Section 5 of the Limitation Act of 1963 allows a court to admit an appeal after its deadline if the applicant shows that “he had sufficient cause” for the delay.
In Collector, Land Acquisition, Anantnag v. Mst. Katiji, decided on February 19, 1987, the Supreme Court explained how to read the rule. “It is common knowledge that this Court has been making a justifiably liberal approach in matters instituted in this Court,” it said. The “cause of substantial justice deserves to be preferred” over technical considerations.