In Brief
The State of Manipur filed a Regular First Appeal eleven months after an adverse judgment but mistakenly approached the District Judge instead of the High Court. The High Court refused to condone the delay. The Supreme Court allowed the appeal, finding that while the unexplained delay was significant, the interests of justice favour permitting appellate review in a strategically sensitive case involving security interests of the State. The Court recognised the bureaucratic nature of Government decision-making and held that dismissing the appeal on technical grounds would prevent the State from presenting its challenge before a higher court and harm public interest.
The lawyer headnote and full judgment text are available to registered users.