Supreme Court: After the Court noticed that, in a case, where the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) had passed the reasoned order 8 months after the pronouncement of the operative order, the bench of Indu Malhotra and Ajay Rastogi, JJ has asked the President of the NCDRC into the matter, and take necessary steps so that this practice is discontinued, and the reasoned Judgment is passed alongwith the operative order.
The Court also observed that in all matters where reasons are yet to be delivered, it must be ensured that the same are made available to the litigating parties positively within a period of two months.
In the present case, the operative order was pronounced on 26.04.2019 and the the reasoned order was passed on 20.12.2019 by the NCDRC. The Supreme Court then directed the Registrar of the NCDRC to submit a Report stating the number of cases in which reasoned judgments had not been passed, even though the operative order had been pronounced in Court.
By the report dated 27.7.2020, the Court was informed that as on 20.12.2019, there were 85 such cases in which the operative order had been pronounced, but reasoned judgments were not delivered so far.
“The fact which has been brought to our notice by the Registrar of the Commission can, in no manner, be countenanced that between the date of operative portion of the order and the reasons are yet to be provided, or the hiatus period is much more than what has been observed to be the maximum time period for even pronouncement of reserved judgments.”
The Court noticed that the rights of the aggrieved parties are being prejudiced if the reasons are not available to them to avail of the legal remedy of approaching the Court where the reasons can be scrutinized.
“It indeed amounts to defeating the rights of the party aggrieved to challenge the impugned judgment on merits and even the succeeding party is unable to obtain the fruits of success of the litigation.”
[Sudipta Chakrobarty v. Ranaghta SD Hospital, 2021 SCC OnLine SC 107, order dated 15.02.2021]
