High Court can grant stay to compensation award even pending application for condonation of delay in filing appeal
Interpretation of sub-rule (3) of Rule 3A of Order XLI of CPC – Powers of the High Court in granting stay to the compensation judgment pending decision on the application for condonation of delay in filing appeal
Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, provides for appeal against the award of Claims Tribunal to the High Court to be filed in 90 days. There is provision for condonation of delay in filing such appeal.
Rule 279 of the Maharashtra Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, provides for application of Order XLI of CPC to the appeals under Section 173 of the MV Act.
Sub-rule (3) of Rule 3A of Order XLI of CPC provides that the Court shall not make an order for stay to the execution of the decree against which appeal is proposed to be filed so long as the Court does not, after hearing under rule 11, decide to hear the appeal.
In other words, it is seen that so long as the delay is condoned and so long as the High Court decides to hear the appeal, the Court has no power to grant stay to the execution of the award pending decision on the application for condonation of delay.
HELD, following the judgment of the Division Bench in Bhagwan Ganpatrao Godsay case (CRA Nos.6, 8, 9 and 10 of 1986 decided on 23.1.1987) that the word “shall” in sub-rule (3) of Rule 3A of Order XLI of CPC is permissive and not mandatory
Order dated 21.9.2023 in Shriram General Insurance Company Ltd Vs. Sou. Jyoti Vithoba Nahire and another in Civil Application No.655 of 2018 and Civil Application NO.656 of 2018 in First Appeal (ST) No.25979 of 2017 with connected matters.
