SC takes note of surge in Covid cases, extends limitation period for filing cases till Feb 28
New Delhi, Jan 11: The Supreme Court Monday restored its earlier order to extend the limitation period till February 28 for filing cases before judicial and quasi-judicial fora in view of the alarming surge in COVID-19 cases across the country.
A special bench comprising Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justices L Nageswara Rao and Surya Kant, which had agreed to extend the limitation period during the hearing, relaxed it in its order uploaded on apex court website late Monday night.
The order said that the relaxation in the statutory time period has been given after taking into consideration the arguments advanced by learned counsel and the impact of the surge of the virus on public health and adversities faced by litigants in the prevailing conditions .
"The order dated March 23, 2020 is restored and in continuation of the subsequent orders..., it is directed that the period from March 15, 2020 till February 28, 2022 shall stand excluded for the purposes of limitation as may be prescribed under any general or special laws in respect of all judicial or quasi judicial proceedings, it said.
The order also gave details of the statutory time periods which would now be available to the litigants for filing court cases.
"It is further clarified that the period from March 15, 2020 till February 28, 2022 shall also stand excluded in computing the periods prescribed under Sections 23 (4) and 29A of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015 and provisos (b) and (c) of Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 and any other laws, which prescribe period(s) of limitation for instituting proceedings, outer limits (within which the court or tribunal can condone delay) and termination of proceedings, it said. During hearing, the bench took note of the submissions of the Supreme Court Advocates On Record Association (SCAORA) that earlier orders relaxing the time period for filing cases, including replies, be extended to ensure that litigants do not suffer the consequences for not filing them within statutorily-mandated time period.
This application has been filed by the SCAORA seeking restoration of March 8, 2020 and April 27, 2021 orders in wake of the present situation of the pandemic. Over 1.79 lakh COVID cases have been reported yesterday and 147 people have died of it.
There were 22,751 COVID cases in Delhi alone. Seventeen COVID deaths have been reported from Delhi...The request is to kindly extend the limitation, said Shivaji Jadhav, the president of SCAORA.
Attorney General K K Venugopal supported the plea and urged the bench to accept it saying the time extension of limitation period had ended on October 2 last year and can be extended after that date.
We are accepting, the bench said, adding that a formal order would be passed in the matter.
Earlier, the apex court had agreed to hear the pleas for restoration of relaxation of the limitation period for filing court cases in view of the alarming surge in COVID-19 cases.
The SCAORA, in its plea, has urged that the March 23, 2020 and April 27, 2021 rulings by which the orders extending statutory limitation were put in abeyance be restored.
"There has been a sudden and drastic change in the situation with regard to the pandemic as a new variant, more particularly Omicron has seen a drastic surge... considering the alarming rate at which there is a rise in the mortality rate due to Covid and also the rise in new cases, it becomes necessary to restore the relaxation with regard to the period of limitation," the plea said.
The apex court had said in September last year that the relaxation granted on the limitation period for filing court cases in the wake of the pandemic would come to an end on October 2, 2021.
It had ordered that the period from March 15 last year till October 2, 2021 shall stand excluded from computing the period of limitation.
The apex court had on March 23, 2020 invoked its plenary power under Article 142 of the Constitution to extend the limitation period indefinitely for appeals from courts or tribunals on account of the pandemic with effect from March 15, 2020.
On March 8, 2021, the top court had noted that the country is "returning to normalcy'' and had decided to end the extension of the limitation period which was granted in March 2020 to the litigants due to the pandemic.
However, the court on April 27, 2021 took note of the onset of the second COVID-19 wave and again relaxed the statutory period for filing petitions, including election petitions, under the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
On March 8, 2021, the order dated March 23, 2020 was brought to an end, permitting relaxation of the period of limitation between March 15, 2020 and March 14, 2021. While doing so, it was made clear that the period of limitation would start from March 15, 2021, it said.
The bench said as the March 8, 2021 order was only a one-time measure, in view of the pandemic, it is not inclined to modify the conditions contained in that order.
It said the period from March 15, 2020 till October 2, 2021 shall also stand excluded in computing the periods prescribed under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, the Commercial Courts Act, the Negotiable Instruments Act and any other laws which prescribe periods of limitation.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
