Accused’s plea condoning delay rejected
A Delhi court has rejected a man’s plea for condoning a 300-day delay by him in filing an appeal in the 2016 sexual harassment case, saying he could not take the law for granted.
The court sternly said the accused was making a “bold plea” after he gave his mother’s illness as a reason for the delay in challenging the charge. He did not give any further details about her health.
“The limitation for filing a criminal revision can be extended, provided sufficient grounds are shown in justifying the delay in filing the revision petition. In the present case, the applicant has stated that on account of illness of his mother, he could not file the revision petition,” additional sessions judge A.K. Kuhar said.
“This application was devoid of any detail about the impact of the illness of the applicant’s mother. Thus, the plea has been filed without showing any genuine grounds for the delay in filing the revision petition,” he added.
The judge said, “One cannot take the law for granted and approach the court at one’s own convenience.”
The court said that the Limitation Act only bars a right to avail the remedy and the courts do not go into technicalities to deprive a person from exercising his right under the law.
“But even the procedural law cannot be taken for granted,. otherwise the provisions become otiose (serve no practical purpose),” it said.
Dismissing his revision petition, the court noted that as per the trial court record, the man appeared before in the court on almost all dates of hearing. “Therefore, the illness of his mother is not found to be justified ground for delay, which is more than 300 days in this case,” it said.
The man had approached the court on April 4 with an application for condonation of delay and revision plea challenging an judicial order framing the sexual harassment charge against him in January 2016.