Customs Dept Takes “Sweet Time” To Move Files Despite Panel Of Lawyers: Delhi HC Refuses To Condone Delay

The Delhi High Court has refused to condone a delay of 154 days in an appeal filed by the Customs Department, observing that a government department cannot take its own sweet time to move files and then seek condonation of delay.

The Division Bench of Justices Avneesh Jhingan and Shail Jain held that administrative negligence and the leisurely movement of files cannot constitute sufficient grounds for condoning delay in filing an appeal, particularly when the department has its own panel of lawyers.

The Court was hearing an appeal filed by the Commissioner of Customs against a CESTAT order, accompanied by an application seeking condonation of 154 days' delay.

The Department submitted that the case file had been handed over to its earlier counsel on June 26, 2025, but the appeal was neither filed nor was the department informed about its status. The file was subsequently marked to the present counsel on October 16, 2025, and the appeal was filed on January 9, 2026, after obtaining additional documents.

Rejecting the explanation, the High Court noted that the department had taken more than four months after receiving the Tribunal's order to hand over the file to its earlier counsel. Despite having its own panel of lawyers, the department neither disclosed the details of the earlier counsel nor filed an affidavit from the counsel in support of its application.

The Court further observed that there was no pleading to show that the department had ever inquired about the status of the appeal after handing over the file to the earlier counsel. The application also failed to explain when the file was retrieved from the earlier counsel.

It pointed out a contradiction in the department's submissions. While the application claimed that the complete file had been handed over to the earlier counsel, the counsel appearing before the Court argued that additional documents were required even after receiving the file.

“The law is well-settled that a public sector undertaking/Government department taking its own sweet time to move the file at a leisure pace cannot be a ground for condoning the delay,” the Court observed.

It relied on the Supreme Court's judgment in Postmaster General v. Living Media India Ltd., wherein it was held that government departments are equally bound by the law of limitation and cannot rely on bureaucratic red tape or administrative inaction without a reasonable and acceptable explanation.

The Court also referred to the Supreme Court's decision in Rajneesh Kumar v. Ved Prakash, which held that the entire blame for an inordinate delay cannot be shifted onto a lawyer, as litigants are expected to remain vigilant about their own legal proceedings.

As such, finding that the department's application failed to provide a reasonable explanation for the delay, the Court dismissed the application.

For Appellant: Arjun Malik, SSC.