CHIEF SECRETARY, GOVERNMENT OF SINDH, KARACHI and another vs MUHAMMAD RAFIQUE SIDDIQUI

This matter arises from a petition filed by the Chief Secretary, Government of Sindh and another impugning the judgment of the Sindh Service Tribunal, Karachi, which had allowed an appeal filed by the respondent Muhammad Rafique Siddiqui. The petition was admittedly time-barred by 38 days, and the petitioners sought condonation of delay on the ground that instructions from the concerned authority were delayed. The core legal question addressed by the Supreme Court was whether departmental delays and the completion of internal bureaucratic formalities constitute sufficient grounds for condoning a delay in filing an appeal by the government. The Supreme Court held that the government cannot be treated differently from an ordinary litigant on questions of limitation, and that completion of administrative formalities is not a sufficient ground for condoning delay. The key principle laid down is that the government is bound by the laws of limitation in the same manner as any private litigant, and administrative delays in obtaining instructions do not constitute a satisfactory explanation for condoning delay.