Saifi Conveyor System v. Sandeep Gupta
Condonation of delay – re-filing of commercial first appeal
Case brief
What is this about?
Delhi High Court (Division Bench: C. Hari Shankar & Om Prakash Shukla JJ.), RFA(COMM) 345/2025, order dated 03.02.2026 — condonation of 253-day delay in RE-FILING a commercial appeal refused; vague grounds (unspecified 'relevant information', unproduced communication with previous counsel, poor financial condition, new advocate engaged end-March 2025) held insufficient under the strict approach of Borse Brothers ((2021) 6 SCC 460) and Casablanca Apparels (2025 SCC OnLine Del 5191); condonation application CM APPL. 35837/2025 dismissed; appeal dismissed on limitation/delay without adjudication on merits. Useful on: re-filing delay, strict condonation standard in commercial matters, insufficiency of generic explanations.
What did the court decide?
The explanation offered in CM Appl. 35837/2025 does not make out any case for condonation of delay in re-filing within the parameters envisaged by the Supreme Court in Borse Brothers: the 'certain relevant information' is unidentified, the time taken is undisclosed, the purported communication with the previous Counsel is not on record, and no material on the appellant's financial condition or why it prevented follow-up is forthcoming.