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2021 (12) TMI 83 - AT - Insolvency and BankruptcyMaintainability of appeal filed belatedly - whether the Appeals filed by the Appellant are within time or they are barred by limitation? - HELD THAT:- The question which has been raised before us is that since free of cost copy as required by Rule 50 has not been received by the Appellant, the period of limitation shall not begin to run and the Appeals filed by the Appellant on 20.09.2021 are well within time. When we read Section 61 of the ‘I&B Code’ with Rule 50 of the NCLT Rules, it cannot be said that limitation in filing of an Appeal under Section 61 shall not begin to run unless free of cost copy is sent by Registry and received by a party. The limitation to file Appeal under Section 61 cannot be treated to be under suspension till free of cost copy is received by party as enjoined by Rule 50. Any such interpretation shall not dwell with the statutory scheme. The ‘I&B Code’ has been enacted to speed up Insolvency Resolution Process and there is a timeline fixed for different steps filing Appeal within 30 days to the Appellate Tribunal is also part of the same thread of timeline which run through different provisions of the ‘I&B Code’. Rule 50 is contained in Chapter IV which deals with the procedure and Rule 50 is a part of procedural law which oblige the Registry to send free of cost copy. However, the scheme of limitation for filing Appeal as delineated by Section 61 does not give any scope to the submission that limitation to file an Appeal under Section 61 shall not begin till free of cost copy under Rule 50 is received by a party. The provisions of the Limitation Act are applicable to the ‘I&B Code’ proceedings which is well settled and is no longer debatable after insertion of Section 238A in ‘I&B Code’. Section 12 of the Limitation Act provides for period which can be excluded in period of limitation. In the present case, the case of the Appellant is that he applied certified copy of the order twice firstly on 21.01.2019 and secondly on 29.07.2021. Applying the ratio of the judgment of the “Sagufa Ahmed” [2020 (9) TMI 713 - SUPREME COURT], in the present case, at best Appellant can claim that period of limitation did not start running till he applied for certified copy of the order i.e. till 21.01.2019. The Appeals have been filed on the strength of certified copy of the judgment which was applied on 29.07.2021 which certified copy of the Application is claimed by the Appellant after more than three years of the delivery of the judgment whereas in Sagufa Ahmed’s case certified copy of the judgment was applied within 27 days from the delivery of judgment. The Appeals have been filed after expiry of limitation. The Appeals are barred by time and cannot be entertained - appeal dismissed.
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