Authority: District Court, Mandi
Order Date: 07 July 2026
Case Overview
- Parties: National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) as applicant; Thakur Dass as respondent.
- The appeal concerns the judgment dated 07‑Mar‑2025 passed by the learned District Judge, Mandi.
- NHAI filed an application for condonation of a 329‑day delay in filing the appeal, citing that the certified copy of the impugned judgment was only received on 26‑Jun‑2025 and that the law firm handling its cases had withdrawn 362 matters, causing lack of knowledge of the disposal.
- Counsel for the applicant, Ms. Sneh Bhimta, submitted an affidavit supporting the claim of unavoidable delay; counsel for the respondent, Mr. Anirudh Sharma, raised no objection.
- The court also addressed OMPST No. 3948 of 2026, ordering a stay on the operation, implementation and execution of the 07‑Mar‑2025 judgment and the arbitral award dated 15‑Feb‑2023, pending deposit of the entire awarded amount with up‑to‑date interest within eight weeks.
- The respondent’s counsel undertook to file a power of attorney within three weeks.
Final Outcome
- The application for condonation of delay is allowed; the 329‑day delay is formally condoned.
- The appeal is registered and listed for hearing.
- A stay is imposed on the execution of the earlier judgment and arbitral award until the applicant deposits the awarded sum with interest within the stipulated eight‑week period.
- The respondent must file a power of attorney within three weeks.
- The application is disposed.
Topics: Legal Delay, Infrastructure Project