2023 (7) TMI 833 - AT - Companies Law

Condonation of delay of 290 days in filing appeal - HELD THAT - A mere running on the eye over the ingredients of Section 61(1) and Section 61(2) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016 unerringly points out that in any event an Appeal cannot be preferred by an Affected/ Aggrieved Party beyond 30 15 45 days (the outer limit period). There is no power enjoined upon the Appellate Tribunal to Condone the Delay of 15 days of course after the expiry of 30 days from the date of passing of the Impugned Order by an Adjudicating Authority/National Company Law Tribunal Kochi Bench. Admittedly in the instant case the Impugned Order came to be passed by the Adjudicating Authority/ Tribunal on 29/01/2021 and the Appeal was filed by the Petitioner/ Appellant on 15/12/2021 with a Delay of 290 days which is an unacceptable one. In reality the said delay of 290 days is not to be condoned by virtue of the decision of the Supreme Court in the matter of V NAGARAJAN VERSUS SKS ISPAT AND POWER LTD. ORS. 2021 (10) TMI 941 - SUPREME COURT . Appeal dismissed.

Summary

Issues involved:
The issues involved in the judgment are the delay in filing the Company Appeal, the contention regarding the certified copy of the impugned order, and the maintainability of the appeal based on the rules and provisions of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016.

Delay in Filing the Company Appeal:
The appellant pointed out a delay of 290 days in filing the Company Appeal against the impugned order dated 29/01/2021. The appellant argued that the delay was not willful but due to not being informed about the approval of the resolution plan promptly. The respondent contended that the appeal was barred by limitation under Section 61 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, as it was filed on 15/12/2021, exceeding the permissible time limit.

Certified Copy Contention:
The appellant claimed not to be a party to the application filed by the respondent and did not possess a certified copy of the impugned order. The respondent argued that without filing a certified copy of the order, the appeal was not maintainable as per Rule 22 of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal Rules. Reference was made to the decision of the Supreme Court emphasizing the necessity of annexing a certified copy to an appeal.

Maintainability of the Appeal:
The Tribunal considered the jurisdiction to condone the delay in filing the appeal, which was limited to 15 days in addition to the 30-day limitation period. The Tribunal cited previous orders where delays beyond the condonable period were not entertained. The provisions of Section 61(1) and Section 61(2) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 were analyzed to determine the outer limit of filing an appeal. The Tribunal dismissed the Condonation Delay Application, IA No. 719 of 2021, due to the 290-day delay, in line with the decision of the Supreme Court.

Separate Judgment by the Judges:
No separate judgment was delivered by the judges in this case.