Litigants Can't Suffer For Advocate's Bona-Fide Mistake: Rajasthan HC Restores Appeal Dismissed For Failure To Serve Notice On Respondent

Rajasthan High Court has ruled that sometimes bonafide mistake could be committed by the counsel for a litigant by not furnishing the requisite notices upon the opposite party, however, instead of applying a hyper-technical approach and rejecting the case, justice oriented approach should be applied.

The bench of Justice Dinesh Mehta opined that it was held in multiples cases by the Supreme Court that the litigants could not be made to suffer for the fault of the advocate.

The Court was hearing writ petitions filed against the order of the Rajasthan Civil Services Appellant Tribunal (“Tribunal”) wherein the Tribunal had rejected the appeals of the petitioners for want of prosecution on account of the counsel's omission to file requisite notices to be served to the respondents.

It was the case of the petitioners that the Tribunal had passed interim orders in their favour on being satisfied on the merit of the case, and merely on account of bonafide failure or an inadvertent lapse on part of the counsel, the appeals ought not to be have been dismissed by the Tribunal.

Aligning with the argument of the petitioners, the Court held that the Tribunal was not justified in rejecting the appeals at the first instance, for counsel's failure to furnish notices.

“At times on account of bonafide mistake or otherwise, the appellant's counsel may omit to furnish the requisites, but the Tribunal should apply justice oriented approach instead of applying hyper-technical approach.”

Accordingly, the order of the Tribunal was set aside and the petitioners were directed to file the noticed within one week before the office of the Tribunal.

Title: Ajeet Singh Rathore v State of Rajasthan & Ors. and other connected petition

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Raj) 374

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