The NCLAT, Principal Bench, New Delhi opined that the jurisdiction of the Tribunal to condone the delay beyond 15 days cannot be clothed by the reason that the Appellant was unaware of the order which was to be challenged by him. It was opined that Section 17(1)(C) of the Limitation Act,1963 does not come into the picture when the limitation of an appeal is concerned. The section is only relevant for suits and applications.
It was held that Section 61 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code,2016 (hereinafter referred to as “IBC”) prescribes only 30 days to file an appeal. The said period can be extended only for 15 more days. Therefore, a delay of 244 days could not be condoned in the present case.
Brief Facts:
The present appeal has been preferred against the decision of the Adjudicating Authority vide which a Resolution Plan was approved.
Contentions of the Appellant:
It was contended that the Appellant came to know about the fact that the order needs to be challenged only on 29.06.2022, the date on which a writ petition was filed by the Successful Resolution Applicant against the Appellant. Therefore, the Appeal has been filed on 22.11.2022.
The benefit of Section 17(1)(c) of the Limitation Act, 1963 was claimed.
Observations of the Tribunal:
It was noted that the Order being challenged was passed on 13.03.2020 and the appeal has been preferred on 22.11.2022. Section 61 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 IBC prescribes only 30 days to file an appeal. The said period can be extended only for 15 more days.
The Bench opined that the jurisdiction of the Tribunal to condone the delay beyond 15 days cannot be clothed by the reason taken by the Appellant. Further, Section 17(1)(C) of the Limitation Act does not come into the picture when the limitation of an appeal is concerned. The section is only relevant for suits and applications.
The decision of the Tribunal:
Based on the abovementioned reason, the Appellate Tribunal refused to condone a delay of 244 days and dismissed the application accordingly.
Case Title: Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd. v. NRC Ltd. & Anr.
Case No: Company Appeal (AT) (Insolvency) No. 13 of 2023
Coram: Justice Ashok Bhushan (Chairperson), Barun Mitra (Technical Member)
Advocates for Appellant: Advs. Soumik Ghosal, Akash Kotari Gaurav Singh, Neerav Shah
Advocates for Respondents: Advs. Himanshu Satija, Geetika Sharma
Read Order @LatestLaws.com
Picture Source :