New Delhi, February 16 The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the proceedings against the Rajasthan government for its failure to refund a contractor.
A bench headed by Justice M M Sundresh issued a notice to the contractor and stayed the proceedings on a petition filed by advocate Kartikeya Asthana, challenging an August 2025 order of the Rajasthan High Court dismissing the state government’s application for condoning the delay in filing the appeal.
According to the petition, the high court dismissed the petitioner’s ("state government's") "well-reasoned application for condoning the delayed filing, and consequently their appeal itself, based on the erroneous assumption that either the application itself, or the additional affidavit filed in support of the application, suffered from falsity".
The state government had filed an appeal in the high court against a decree of a Kota commercial court in a civil suit, directing the refund of Rs 6.35 lakh to the contractor for breaching the contract for road construction.
The petition filed by Asthana said, "Since there was a delay of 259 days in filing the appeal, the petitioners moved an application seeking condonation of the delay.
"The application clearly stated that, in the meantime, due to a change in the state government and the process of appointing lawyers being underway, some delay was caused in handing over the case record for preparing the appeal."
It said that attachment warrants had been issued by the commercial court in respect of the state government's properties, and movable property, including furniture and vehicles, had already been seized and attached.