In Brief
The State of Jammu & Kashmir sought to appeal against the acquittal of Lalan Yadav, who was charged with possessing 11 kg of ganja under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. However, the appeal was filed 148 days after the statutory deadline. The Court held that the State failed to provide any cogent reason for the delay. Emphasizing that government authorities are bound by limitation statutes and cannot approach courts at will, the Court dismissed both the condonation application and the appeal as time-barred, reinforcing that delay cannot be condoned as a matter of course.
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