The Supreme Court has summoned the Law Secretary of the Madhya Pradesh government to determine who is approving decisions to file appeals despite substantial delays.

The directive came while hearing where the state challenged a High Court order after a 177-day delay, even though the High Court had previously refused to condone a 656-day delay in an earlier stage of the case.

A Bench comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan noted the State’s recurring pattern of filing Special Leave Petitions (SLPs) after excessive delays, remarking,
"We admire the courage with which the State of Madhya Pradesh has been filing Special Leave Petitions in this Court over a period of time with delays of 300/400 days."

Observing that the State failed to provide a valid reason for such delays, the Court stated that while dismissing the petition solely on this ground would have been an easy course of action, it had a different approach in mind. The Bench ordered,
"We direct the Law Secretary of the State of Madhya Pradesh to remain present before us on February 14, 2025, along with the original files containing the decision to challenge the High Court's order declining to condone the 656-day delay. We would like to know which authority decided that this order was worth challenging before this Court."

The State was represented by Additional Advocate General Nachiketa Joshi, Deputy Advocate General Bhupendra Pratap Singh, and Advocates Sarad Kumar Singhania and Rashmi Singhania.

Case Title: State of Madhya Pradesh vs. Gokulchand,