The Allahabad High Court, in a recent ruling, emphasized the non-negotiable nature of the opportunity for a fair hearing before a judicial order is issued. The court clarified that while the principle of affording an opportunity for a fair hearing is fundamental, it cannot be exploited to undermine the overall pursuit of justice. The decision, handed down by a bench comprising Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh and Justice Shiv Shanker Prasad, underscores the court's stance that if a delay in proceedings is a result of one party's negligent or deliberate actions, that party cannot exploit the delay to their advantage.
In the case under consideration, the legal proceedings for the dissolution of marriage were initiated in 2011. However, in 2014, the appellant-wife's non-appearance led to the dismissal of the case. Subsequently, the respondent-husband initiated fresh proceedings for the dissolution of marriage. Despite the appellant-wife initially appearing, her repeated absences on twelve dates during the evidence stage led to the closure of the opportunity in 2018. Despite the court fixing six dates for the appellant-wife to present evidence, her non-appearance persisted, resulting in the closure of the opportunity.
The appellant-wife sought to remedy the situation by filing a recall application against the closure of the opportunity. However, she failed to appear on the twelve dates fixed for her application. Consequently, the application was dismissed for want of prosecution. Undeterred, she filed subsequent recall applications, maintaining her absence from the proceedings. This persistent non-compliance culminated in the issuance of an ex-parte divorce decree in 2021.
Attempting to reverse the ex-parte decree, the appellant-wife filed a delay condonation application and a recall application on July 1, 2022. The Additional Principal Judge at the Family Court, Moradabad, rejected both applications, noting that despite the annexation of medical documents, there was no genuine obstacle preventing her from filing the recall application between November 2021 and July 2022.
The Allahabad High Court, in its analysis, pointed out that the appellant's prior conduct demonstrated negligence or a deliberate attempt to cause unjustifiable delays in the legal proceedings. The divorce case, initiated in 2014, should have concluded much earlier. The court attributed the significant delay of almost seven years to the appellant's actions, including seeking repeated adjournments and intentionally remaining absent from the proceedings.
The court acknowledged that although the lower court had scheduled the case for an ex-parte final hearing, it had granted the appellant-wife multiple opportunities to appear. Nevertheless, the appellant-wife persistently skipped the proceedings, exacerbating the unwarranted delay.
In upholding the decision of the Additional Principal Judge, Family Court, Moradabad, the Allahabad High Court emphasized the absence of sufficient cause to condone the delay in filing the recall application or to nullify the ex-parte order. The court highlighted that while the requirement to provide a fair hearing is inviolable, litigants should not exploit this fundamental principle to undermine the overarching pursuit of justice.
The court's ruling serves as a reminder of the delicate balance between affording procedural fairness and preventing the misuse of legal processes to cause intentional delays. In this instance, the court prioritized the overall pursuit of justice over allowing the appellant to benefit from her own actions that contributed to the prolonged legal proceedings.
TAGS: Allahabad High Court opportunity of hearing non-negotiable ends of justice delay in legal proceedings
