NEW DELHI: A massive surge in infections during the second wave of Covid has forced the Supreme Court to indefinitely extend the period of limitations for filing appeals against orders of all judicial and quasi-judicial forums.
After the onset of the pandemic last year, the court had excluded the period from March 15 last year till March 14 this year from being taken into account for computing the period of limitation. Various statutes provide between 30 to 90 days’ period for filing of appeal or completing certain statutory tasks.
A bench of CJI N V Ramana and Justices Surya Kant and A S Bopanna took note of suggestions from attorney general K K Venugopal, solicitor general Tushar Mehta and SC advocates-on-record association president Shivaji Jadhav and used its inherent powers under Articles141 and142 of the Constitution to order indefinite extension of limitation period for all matters.
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the UP government to shift journalist Siddique Kappan, in custody since October 5 for alleged links with the Popular Front of India (PFI) and accused of going to Hathras purportedly to create disharmony in the aftermath of the death of a girl who was gangraped, from Mathura jail to a Delhi hospital for treatment.
This direction was met with disapproval and resistance from UP government, which through solicitor general Tushar Mehta said all hospitals in Delhi were full of Covid patients and admitting Kappan, a 42-year-old non-Covid inmate accused under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, to a Delhi hospital would result in asking a Covid patient, who could be a senior citizen, to vacate her bed. “I can’t request any hospital to do such a thing,” the SG said.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday extended indefinitely “until further orders” the period of limitation for filing petitions, applications, suits, appeals and all other proceedings before judicial and quasi-judicial forums, citing the Covid resurgence.
Under the limitation law, petitions, suits and the like have to be filed within a prescribed period, failing which a litigant loses the right to air his or her grievance before the court or tribunal concerned.
“The extraordinary situation caused by the sudden and second outburst of Covid-19. requires extraordinary measures to minimise the hardship of litigant-public in all the states,” Wednesday’s order said.
The bench of Chief Justice N.V. Ramana and Justices Surya Kant and A.S. Bopanna passed the order while dealing with an application moved by the Supreme Court Advocates on Record Association.
SC says right to life embraces even undertrial, orders shifting of Kappan to Delhi for treatment
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SC says right to life embraces even undertrial, orders shifting of Kappan to Delhi for treatmentPTI
Last Updated: Apr 29, 2021, 02:27 PM IST
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Synopsis It would be in the interest of justice to shift Siddique Kappan - the arrestee, either to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital or to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) or any other Government Hospital in Delhi for the proper medical treatment. The needful shall in this regard be done at the earliest, the bench said in its order uploaded last Wednesday night.