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2021 (9) TMI 1246 - AT - Insolvency and BankruptcyMaintainability of application - initiation of CIRP - Corporate Debtor failed to make repayment of its dues - Financial Creditors - existence of debt and dispute or not - time limitation - violation of Principles of Natural Justice - HELD THAT:- Appellant is harping upon the fact that the reply was to the MA and not to the petition. This deserves to be rejected. If one peruses Annexure A-5, it shows that in para 1 of the Reply although the Corporate Debtor referred to Miscellaneous Application (which was already withdrawn), the Corporate Debtor in para 3 stated that the Appellant was filing this affidavit for the purpose of opposing the Company Petition. In said reply the contentions of the company petition are met for the purpose of opposing the company petition. The reply goes on to answer averments of the petition. The receipt of the loan is admitted. The debt outstanding is not disputed and the re-payments made till March, 2016 are pointed out. The fact that the Financial Creditor has obtained Recovery Certificate under Section 101 of the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act on 21.01.2015 is also not disputed - we discard the claim being made by the Corporate Debtor that he did not get opportunity to file reply to the petition. Violation of principles of natural justice - HELD THAT:- Once the party has appeared in the proceeding in the original forum where the further dates are given in the proceedings, and pendency of the proceeding is known to a party, it is the responsibility of the party also to keep track of the proceedings and to participate in future developments in the matter. The Corporate Debtor sought time to amicably settle the matter. It was recorded that failing settlement the matter will be heard on merits on next date of hearing and the matter came to be adjourned to 07.04.2020. The matter could not be heard on 07.04.2020 and was taken up on 24.11.2020 and the order dated 24.11.2020 shows that the Adjudicating Authority referred to hearings that took place on earlier dates and that the Corporate Debtor had filed reply. The Adjudicating Authority by way of abundant caution directed the Registry to send a court notice to the Corporate Debtor as although the Counsel for Petitioner was present nobody was present for the Corporate Debtor. Time Limitation - HELD THAT:- The Adjudicating Authority came to a right conclusion that there was a debt which was in default and the debt outstanding was within limitation - Hon’ble Supreme Court referred to the judgment of “Sesh Nath Singh & Anr. vs. Bidyabati Sheoraphuli Co-operative Bank Ltd. & Anr.”, [2021 (3) TMI 1183 - SUPREME COURT] to observe that IBC does not exclude the application of Section 14 or 18 or any other provision of the Limitation Act. It is quite clear that Certificate of Recovery issued would also give fresh right to recover the amounts for which the Recovery Certificate has been issued - In the present matter the Recovery Certificate was issued on 21.01.2015. Then there are undisputedly part-payments made. Thus Section 19 of Limitation Act is also helpful to Financial Creditors. The Application filed under Section 7 on 22.11.2019 cannot be said to be time barred. Appeal dismissed.
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