that financial hardship alone cannot justify condoning such an excessive delay.
During the hearing, HEC argued that its financial condition was so poor that it was unable to pay employees' salaries or provide basic medical facilities. The company also claimed that employees were facing difficulties in paying their children's school fees. However, the division bench observed that these circumstances did not explain why HEC failed to file the appeal on time. The corporation failed to provide any concrete or satisfactory reason for the 583-day delay.
The dispute relates to a school building constructed on land leased by HEC to the Jharkhand Swami Sahajanand Saraswati Samiti. HEC alleged that the organisation taking the lease had provided misleading information by presenting itself as the original leaseholder. The High Court observed that, while deciding the application for condonation of delay, there was no need to examine the merits of the underlying dispute. Referring to the single-judge bench's order, the court noted that the new lease agreement clearly mentioned that no earlier lease existed with the new committee. Despite knowing this, HEC had entered into the agreement by mutual consent. The bench also expressed concern that demolition of the school building could further affect the education of children of HEC employees.
