took considerable time. We feel that the beneficiary of the judgment may be hand in glove with the officials in the Government Department who deal with the files, and files are suppressed for a long period, and then the appeal before the High Court or Supreme Court is filed after a long delay to get the appeal dismissed on the ground of delay. Huge amounts of public money or public property may be involved and the Government will be the loser on the technical point of limitation in such cases. This racket has been going on for a long time not only before the Supreme Court but also before the High Courts. Now the time has come that this racket should come to an end and the officials responsible for this be given severe punishment. The Chief Secretary for the State of Jharkhand will file an affidavit explaining what action has been taken against the officials causing the delay. In case, no action has been taken, reasons for the same be mentioned. This practice is often adopted by officials of various State Governments and has become a regular feature. The explanation usually given for the delay is the red tape in government offices. It is high time that this mal-practice be severely rooted out and an effectual mechanism be adopted all over the country so that such delays do not occur in future. Let a copy of this order be sent to the learned Solicitor General of India, who is requested to assist us as amicus curiae. Copies shall also be sent to the Chief Secretaries of all the States so that effective action may be taken in this regard. Issue notice to all Chief Secretaries of States/Union Territories in India. Mr. Nagendra Rai, Sr. Advocate appears on behalf of respondent Nos. 1 to 3. He prays for and is granted four weeks' time to file counter affidavit. List on 8.11.2010.
..................J. (Markandey Katju) ..................J. (T.S. Thakur)
New Delhi. Dated 1st October, 2010