New Delhi, Feb 4 (Reporter) The Supreme Court on Tuesday expressed strong displeasure over the State of Madhya Pradesh's habitual delays in filing Special Leave Petitions (SLPs), some delayed by up to 400 days. A bench comprising Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice R Mahadevan, made critical remarks while hearing an SLP filed by the state with a delay of 177 days. The Court questioned the state's decision-making process for challenging High Court orders before the Supreme Court, raising concerns about accountability. “We admire the courage with which the State of Madhya Pradesh has been filing Special Leave Petitions in this Court with delays of 300 to 400 days. The real concern is, who is deciding to challenge a particular order passed by the High Court?" the Bench observed. In the present case, the state had initially filed a Second Appeal under Section 100 of the Civil Procedure Code, 1908, before the High Court with a delay of 656 days. Due to the absence of sufficient justification, the High Court refused to condone the delay. Instead of accepting the decision, the state chose to challenge it before the Supreme Court, compounding the delay further. The Bench noted, “The State preferred a Second Appeal with a delay of 656 days and failed to provide a sufficient cause for this gross delay. The High Court rightly rejected the plea for condonation. Astonishingly, this order has now been brought before this Court with an additional delay of 177 days.” While the Court could have dismissed the petition solely on grounds of delay, it opted to probe deeper. "We could have dismissed this petition outright, but we have something else in mind," the Bench remarked. The Court directed the Law Secretary of Madhya Pradesh to personally appear on February 14, 2025, along with the original files detailing the decision-making process for filing the appeal. "We would like to know who is the authority that decided this High Court order was worth challenging before this Court," the Bench asserted. The matter has been listed for further hearing on February 14, 2025. AAG Nachiketa Joshi and DAG Bhupendra Pratap Singh appeared for the state, along with advocates Sarad Kumar Singhania and Rashmi Singhania...////...