### Delay Condoned and Writ Appeal Restored Subject to Voluntary Community Service Reporting Summary of the Judgment: The High Court of Madhya Pradesh condoned a 52-day delay and restored a Writ Appeal (W.A. No. 3425/2025) that had been dismissed for procedural defaults. Applying settled law, the Court ruled that litigants should not suffer for the lapses of their counsel. Notably, the Court introduced a "Social Audit" concept, directing the Officer-In-Charge and counsel to visit a school for the speech and hearing impaired as a form of community service. The restoration of the appeal is contingent upon the submission of a report detailing their visit and observations regarding the institution's welfare standards.

The State of Madhya Pradesh filed a Writ Appeal (W.A. No.3425/2025) which was dismissed on February 27, 2026, for non-compliance with a common conditional order regarding the curing of defaults.

The applicants filed the present Misc. Civil Case seeking restoration of the appeal, along with an application under Section 5 of the Limitation Act to condone a 52-day delay in filing.

The State attributed the delay to procedural formalities and the Officer-In-Charge's (OIC) late discovery of the dismissal.

Section 5 of the Limitation Act regarding the "sufficiency of cause" for condonation of delay.

Principles from Motilal Songara v. Prem Praksh alias Pappu, (2013) 9 SCC 199; Sheo Raj Singh v. Union of India, (2023) 10 SCC 531; and Vishnu Vardhan @ Vishnu Pradhan v. State of Uttar Pradesh, 2025 SCC Online SC 1501 to emphasize hearing matters on merits.

The principle from M.K. Prasad v. P. Arumugam, AIR 2001 SC 2497 and Dindayal Bansal v. Gwalior Nagar Tatha Gram Vikas Pradhikaran, 2007 (5) MPHT 470, which establishes that a litigant should not suffer for the fault of their counsel.

The Court found the reasons for the delay—procedural inertia and the OIC's lack of immediate knowledge—to be genuine and bona fide.

The Court noted that the dismissal for non-compliance was not intentional but due to circumstances beyond the applicants' control.

To balance the restoration with social responsibility, the Court introduced the concept of "Social Audit," suggesting that the counsel and OIC perform community service to satisfy the court's conscience rather than imposing a monetary cost.

The Court reasoned that such interactions provide a message of inclusion to marginalized groups and ensure oversight of state-sponsored institutions.

Restoration was made contingent upon the submission of a report regarding this visit.

The restoration is subject to the condition that the counsel for applicants and the OIC visit Government Mook Badhir H.S. School, Jabalpur, spend one hour with inmates, and provide food items worth ₹5,000; a report and affidavit regarding this visit must be filed in the restored Writ Appeal within fifteen days.