'Delay In Filing Review Application Cannot Be Condoned Without Looking Into Its Maintainability': Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has held that unless the main proceedings are maintainable in law, there is no question of condoning delay in filing them. The Court ruled that the Labour Court erred in condoning a delay of 333 days in filing a review application without first examining whether such a review was maintainable, as the Industrial Disputes Act does not confer any power of review upon the Labour Court.

Justice Prafulla S. Khubalkar was hearing a writ petition filed by JSW Steel Coated Products Ltd. and its contractor, challenging an order of the First Labour Court, Nagpur, dated 7 December 2024. The Labour Court had condoned the delay in filing the Review Application, which sought to reopen an award passed in Reference (IDA) Case. The petitioners contended that the Labour Court had acted without jurisdiction in entertaining the delay condonation application, since in the absence of any statutory power of review under the Industrial Disputes Act, the review application itself was not maintainable.

The respondent, however, argued that the question of maintainability could be decided only at the stage of hearing of the review and that the application for condonation of delay was required to be considered independently on the strength of contentions demonstrating sufficient cause for delay.

The Court noted that the controversy in the matter is mainly focused on the issue of legality in entertaining the application for condonation of delay in filing the review application, and there is no dispute that there is no express power conferred on the Labour Court to review its award.

The Court observed that although it is correct that while considering an application for condonation of delay, the merits of the case are not examined, it is crucial that the proceedings for which condonation is sought must themselves be maintainable in law. It observed:

“… the impugned order is passed by the Labour Court by observing that the issue about maintainability of review application requires full-fledged arguments of both the parties, and on this pretext, the Court proceeded to condone the delay. However, the crucial issue about the maintainability of the review application before the Labour Court cannot be ignored.”

Relying on the Division Bench ruling in Nivruti G. Ahire v. State of Maharashtra (2007 SCC OnLine Bom 492), the Court held that if the main application is not maintainable, there is no question of entertaining an application for condonation of delay in relation to it.

The Court further remarked that though the Industrial Disputes Act is a social welfare legislation, and further that a lenient view is required while condonation of delay in the matter of an employee, the position of law as laid down by the Division Bench in the above-referred matter cannot be ignored.

Accordingly, the High Court quashed and set aside the Labour Court's order dated 7 December 2024.

Case Title: JSW Steel Coated Products Ltd. & Anr. v. Amarlal Parashramji Sharma [Writ Petition No. 1017 of 2025]

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