December 6, 2024 - The Supreme Court has told all states to hold government officers responsible for delays in filing important legal appeals or cases. These delays often lead to financial losses for the government and taxpayers.

Why Does This Matters?

• Many appeals are delayed because officers don’t share decisions with higher authorities on time.

• Courts often reject these appeals because they are filed too late, even when the cases are important.

What Happened?

The Supreme Court was upset with a case from Madhya Pradesh, where the government delayed filing an appeal for over 5 years in a land dispute cas

1. The court gave its decision in 2014.
2. The Collector informed his higher-ups a year later.
3. The higher department was informed three months after that.
4. The Law Department took three years to approve the appeal.
5. The appeal was finally filed in 2019, five years after the decision.

What the Supreme Court Said?

1. Delays like this are unacceptable, and officers responsible must be punished.

2. The Court agreed with the High Court that the delay was not explained properly.

3. A fine of Rs 1 lakh was imposed on the state for wasting the court’s time.

Governments must fix their systems to avoid such delays and hold officers accountable for their inefficiency.

Source: Click Here