Medical College’s 273-Day-Delayed Appeal Against ₹7 Lakh Medical-Negligence Award Revived: Madras HC Orders Merits Hearing

The first respondent’s medical-negligence complaint was allowed by the District Consumer Forum, which awarded ₹7 lakh in compensation and ₹20,000 in costs.

The petitioner institution’s appeal to the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission was delayed by 273 days; the State Commission dismissed its application to condone the delay, and the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission upheld that decision.

The petitioner attributed the delay to the time taken to obtain the District Forum’s order, the death of the legal officer handling the matter, and the administration’s lack of knowledge about the order and appeal.

It challenged both commissions’ orders before the High Court under Article 226.

The Court recognised that limitation is substantive and that an appeal must ordinarily be filed within the period prescribed by the applicable statutes and rules; delay cannot be condoned routinely or without sufficient cause.

It also relied on Inder Singh v. State of Madhya Pradesh, 2025 INSC 382, for the principle that, although delay requires sufficient cause, a merits-based examination should not be defeated merely by limitation where the circumstances warrant consideration.

No specific statutory provision governing the appeal period was identified in the judgment.

The Court considered the explanation that the order copy was obtained after delay, the legal officer handling the matter subsequently died, and the institution’s administration was unaware of the proceedings.

Although the Court acknowledged that the explanation was not entirely satisfactory and that the delay should not be condoned mechanically, it considered the nature of the dispute—a medical-negligence claim against a medical institution—and concluded that the issues should be adjudicated on their merits.

It therefore found the circumstances sufficient to justify condonation.

It directed the State Commission to take the appeal on file, number it, and decide it on its merits and in accordance with law.

The writ petition was allowed with no order as to costs.