Jittu Yadav Vs State of Chhattisgarh & Others (Supreme Court of India)
The Supreme Court considered an appeal challenging the High Court of Chhattisgarh’s order affirming the dismissal of the appellant’s statutory appeal against an externment order on the ground of limitation. The appellant had been issued a show-cause notice under the Chhattisgarh Rajya Suraksha Adhiniyam, 1990, following which the District Magistrate passed an externment order directing him to remain outside the district for one year. The appellant filed an appeal before the State Government under Section 9 of the Adhiniyam, but it was dismissed as time-barred because it was filed beyond the prescribed thirty-day limitation period. The High Court declined to interfere, resulting in the present appeal before the Supreme Court.
The principal legal issue before the Supreme Court was whether Section 5 of the Limitation Act, 1963 stands excluded, either expressly or by necessary implication, from appeals filed under Section 9 of the Chhattisgarh Rajya Suraksha Adhiniyam, 1990.
The appellant submitted that although Section 9 prescribes a limitation period of thirty days, it neither provides any mechanism for condonation of delay nor expressly excludes the application of Section 5 of the Limitation Act. It was argued that, in view of Section 29(2) of the Limitation Act, Section 5 would apply because the Adhiniyam does not prescribe any outer limit for condonation nor contain any provision excluding the Limitation Act. The appellant also submitted that the externment order carried serious civil consequences affecting his rights.
