1981 SCMR 893(1)

IFTIKHAR AHMAD KHAN vs MUHAMMAD IBRAHIM (REPRESENTED BY LEGAL

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Citation1981 SCMR 893(1)

CourtSupreme Court of Pakistan

Case No.Civil Petition for Special Leave to Appeal No. 160 of 1975 W. P. No. 508-R/67

Date1980-04-12

Judge(s)Nasim Hasan Shah, Karam Elahi Chauhan

ResultPetition dismissed

AI Summary — generated from this judgment; read the full text below and verify before relying on it.

This petition arises from a challenge to an order of the High Court dated 4-4-1974, which had accepted a constitutional petition filed by the respondents. The petitioner approached the Supreme Court seeking leave to appeal against this order. However, the petition was filed with a delay of three days beyond the prescribed limitation period. To address this, the petitioner submitted an application for condonation of delay, contending that he was under the mistaken impression that the Supreme Court registry remained closed during vacations and that legal filings were impermissible during that period. Upon review, the Court found this explanation insufficient to justify the delay. The Court held that a misunderstanding regarding the operational status of the Court registry during vacations does not constitute a valid or sufficient ground for condonation of delay in filing a petition. Consequently, the Court determined that the petition lacked merit due to the time-barred nature of the filing and dismissed the petition accordingly.

Questions settled in this judgment

Is a mistaken belief that the Supreme Court registry is closed during vacations a sufficient ground for condonation of delay?
Can a petition filed beyond the limitation period be entertained if the delay is based on a misunderstanding of court procedures?

condonation of delaylimitation periodSupreme Court registryvacationstime-barred petitionsufficient cause

ORDER

KARAM ELAHEE CHAUHAN, J.-This is a petition against an order of the High Court dated 4-4-1974, whereby a constitutional petition being W. P. 508-R/67 filed by the respondents herein was accepted. The petition is barred by 3 days. The petitioner has filed an application for condonation of delay on the ground that he was under an impression that during vacations, the registry of the Supreme Court is not open and that case cannot be filed during that period. For this reason it has been submitted that the delay in the filing of the petition may be condoned. The ground taken in our opinion, is not sufficient to condone the delay.

2. The result is that this petition has no merit and is dismissed.