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2020 (11) TMI 801 - AT - Insolvency and BankruptcyTime Limitation - Deed of Guarantee - failure to prove default or not - legally enforceable debt or not - Whether dismissal of such reference in the given circumstances would attract Regulation 19(7) of BIFR Regulations to hold that such reference was never made for having been declined to be registered? - HELD THAT:- The answer lies in Regulation 19 itself. Regulation 19(3) provides that a reference may be filed either by delivering it at the office of the Board or by sending it by registered post. Regulation 19(4) provides that on receipt of a reference the Secretary/ Registrar shall cause to be endorsed on each reference the date on which it is filed or received in the office of the Board. Regulation 19(5) provides that if on scrutiny, the reference is found to be in order, it shall be registered, assigned a serial number and submitted to the Chairman for assigning it to a Bench. Regulation 19(6) provides that if on scrutiny, the reference is not found to be in order, the Secretary/Registrar may by order decline to register the reference. In the instant case the first reference was, after its receipt, registered and assigned case number 160/2001. It was placed before the Bench, which took up the reference on 25th June, 2002 for consideration so as to determine the status of company’s sickness. However, the reference came to be dismissed as being time barred. It is therefore manifestly clear that the reference was registered and came to be dismissed on consideration. Therefore, Regulation 19(7) would not come into play and the period from filing of reference with BIFR under Section 15(1) of SICA on 2nd March, 2001 till its dismissal on 25th June, 2002 will have to be excluded within the purview of Section 22 of SICA providing for suspension of legal proceedings including institution of suits for recovery of money or for enforcement of security against the industrial company or any guarantee in respect of any loans or advances granted to the industrial company. Admittedly, the second reference case was filed on 21st February, 2003 before BIFR, therefore period from 25th June, 2002 till 21st February, 2003 (calculated at 241 days) has to be counted towards the limitation period. From 21st February, 2003 till 1st December, 2016 second reference case of the Corporate Debtor was pending consideration before BIFR and on 1st December, 2016, with enforcement of I&B Code, the SICA, 1985 was repealed. Thus, the period of limitation for triggering of CIRP at the instance of Assignee – SASF against the Corporate Debtor would commence from 1st December, 2016 till application under Section 7 was filed on 12th March, 2019. This is rightly calculated by Responded at 831 days - the period counting for limitation will be 241 days + 831 days = 1072 days i.e. 35 months and 12 days. It is abundantly clear that the application under Section 7 at the instance of SASF against the Corporate Debtor came to be filed well within three years from the date of invocation of corporate guarantee on 3rd December, 2001. It is also settled law of the land that the period of limitation does not commence until the account is live i.e. not duly settled by payment of outstanding dues and/or there is no refusal from the Guarantor towards its obligations. The liability of the Guarantor being coextensive to the liability of the Principal Borrower and the acknowledgment of liability by the Principal Borrower, in terms of letter dated 20th December, 2016 forming Annexure R-7 to the Reply affidavit (page 64), is binding on the Guarantor and he cannot wriggle out of its liability to discharge its obligations towards SASF. It goes without saying that in terms of Clause 11 of the Corporate Guarantee dated 16th July, 1997, the Corporate Guarantor is liable to be proceeded against by the lender or its assignee in the same manner as if it was the Principal Borrower/ Debtor. The application filed by the Respondent under Section 7 of I&B Code for triggering CIRP against Respondent – Corporate Guarantor on 12th March, 2019 was not barred by limitation - Contention raised by the Appellant as regards plea of limitation and other contention in regard to discharge of obligation of Appellant – Corporate Guarantor towards SASF are accordingly repelled. Appeal dismissed.
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